Anyone familiar with my blog knows that I treat BOTH political ideologies the same when it comes to "the stupid things that politicians do" as a result of the tremendous power with which they are entrusted. In this respect, I crucify BOTH sides with equal vigor.
So, when I was asked, by readers, to weigh in on the news concerning the allegations of sexual impropriety levelled at Councilman Carlos Bustamonte, I did my due diligence by first reading the article, posted in The Orange County Register. As with all such issues, I knew that my "weight" would initially be based on the news itself, followed (assuming the story eventually develops), either by reinforcement of my initial opinion or by modification of my opinion based on new revelations...
The news piece, which can be found here (http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/09/15/santa-ana-councilman-put-on-leave-from-county-job/97548/), reports that Councilman Bustamonte was placed on administrative leave as a result of an allegation of sexual impropriety.
As a matter of full disclosure, it must be known that Carlos is a close friend, with whose family I have known nearly my entire life.
So, it was with a sense of disappointment that I prepared to read this article.
Then.....I read the article.
Now, I have NO idea whether the allegations carry any truth. I wasn't there. I CAN tell you that the accusations levelled at Carlos are WAYYYYYYY out of character of the man I know.
But, to my eye, there are aspects of the article that appear, on the surface, to smack more of a political hatchet job than a matter of honest news reporting.
For instance, the allegations are evidently based on an "anonymous letter". Now, I FULLY realize that the writer of this letter may not wish to be identified (due to retaliation), but it's equally possible that ANYONE with a vendetta against Bustamonte could have penned that letter. This, to me, is a possible 'red flag'.
Further, which, to me, also raises a red flag, is that Bustamonte's county salary is also disclosed in the news report....
Why disclose income in a report about sexual allegations? This makes no sense, unless, of course, the desired affect of this disclosure is intended to incite class envy.
Finally, this story comes on the heels of an rather nasty situation in the Santa Ana City Council, revolving around another Councilperson, who recently made disparaging remarks (I won't bother going into specifics....). Councilman Bustamonte, along with another Councilmember, officially denounced this Councilperson, calling for their removal from city office. The key here, politically, is that Bustamonte is a Republican (the other Councilmember is a Democrat), while the Councilmember who made the disparaging comments is....a Democrat. Could this be a vendetta?
Because I write a political blog, and treat both sides equally, I'll be following this news story....
From what is available right now, I find these allegations highly suspicious.
Will this opinion change? Depends on how the story develops....
Stay tuned.
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