Now that Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz is seated on the Board of
Supervisors, it is time the county try to close some of the wounds
opened during the contentious District 5 election.
De La Cruz is in a position to begin the healing. He should drop
his lawsuit against the county which claims there was a conspiracy
to keep him off the Board of Supervisors. At the very least, De La
Cruz should drop the $5 million in damages he is seeking in the
lawsuit.
Now that Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz is seated on the Board of Supervisors, it is time the county try to close some of the wounds opened during the contentious District 5 election.
De La Cruz is in a position to begin the healing. He should drop his lawsuit against the county which claims there was a conspiracy to keep him off the Board of Supervisors. At the very least, De La Cruz should drop the $5 million in damages he is seeking in the lawsuit.
There are other avenues the county should consider pursuing to see if there was an attempt to keep De la Cruz off the board. The Board of Supervisors could formally ask the Attorney General for an investigation into all the shenanigans that transpired during the District 5 election.
De La Cruz beat former Supervisor Bob Cruz by 10 votes in March, but later was accused of manipulating the vote, subjected to a criminal investigation and faced an ultimatum from the District Attorney’s Office to resign his seat or face five years in jail. The 10-month debacle ended when De La Cruz and District Attorney John Sarsfield agreed to a slap-on-the-wrist misdemeanor charge.
De La Cruz surely feels his reputation was dragged through the mud during the imbroglio, and he is seeking some sort of vindication. But was it? Many people have discerned that there was no malice in his actions. If it was, how do you restore a damaged reputation? One thing is clear, suing for $5 million of taxpayer money won’t do it.
Instead, De La Cruz could ask for a public apology from Sarsfield and former Supervisors Cruz, Richard Scagliotti and Ruth Kesler, whom De la Cruz accuses of a conspiracy to keep him off the board. Knowing the bitter nature of this dispute, however, we won’t hold our breath.
The only true way for De La Cruz to restore his reputation is to govern honestly, thoughtfully and with strong dedication to doing the work of the people. Giving up a lawsuit that could cost San Benito County millions in hard-earned taxpayer dollars would be a significant step in that direction.
