Letters to the Editor 5-15-14

Resign Mr. Carrillo
Editor: Last August, the Sonoma County Democratic Party approved a public statement that said that if the details of the case against Supervisor Efren Carrillo had been portrayed accurately in the press, we believed that his behavior would fail to meet the standard of conduct we expect from our elected officials.
We have heard his side of the story and we have heard testimony from the victim in the case.
By his own admission, Mr. Carrillo went to a woman’s residence in the middle of the night, uninvited and in his underwear, in anticipation of having sexual relations with a woman he barely knew. Through the trial, we learned that not one woman, but three, at the residence felt so threatened by his conduct that they armed themselves with knives and summoned police for help.
The facts presented in the press at the time of the incident were factually correct and they were revealed through testimony at trial.
Mr. Carrillo’s testimony toward the facts in the case has served to further undermine his credibility as a public official and his credibility as an effective representative of the residents of the Fifth Supervisorial District.
Therefore, the Sonoma County Democratic Party reaffirms its resolution of Aug. 14, 2013, and calls upon Mr. Carrillo to resign immediately.
The Executive Committee of the
Sonoma County Democratic Party
Justice system has spoken
Editor: Well, our justice system has ruled. The accused was exonerated, shamed, contrite, and taking full responsibility for his actions. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors have all expressed their self-righteous opinions of their fellow board member and the vitriolic 10-month attack from the editorial board of Santa Rosa’s daily newspaper has had its day. Both Boards have certainly lost much community respect for their leadership as they continue to express publicly how hard their jobs will become in an environment which they, themselves, are creating. Can we move on now?
I, too, have worked within the halls of the Board of Supervisors for six years as a 5th Distrtict Administrative Assistant. I am embarrassed and ashamed of the current board members who have continued an unprecedented attack on Supervisor Efren Carrillo who has been an outstanding, hard-working representative of his consitituents in the past. He will be again. I have every confidence that he will move forward to make us proud of his leadership. I wouldn’t trade him for any other District representative, all of whom need to get on with the jobs that they were elected to do and stop this self-serving need to denigrate one who serves the public with them. Sonoma County will be better served by leaders who can move beyond this tragedy.
West Sonoma County will accept nothing less than a 5th District Supervisor who will work to regain the trust and confidence of his voters. Efren Carrillo will meet our high expectations for successful leadership. Let him show you.
Heidi Gillen
Sebastopol
Terrible situation
Editor: I appreciate the editorial by Rollie Atkinson (“Palm Drive is dead,” May 1), and the Guest Commentary by Jim Horn (“Palm Drive Foundation proposal not the answer,” May 8). Both of these pieces are thoughtful and realistic responses to the terrible situation. There have been some strong condemnations of the Board of Directors, calling for their resignation, accusing them of dereliction of duty, violating the Brown Act, conflicts of interest, hidden agendas and ulterior motives. These charges have not been proven, so I can only attribute these attacks as coming from a misunderstanding of the issues, rumors, or, for all I know, personal reasons. Time to get over the blame game and anger and try to find a way to make it work, no matter how long it takes. We need our community supported hospital open.
Richard Nichols
Sebastopol