Editorial

At first blush, it doesn’t seem like much.

A bad signature here, a questionable one there. So what, right?

Costa Mesa Councilman Chris Steel received the most votes of any City

Council candidate in November, and anything that would deprive the

electorate of its man in office is mere political trickery, right?

Well, we’re not so sure.

We must admit we were surprised that Steel’s alleged misdoing on his

City Council nomination papers turned into full-fledged felony filings by

the Orange County district attorney.

And we certainly are not ready to say his alleged crimes rise to the

point that he should be stripped of his seat in office. That’s a matter

for the courts.

But we have two words for those who say he should not be prosecuted at

all: the law.

To those who are crying foul, we say it’s too late to question the law

after the fact.

Sure, we know many of you aren’t lying asleep at night worrying about

whether or not someone is doctoring nomination papers. We’re not either.

There are much more serious crimes and problems to fret about.

But the law is the law. And the law needs to have teeth. And the law

in this case says that faced with the penalty of perjury, candidates for

public office should only sign a legal election document that they know

contains valid information.

If Steel broke the law, he suddenly can’t be above it, even if he

happens to be a popular councilman. Steel himself, we believe, would

acknowledge that.

Additionally, as his supporters contend, measuring whether he

“intended” to break the law is irrelevant.

If someone runs a red light and tragically crashes into another car

and injures someone, he or she will face the full brunt of the law.

Obviously, it was not his or her intent to hurt someone, but the law

calls for reckless actions to be dealt with anyway.

The law is there for a reason. And unless we are all ready to decide

that the law doesn’t need to exist, we need and expect authorities to

enforce it.

In fact, Steel expects that too. That’s been a hallmark of his

multiple candidacies and now his tenure in office, that existing laws

need to be enforced to better stem the tide of illegal immigration.

So we urge all to let this drama play out before casting judgment.

Chris Steel will get his day in court and be able to make his case. And

one way or another, justice will be done.

That’s just the law.