Another week, another recall in San Benito County.
This time, troops are organizing to toss Supervisor Jaime De La
Cruz out of office.
Another week, another recall in San Benito County.
This time, troops are organizing to toss Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz out of office.
The difference between this recall attempt and the ones against the district attorney and two San Juan Bautista councilmen, is that this appears to be more about past political battles than any action De La Cruz has taken while in office.
This is a continuation of the political fight that started when De La Cruz squeaked out a victory against former Supervisor Bob Cruz in March, 2004. Ruben Lopez, who was Cruz’s campaign manager, is the spokesman for the recall campaign, and the Web site for the recall – now changed to recalldelacruz.com from recallcriminal.com to be more “positive” – raises several of the voting issues related to that election as reasons for the recall.
We remind readers that many of those issues have been hashed out in the legal system. De La Cruz ultimately pleaded no contest to a charge of obstructing or delaying a police officer, and all the charges of felony voter fraud against him were dropped.
Other reasons listed on the site include the contention that De La Cruz “embarrassed” the county with $5 million lawsuit against San Benito, a lawsuit he has dropped. Also, they raise an objection to having “convicted criminals with a history of domestic violence” in office. That’s a serious matter, but one that was not a secret when the voters went to the polls more than a year ago.
This recall attempt is sour grapes over a bitterly-fought, narrowly-won election. What it’s not based on is a thorough examination of De La Cruz’s conduct in office. That’s because he only took his seat in January. De La Cruz has had little time to establish a track record on which voters can judge his performance. This recall is premature to say the least.
Do we agree or like everything that De La Cruz has done in the election and since taking office? No at all. Do we think he deserves a chance to do his job before being tossed out on his ear? Absolutely.
One thing that is abundantly clear is that the regular folks of this community are tired of the shrill accusations and bitterness that have characterized our political establishment for more than a year. This recall attempt threatens to extend that tone for many more months – a cringe-inducing thought.
What we need is a little more grace in San Benito County politics. The losers of the March election should graciously accepted the loss and move on. Drop the recall, give the community a break and give De La Cruz a chance to do the job he was elected to do without this petty distraction.
