There’s a reason we rarely see registered sex offenders running for public office: they lack judgment, they’re unpopular, and they shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near elected positions that the public trusts.
Such realities haven’t deterred Rene Campos, the sex offender running for Fresno City Council.
Campos, who was convicted in 2018 of possessing child abuse material, would do well to drop out of the race — and leave the June 2 election to others.
Instead, he fuels the frenzy and defends his ridiculous bid for a council seat.
On Wednesday, Campos held a news conference near a school and a church, alerting officials at both.
The Diocese of Fresno released a blistering statement that read in part:
“Mr Campos independently and irresponsibly chose the location for the press conference and used the Catholic Church and the school as props in his political theater.”
Meanwhile, potential colleagues and others have worked to block the sex offender’s path to office:
Fresno City Councilman Miguel Arias proposed a city ordinance to ban registered sex offenders from running for council; council chairman Mike Karbassi said he would refuse to seat Campos if voters chose him; and a Merced lawmaker has sponsored statewide legislation to keep sex offenders out of elected office.
In a world with reality checks, none of this would be necessary: Campos’ forties would read the room.
Almost everyone, except Campos himself, seems to realize that he is not qualified to oversee public safety and other core functions in a city of more than half a million people.
We speculate that Campos may have been rehabilitated after the 27 days he spent in jail for his crime, despite repeated poor judgment since his release.
And it’s possible he now sincerely wants to serve his community.
Either way, he should end his quixotic council proposal and accept that sex offenders simply have no place in elected office.
If redemption is his goal, he must find another way.
