If you can’t stand the heat…

Afew days ago, Imperial Irrigation District Division 4 Director Javier González reported on social media that he was the victim of harassment by an Imperial Valley resident. The Calexico native alleges Pete Rodríguez has not only criticized him, but has also gotten into his personal life.

Rodríguez is the same person who shared an image of González sleeping during an IID board meeting. Rodríguez rightly affirms that if any of us were caught in Morpheus’ arms during working hours, any of us would be terminated immediately.

That situation also led the director to defend himself on social media several weeks ago. However, more recently, Gonzalez, who years ago was fired from the city of Calexico amid allegations of sexual harassment, has upped the ante in response to Rodríguez.

González has threatened to file a complaint with Imperial County Sheriff ’s Office for harassment. In addition González has questioned the mental health of his critic.

While there are no doubt circumstances under which a charge of harassing a public official might stick, it doesn’t appear likely this is one of them. First Amendment rights cannot be revoked simply because someone’s feelings get hurt.

For his part, Rodríguez contends his criticism, which has been directed not only toward IID officials but also at other Imperial Valley officials, has been fair. He said the emails received from the director have already been forwarded to both the Imperial County Sheriff ’s Office and the Calexico Police Department.

Rodríguez, who was interviewed by telephone for this column, assured his criticism would continue despite González’s objections.

The resident recalled having criticized IID officials for having increased electricity rates at the local level a few weeks ago, noting that director John Brooks Hamby proposed during his campaign to reduce his salary to $1 in the event an increase in energy rates occurred.

Personally, I think director González has gone too far with his response to the criticism against him. Each and every one of the officials who are elected by the people must take responsibility and be held accountable for their actions. They should prepare themselves from the moment they launch their candidacies to receive harsh criticism, even if it reaches a personal level.

But it seems that in the Imperial Valley, many elected and appointed officials can’t handle criticism leveled against them for their erroneous decisions or for their inaction when it comes to solving problems.

Some time ago, a person close to me asked my opinion on a possible run for a seat on the school board. My opinion was against the candidacy due to ongoing labor unrest, the financial state of the district and potential conflicts with parents over educational standards. All of this would have carried a lot of headaches.

My opinion also goes to anyone who plans to vie for such a position in the future. Those who have thrown their hats in the ring should know that from the start of the campaign they will suffer the onslaught of unfriendly comments from rivals, media and some members of the community.

If you can’t handle criticism, it’s best you stay out of politics. No one escapes an election or serves in office unscathed. This is a lesson Javier González should understand by now.