Anybody who has met Aaron Resendez can attest to his aura of sincerity and old-school charm. A longtime community leader who has dedicated his life to the East Side, this is a guy who, during his unsuccessful run for a District 5 council seat in June, visited the ill father of competitor Magdalena Carrasco in the hospital, just to say ‘hi’ and offer support. What a decent dude.
That may be why Resendez is so worked up about that public spat he had with Ryan Ford out in front of San Jose City Hall back in May. Resendez, who recently pulled papers to run for the Alum Rock School Board next fall, spoke at last week’s packed Rules Committee meeting. He was there to, once again, rebuke Ford—councilmember Nora Campos’ Chief of Staff—for going sideways on him in public on May 21.
Ford was annoyed that Resendez, in a campaign mailer, mentioned a 2002 award he had received from Campos’ office. Ford saw it as a cheap shot, since Resendez’s opponent in the race was Xavier Campos, Nora’s brother.
Following a City Hall press conference, Ford strode up to Resendez and got in his face. (Part of the incident was caught by a camera phone and has since been uploaded to YouTube.) Shortly thereafter, Resendez sent out an open letter asking for a public apology from Campos for “Mr. Ford’s insulting and disrespectful behavior.”
He has yet to get an apology; that’s why Resendez decided to bring the matter directly to the city council. (Or could it be to drum up publicity for his upcoming school district run? Nah.)
Ford, who had been mum on the incident, spoke on the record at last Wednesday’s meeting, stating that he was just defending his boss, and insisting that he has always conducted himself with “professionalism and respect toward others.”
After they spoke, Mayor Chuck Reed said he wasn’t aware there was a video of the Ford/Resendez fight. He asked City Attorney Richard Doyle to find the video and refer the matter to Campos’ office, and then report back to him on what was being done.
This guy is about to win the Disalvo award for useless school board candidates.
I support Aaron Resendez.
Ryan Ford and Company are ethically challenged. If you are normal person, they will make your skin crawl.
Aaron may appear to be a nice man but has a history of getting into the verbal smack downs with people in public even the police. He would serve the east side best by not entering politics. Not that our elected leaders are all that qualified but that guy has no business even thinking running for office.
Most of our political leaders, which is to say virtually all of them, are interchangeable little Yuppie drones who wouldn’t say “shit” if they had a mouthful. Its good to have different sorts of people in office, and a guy who stands up to authority figures, maybe even to the extent of being a bit of a hothead, sounds like a fine addition to the ranks of our local “public servants.”