Editorial

Finally, it has come to an end.

After nearly two years of investigation by at least two different

agencies, former Councilman and Mayor Dave Garofalo has resigned from

office as part of an arrangement with the Orange County district

attorney, in which he pleaded guilty to 15 misdemeanors and one felony

count involving votes he cast and gifts he received while in office.

The finale to this long, laborious probe will, we hope, bring a

semblance of normalcy back to City Hall, which has lived under the shadow

of the scandal for too long.

It truly is time to move on.

Before that, however, we all must make sure the lesson is clear.

Like most who run for political office, we have no doubt Garofalo

entered political life in 1994 with the best of intentions.

Unfortunately, his exit also leaves us with no doubt that he blurred

the lines between his publishing business contacts and his role as

councilman, resulting in a criminal conflict of interest.

The No. 1 lesson here for future office holders, and most elected

officials seem to understand this, is if you benefit financially from

someone who has business before the council or legislature or school

board, you must abstain from voting.

That was Garofalo’s cardinal sin.

But it didn’t stop there. He also failed to report gifts he received,

connected to his publishing business, resulting in him casting favorable

votes from his council seat.

“I can say this emphatically, those things I’m accused of -- 15

misdemeanors and one wobbler -- I now understand was a violation of ‘1090

law’ but never, never was it my intention to violate the law,” Garofalo

said after entering his guilty plea.

Again, it may well be true that Garofalo never “intended” to violate

the law.

But those who hold political office take an oath, a sacred pledge with

the electorate to uphold the laws of the land. That oath should not be

taken lightly and the political leaders must be beyond reproach.

Garofalo, however, violated that oath of office and left himself

vulnerable to prosecution. And that’s unfortunate both for him, his

constituents who trusted in him and the city he served that will now

forever have this black eye.

We acknowledge, this is clearly a hard lesson learned.

But it is one we must not forget.