The arrest of Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo for driving her car while intoxicated and crashing into two parked vehicles in the El Sereno neighborhood leads us to think about whether she still has possibilities in her campaign for the Los Angeles Council for District 14 on next year
There are those who claim that they were buried because they lost moral stature with their arrest. To this we must add that she was already having problems raising funds for her campaign.
Carrillo’s political career has not been without problems, in 2020 she was involved in accusations of sexual harassment, to the extent that the then leader of the Assembly, Anthony Rendón, gave her a good reprimand.
It is unofficially known that the assemblywoman was leaving the birthday party of California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, which was turned into a fundraising event to benefit Congresswoman Linda Sánchez and Senator Lena González. A celebration that apparently lasted until late into the night.
The commissioner, whose job is to keep insurance rates low, should be careful because throwing parties where people drink too much and then drive with the risk of accidents increases rates for all of us.
The least important thing about this incident is that Wendy’s political career is stained or ended, but rather that it could have cost her and other innocent people their lives. And who knows how many times she had driven in an inconvenient condition. I hope you learn a lesson from her.
But politicians should also learn not to spit up because it could fall on them. Not long ago the legislator referred to herself as someone who would never embarrass the Latino community and said that the community had to be respected.
For now, there are those who are already asking him to resign from his campaign to be a Los Angeles councilman, including his position as an assemblyman.
It’s not the only one
Political power and alcohol are not good company when it comes to getting behind the wheel, and you know, much more is always expected from politicians than from ordinary mortals.
In May, Irvine Democratic Senator Dave Min, who is campaigning for Congress, was arrested in Sacramento for driving under the influence of nearly twice the legal limit. He could barely speak, his eyes were red, and the strong smell of alcohol that emanated from him almost knocked out the agents who arrested him.
In July, Riverside Democratic Councilwoman and Assembly candidate Clarissa Cervantes was also arrested for driving under the influence. It was her second DUI offense in eight years, and you won’t believe it, but two weeks earlier, she had her first misdemeanor dismissed and she had vowed to never make the same mistake again.
This Christmas, the best gift you can give a politician is an Uber or Lyft card so that if they drink, they don’t drive.
Although Democrats have been involved in DUI cases in recent years, we never forget that in 2010, Bakersfield Republican Senator Roy Ashburn was arrested for drunk driving in Sacramento while leaving a gay club.
The incident forced him to have to come out of the closet and publicly accept that he was gay at over 60 years old, which was extremely embarrassing not because he confessed his preferences but because he always voted against bills in favor of gays and lesbians. .