Last week San Jacinto CA was thrust into the national headlines as a hotbed of political corruption when 80% of the standing City Council - including our mayor, three local prominent business leaders, an elected official of the school district and a pastor from a Northern California church where charged hundreds of times with both felony and misdemeanor indictments.
The charges have mostly to do with a failed attempt of one of the council members desire to seek higher office in the State Assembly. The charges cover a wide assortment of accusations which include but may not be limited to conspiracy, bribes, money laundry, tax fraud, perjury and last but not least filing false government documents. Some of these guys are looking at up to 26 years in prison.
If you want the juicy details, this is not the place - follow the link above for a Google Search that will keep you informed with the blow-by-blow, as this story continues to unfold.
Lets Not Condemn...
I'd like to start by saying that until July of this year, when I moved to San Jacinto I have had a Hemet mailing address but lived in Valle Vista, an unincorporated community at the far east end of the Hemet - San Jacinto Valley. I opened my local real estate branch office in May of this year and moved into a new home in the city, July of this year. So I know San Jacinto as a neighbor looking in and now as a full time business owner and resident. If there is a slant in my opinion it is of love for this community.
As Americans, we all know that we are presumed innocent until proven guilty and that is why we here words like ‘alleged' and ‘accused' whenever we watch ‘Law & Order' or ‘CSI' on TV. Well, these people are not to be condemned just because they have been accused. I myself have been wrongly accused in the past and the implications can be very stressful when considering the possibilities of a final outcome that may well be beyond your control.
Actually, I have the utmost respect for what they have accomplished as a group. I do not know any of them personally other than having had breakfast with Jim Potts at a Chamber breakfast a couple of months back. Mr. Potts is a retired real estate broker and we certainly had a lot in common. I enjoyed the conversation. I even had some questions answered about road developments and future construction projects pending to take place in the city.
I also know, on a very low key level, one of the other accused - Nancy Ayres the wife of accused City Council Member Jim Ayres. Aside from being the San Jacinto Unified School District board member she is also the Executive Director of the San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce of which I am a member of the past 2 months.
I was talking about respect for the accomplishments that this group of civic leaders has accomplished by transforming this sleepy farm town that I first saw when I moved to the valley in 1998 to the robust suburban community it is today. These men had vision and were able to get some really great things done. For this, I respect every one of them.
WHAT NOW?
There is one City Council member who apparently always felt like an outsider and had little idea of what the other four were up to, according to his interviews I've read in the news. Councilman Steve De Memmo is the only member of the San Jacinto City Council that is NOT under indictment. The Councilman is a retired U.S. Department of the Treasury law enforcement agent.
Councilman De Memmo met with Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone to discuss options over the weekend, as reported again in the local news. Apparently there is nothing to do until either a standing Councilmember either resigns or is convicted - either by trial or plea agreement. One a vacancy opens up then there are two choices - the city calls for a special election or the governor can appoint a replacement to serve the remaining term. It is my understanding that two seats are currently scheduled to be voted on by the public in November 2010 and the other two in November 2012.
According to the news release, both Councilman De Memmo and Supervisor Stone would recommend that Governor Schwarzenegger make the necessary appointments when the time is appropriate.
SHOULD THEY STAY OR SHOULD THEY GO?
This is a tough call to make. As I said early on I do not think of them as guilty and certainly I will not condemn any of the accused here in my blog.
With that being said I do believe they need to resign - collectively. They have a whole bucket of trouble they are dealing with and whatever they do from this point forward will be done under a cloud of suspicion - at best. Working under this type of cloud cannot be good for the city
The legal troubles they have will undoubtedly consume much of their internal fortitude and be a distraction to the business of running the City of San Jacinto. It is my personal opinion that they should do the right thing and step down.
The other issue the accused should consider is their overall public posture. Most of us can remember when OJ Simpson led the authorities on a slow speed chase down the 405 Freeway when he was apprehended and there were not many who thought he was guilty...even though he was arrested at that point.
Then as the trial unfolded, most of us remember when the defense attorney had OJ try on the glove that did not fit and shout out, "If it don't fit, you must acquit". Well as it turns out, by that point nearly everyone I knew had already convicted OJ - even though he was finally acquitted and found ‘not guilty' of all the charges against him. Because OJ was such a public figure, we were all enthralled with what was taking place. On the other hand if he had not been such a public figure, none of us would have really cared very much about that trial or any of his subsequent legal problems.
My point is that as long as the Council Members remain in office they will be in the public spotlight and under very close scrutiny and opinions will form at every turn of events. Should they take the high road and resign their positions I am certain that they will have a much clearer head that will allow them to focus on their legal troubles...and if acquitted then by all means come back and claim their positions in the Council if the people of San Jacinto want them back. After all, they are here to serve the people and not their own needs.
APPOINTMENT vs. ELECTION
I suppose both alternatives have their pluses and minuses
The reasoning for supporting the political appointee is purely fiscal - both the Councilman and Supervisor say it will be too expensive for the city to run a special elections.
I say the City of San Jacinto needs to lick its own wounds and not be governed with a Council that could potentially include four political appointees from a lame duck Governor that already has more than his share of problems that he is facing in his own Sacramento arena with the State Legislature.
The residents of the City of San Jacinto need to demand an election and find new Council Members that can put the interest of the city before their own.
If those accused insist on remaining in office, then I believe there should be a grass roots movement to recall the four accused Council Member as well as the School Board member. San Jacinto should not rely on the best interests of our lame duck governor to decide our future.
I've said my piece...now it's your turn San Jacinto...speak out...
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