As San Benito County rushes full tilt towards Election Day Nov.
2, it is impossible to ignore the fact that residents still do not
know the outcome of the March election District 5 Supervisor
race.
As San Benito County rushes full tilt towards Election Day Nov. 2, it is impossible to ignore the fact that residents still do not know the outcome of the March election District 5 Supervisor race.
The manner in which the entire controversy has been tucked away, left on the desk and generally not reconciled should have concerned community members foaming at the mouth and demanding action from their elected officials. It’s been more than seven months since the election and the allegations of voter fraud that followed, yet there is still no resolution.
Though the county and its head election official have certified the race, it is still unknown if Supervisor-elect Jaime De La Cruz will face criminal indictment for allegations of illegal ballots. Nor does current Supervisor Bob Cruz, who lost his seat to De La Cruz by 10 votes, have any answers to the questions he raised about how the March votes were handled.
The election albatross hangs solely around the neck of District Attorney John Sarsfield who has called for and called off a grand jury investigation several times over this drawn-out matter. Granted Sarsfield himself has been dragged into the mud during the controversy. De La Cruz’s attorney, Michael Pekin, filed a court case alleging an inter-office affair created a conflict of interest for the DA in the election probe, and there have been other hurdles delaying the outcome.
But Sarsfield needs to let the people of this county know where the election stands. If criminal charges are forthcoming, file them now and make the public aware of it. If not, then the entire controversy needs to end with a public announcement. Perhaps supervisors should set a firm date for the district attorney to resolve the matter and include some sort of penalty for failing to meet the timeline.
If, in 2000, the closest presidential race in recent memory could be resolved in about a month, surely we could have this matter wrapped up in seven months. This is important public business, and must be given top priority. Sarsfield and the supervisors should be applying pressure to whoever is causing the delays to get this matter resolved right away.
Public elections are the backbone of our democratic system and refusing to give the public answers to elections they have voted in only serves to disenfranchise voters and make them believe their ballots do not count.
Plus, if the county is unable to clean up its own election mess, we run the risk of giving the governor the power to appoint our next District 5 supervisor.
San Benito County has numerous challenges ahead and the time has come to look forward to the future, not live in the past. As our new county supervisors prepare to take office in January, they should be reviewing the numerous issues facing the county, not sitting in a state of limbo wondering if charges will be filed against De La Cruz.
Every day the county waits, is another day the people’s business is not being done.
So Mr. Sarsfield, end the election controversy, get off the dime and clear the way for someone to represent District 5.
Let’s put all this behind us. We’ve waited long enough.
