My Invitation to Vincent Sarmiento’s Fundraiser

This morning I received an email from Vincent Sarmiento’s campaign. He’s running for election in Santa Ana’s third ward, which is where I live. I’ve met the man once. He couldn’t pick me out of a line-up of one. I’ve received now, in the nearly two years since he was appointed to the council, three email messages from him. Each was an invitation to a fundraiser and for each the minimum suggested donation is $249. This latest one is to a fancy restaurant on Santa Ana’s border with Costa Mesa.

Well, I have two problems with this.

First, the subject line of the invitation read “Your Invited!” Yes, that’s correct. “Your.” This is an all too common mistake, one that spell check won’t catch. An attorney should have. Or a good campaign manager. It’s a small, easy grammar school mistake that ought to embarrass a public official asking for money. I’m certain he didn’t send the message himself. I would suggest he monitor his staff more closely.

Second, and more importantly, here’s a sitting council member who has communicated with me — a constituent — only to ask for money. In two years, he has yet to tell me anything he’s done while he’s been in office. From the total lack of communication, I presume his major accomplishment has been to warm the chair he sits in.

In order to set the record straight, I invite Councilmember Sarmiento to educate me on his accomplishments. I am fully prepared to be wrong in my presumption. In truth, I might rather be wrong about his time in office. I would like to know that he has done something — anything — other than host high cost fundraisers during his current term and that my impression is the consequence of that failure to communicate.

Look, I don’t have it in for Sarmiento. The truth is, I want to like him. It’s just that he makes it difficult because he appears to value my money more than he values being my representative. I’m quite willing to support him if he gives me a reason.

Incidentally, the street in front of the restaurant for next week’s fundraiser is very, very seriously in need of repaving. Maybe he’ll notice that on his way in to the event.