Give Hernandez a Second Chance

When I left the Los Angeles City Council in 1962 to go to Congress, it took more than two decades before Latinos gained representation on the council once again. During that hiatus, key decisions were made that still adversely impact the communities that Mike Hernandez represents.

We are quick to forgive fallen athletes so long as they can continue to swing the bat or score the touchdown--in short, so long as they are able to continue to do their job. But we are not willing to forgive and support anyone else, even if they continue to do their respective work. While many remain eager to punish Hernandez for his admitted substance abuse by removing him from office, to date they have found nothing that is so out of the ordinary that would imply that he has violated the public’s trust. He never stole money from the city, as audits of his accounts have shown, nor has he compromised his position on key issues.

During his absence, I saw what many others throughout the city saw: his constituents defending him. I think that it would be safe to say, however, that they were not so much defending him because he is a well-liked man or a “nice guy,” but rather they were defending him because of the work that he has done and because his district can’t afford to be without representation on the council.

Today, Hernandez sits as chair of the powerful Community and Economic Development Committee, which controls tens of millions of dollars each year that will make easier the developments of such projects as the Taylor Yard and MacArthur Park. He is a member of the Planning Land Use and Management Committee, also considered one of the most powerful on the council. It should be made clear that if Hernandez is gone, so are those committee posts for his district because any replacement would not be given such key assignments.

We have to ask ourselves who would benefit if Hernandez were to resign or be recalled. It would be his enemies, certainly not the community he has served for the past six years.

I shared the disappointment of many for Mike Hernandez the person when I first heard the reports surrounding his arrest. I suppose it was inevitable that a recall campaign designed to judge the man for something other than the work he was elected to do would emanate from these events. But we have made tremendous gains in the past years, and now is not the time to move backward.

So long as he continues to stay away from alcohol and drugs, as he has promised to do, Hernandez deserves our support and our assistance in finishing his work.

Human nature is a curious thing. Events like these can bring out the best or the worst in people. Some choose to forgive and lend support, others choose to condemn and punish. Most of us are willing to give others a second chance. We should be willing to do the same for Mike.