All personal opinions aside, the charging of Jaime De La Cruz
with election violations by the district attorney yesterday at
least means that the unpleasant and drawn-out District 5
controversy is heading toward some kind of long-overdue
conclusion.
All personal opinions aside, the charging of Jaime De La Cruz with election violations by the district attorney yesterday at least means that the unpleasant and drawn-out District 5 controversy is heading toward some kind of long-overdue conclusion.
It’s a relief that there soon will be answers to the questions that have been hanging over San Benito County for months. We hope they come quickly.
Now the charges have been leveled, we expect all those involved to bring this matter to a speedy conclusion for the good of all county residents.
Supervisor-elect De La Cruz faces four felony counts for his alleged conduct during the District 5 election – a course of action District Attorney John Sarsfield has been working toward since the election last March. Now the supervisor-elect, who bested current Supervisor Bob Cruz by 10 votes, could be sentenced to up to four years in jail if convicted.
However, Sarsfield offered De La Cruz a deal to get out of jail time. If he surrenders his elected positions on the Board of Supervisors and the Gavilan Board of Trustees and pleads guilty to the misdemeanor charge of filing false election nomination papers, he’ll walk with no time served.
What’s confounding is this is all coming at the eleventh hour. Now there is the possibility this debacle will carry into the new supervisors’ term, which starts in January. That’s an embarrassment, and a failure by the leaders of this county.
Sarsfield should have come forward with the charges months ago when there was plenty of time for it to play out before the new supervisors took their seats. The Board of Supervisors should have demanded he do so.
If De La Cruz chooses to fight – accepting the plea bargain hardly appears it will bring justice to anyone – the case must be expedited through the legal process so District 5 voters know who their supervisor will be. They’ve waited long enough and delaying this issue any longer presents a serious threat to the county’s ability to conduct the people’s work.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the District 5 election mess. Let’s not make more mistakes by dragging this into the new Board’s term. Wrap up this matter without delay.
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