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.
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