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Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2008 | Although the recent drunken antics of La Mesa Mayor Art Madrid have embarrassed him and the city he represents, I can’t help but think the guy who comes out the worst is his former mayoral opponent Craig Maxwell, who reported Madrid’s alcoholic encounter with the local cops to the U-T.
He comes across as a guy who is still grousing about the election loss, and worse, a snitch.
He doesn’t understand why he lost the election in the first place: Madrid’s more likeable.
I live in La Mesa and when I see Madrid, he smiles and shakes my hand. He asks how my family is. When I walk in Mr. Maxwell’s book store, he acts suspicious, cranky and, frankly, not a friendly guy. Oh, and he doesn’t ask about my family.
He kind of reminds me of the smart guy in high school, who couldn’t understand why he lost the student body election to the more popular kids. Here’s a tip: Personality goes a long way. That’s why rogues like Bill Clinton win elections and why smarty-pants Hillary is losing big.
Maybe Maxwell’s better qualified to be mayor. Maybe he’s smarter. Maybe he’s more honest. So what? His prickly personality is ill-suited to the public duties of being a mayor.
Now, add to the fact that he’s a snitch. Guess what, that pretty much guarantees I won’t be voting for you now, even if you’re smarter or a better leader than Madrid.
Let’s play devil’s advocate for a second: Over the years, it’s theoretically possible that Madrid may have taken advantage of his office to benefit his cronies and friends. Still, I have no doubt that Maxwell had been the one caught sitting curbside in a pool of his own vomit, Madrid would’ve tattled about it to the local paper.
I’m sure Madrid will pay a price for his reckless consumption of booze and Maxwell will temporarily smugly clasp his hands in joy because of it. However, in coming weeks and months, he will probably lose friends and respect in the community for violating the most basic law of human interaction: Don’t be a tattletale.