Vitriolic e-mail will benefit nobody in the end
An e-mail sent by political activist Rick Rivas to District 2
Supervisor Anthony Botelho
– vowing to help unseat him in 2012, along with a string of
vitriolic criticisms about his leadership – will stand as a benefit
to nobody in the end.
Rivas, the brother and adviser of District 3 Supervisor Robert
Rivas, sent the seemingly unprovoked message to Botelho on June 21.
In it, Rick Rivas begins by telling Botelho he appreciates his
friendship and dedication to the county before running down a list
of areas where Rivas, who has advised Botelho’s campaign in the
past, believes the supervisor has failed the community.
Vitriolic e-mail will benefit nobody in the end
An e-mail sent by political activist Rick Rivas to District 2 Supervisor Anthony Botelho – vowing to help unseat him in 2012, along with a string of vitriolic criticisms about his leadership – will stand as a benefit to nobody in the end.
Rivas, the brother and adviser of District 3 Supervisor Robert Rivas, sent the seemingly unprovoked message to Botelho on June 21. In it, Rick Rivas begins by telling Botelho he appreciates his friendship and dedication to the county before running down a list of areas where Rivas, who has advised Botelho’s campaign in the past, believes the supervisor has failed the community.
He described his vehement disagreement with Botelho’s decisions on the Panoche Valley solar farm and the county’s contracting with Santa Cruz Regional 911 for dispatch services. He went on to pronounce how he has worked for “over 75 elected officials in California and throughout the country” and that Botelho’s “decisions have been so misguided that I believe that you rank as one of the poorest performing elected officials I’ve ever worked with.”
After six bullet points using six ways to basically just insult Botelho’s intelligence, and then immediately weaving back to reiterate that he thinks Botelho is smart and a savvy businessman, he followed by telling him the county “deserves better leadership” and that Rivas would “do anything that is legally possible to defeat you” if he seeks reelection.
Rivas claims it was a personal email, but he copied it to Robert Frusetta, a friend of and campaign volunteer for Botelho.
Botelho also passed it on to others, and it eventually got into the hands of Republican Central Committee Chairman Marvin Jones, who distributed it to a mass of people electronically.
As Rivas and Botelho should know, it doesn’t take long for such heated dialogue to find its way around San Benito County.
In the end, though, no one wins. Not only does Rivas come off as pompous and controlling, but also, it’s hard to see a real purpose or goal in the message.
Rivas and Botelho, incidentally, actually have something in common with the ordeal. Each of them made decisions that backfired: Rivas for sending the email – especially when there were other supervisors who also approved of the solar and 911 matters – and Botelho for fanning the firestorm and helping to circulate the less-than-flattering portrait of himself.
The biggest loser, though, might be the guy who may have had nothing to do with it – Robert Rivas.
His brother did him a huge disfavor by sending it out, while they both contended that Robert Rivas did not know about the message beforehand.
For one, there is a natural confusion considering they are brothers, and many residents thought Robert Rivas actually sent it.
Additionally, whether fair or foul, the siblings inherently are tied together in the public’s eye, and the supervisor will absorb some squandered political points due to his brother’s decision.
