Sweetwater Union High School District board member John McCann this week declared his candidacy for a seat on the Chula Vista City Council.
I’ve had a couple days to digest and process that little tidbit of political fodder.’
Now that my initial surprise, frustration and amusement have worn off, I’m left, simply, with intrigue.
Yes, I’m getting ahead of myself in imagining McCann’s victory over his opponents. Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder which John McCann voters will get if he’s put back on the council.
Will it be John McCann the unindicted decider who proposed a special election to fill a board vacancy despite the $1 million price tag? But who, along with his colleagues, ultimately dropped the ball by not following through and pushing for a full vote on the issue once they were all convened?
Might it be John McCann crusading sign saver, the same man who called police to report theft of his aged campaign sign when someone removed it from its public perch and brought it to a school board meeting, subsequently placing it in their car?
Or will it be John McCann the gag man, the public official who enlists the help of attorneys to send cease and desist letters to constituents who write unflattering letters to the editor that are published in a local newspaper as he did while on the board?
Could it be John McCann litigator not fighter, given that he’d rather go to a judge asking for a temporary restraining order — against a man who threatened to knock him out after refusing to shake hands — rather than simply walking away (a different judge later refused to grant a permanent injunction).
Or will voters get John McCann cinematographer, the man who from his seat on stage videotaped an angry public during a school board meeting in a high school gymnasium?
Or it could very well be John McCann defender of American veterans, if one were to recall that other day in a high school gymnasium when he characterized a critic’s public comments as anti-American and anti-veteran because the teacher accused McCann of using the school board as a stepping stone in a run for Chula Vista mayor. (Turns out the office was wrong, the sentiment was right.)
I’d like to say it’s McCann policy maker but that would be a challenge. It’s not that McCann isn’t a nice man or doesn’t have interesting ideas, but all too often those don’t immediately — or easily — come to mind because of the distractions he creates and immerses himself in.
Which McCann will it be?
For now it’ll be McCann the enigma.
CLARIFICATION:
In a previous version of this story it was written “the judge tossed that request out quicker than a fat kid tosses out diet Twinkies.”
A judge granted McCann’s request for a temporary restraining order but later a different judge refused to grant a permanent injunction.
