Politicians – or elected officials as they like to call themselves – tend to grow thicker skin as time goes on.
Things that bothered them when they first started become minor nuisances. The personal feelings of a disgruntled constituent that wants to revert to personal attacks are brushed off like a crumb from a cookie.
It’s a sink-or-swim kind of scenario – either you learn to let those things not bother you nearly as much or you’ll be consumed by everything that’s going on around you.
That’s why I hope that Lathrop Councilman Omar Ornelas’ pointed comments to a resident that made accusatory statements last week aren’t a sign that the young man is jumping the shark right before our eyes.
In his defense, it’s blatantly unfair for anybody to step up to a lectern and blindly accuse another person of using their office for personal gain – especially without a shred of evidence.
Did Dan Doyle have every right to call the councilman to task for something he didn’t agree with? Absolutely. But the entire disagreement stemmed from a simple exchange that Ornelas had with a woman two weeks prior when he was defending his position – something that a lot of seasoned or newly reelected council members wouldn’t even bother doing. Even when being peppered he stepped up to the microphone, defended his position and backed up why he felt the way he felt.
And now something that he said in that exchange formed the basis for an accusation that led to a heated exchange that could have repercussions.
This is why those seasoned politicians learn to just not say anything, much to detriment to the people that they’re elected to represent – it’s just not worth the hassle.
Ornelas showed restraint from the dais in his remarks to Doyle, but he was skewering nonetheless. Telling a constituent that this is the last time that you’d be addressing somebody is bound to raise a few eyebrows, and those that are versed in the backstory will look at it as a brash move by a young man who has admitted to being young and brash in the past.
But maybe it isn’t Ornelas’ fault. He’s repeatedly the lone member of that council that lets his voice be heard clearly – there’s nothing to wade through, and nothing sugar-coated comes out of his mouth. Now, when a disagreement does happen, it contrasts sharply with what is essentially a backdrop of muted colors – the need not to upset the apple cart. There’s something to be said about somebody, young or not, that doesn’t give a damn about whether the apple cart topples over or not if it means speaking the truth.
Dancing on that razor’s edge is a delicate thing. I just hope that Ornelas doesn’t cut himself while trying to figure out the proper toe placement because he has a bright future and has grown into a studious and structured public servant.