COMMUNITY COMMENTARY -- Ila Johnson

As more facts emerge regarding school trustee Jim Ferryman’s arrest

[on suspicion of] driving under the influence (“Ferryman test registers

twice the legal limit,” Tuesday), it becomes increasingly clear that he

needs to acknowledge that the right thing to do is to step down as

trustee of Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The idea that he can

continue is ludicrous. He made a conscious decision to drink and drive.

Calling it a “mistake” that can be mitigated by his past public service

is nonsense in light of evidence that he was driving with a blood alcohol

content more than double the legal limit.

Driving with a blood alcohol content of twice the legal limit is not

only a reprehensible crime, it is morally contemptible. Characterizing it

as a “mistake” is simply verbal engineering that attempts to downplay the

serious ramifications of the action. If guilty, and Ferryman has as much

as admitted guilt, he displayed a wanton disregard for the safety and

rights of others.

What is more, this wasn’t his first mistake; he has a prior offense.

One would have to wonder if he pledged way back then that “this will

never happen again.” How many times has it actually happened since, when

he did not have the misfortune of getting caught?

Unfortunately, society is very tolerant of drunk driving, or should I

say sympathetic? Sympathetic, that is until a loved one is killed or

maimed by a drunk driver. If Ferryman’s friends and supporters or their

loved ones had been victims of his “mistake,” would they be so

sympathetic? Why are we so sympathetic of driving drunk? Does it hit too

close to home, too close for comfort? Or is it simply a case of misplaced

compassion? May I suggest that it is false compassion that fails to hold

others fully accountable for their actions, particularly actions that can

harm others. True compassion helps the person take the personal

responsibility needed to effect change. What is really needed here is

neither tolerance nor sympathy, but a healthy dose of public outrage.

If guilty, Ferryman’s disregard for the safety of others placed

everyone around him in harm’s way. For an elected official, it is a

breach of public trust. Those are strong words, and I don’t say them

lightly. But public officials, especially those whose sound judgment we

rely upon to make good decisions and set an example for schoolchildren,

must be held to a higher standard. The sooner he faces up to it the

better, not only for the community, the school district, his family, but

for him.

One reader asserts that “public embarrassment is punishment enough”

(Letter to the Editor, Community Forum, Oct. 11). No, if found guilty,

the court will determine the appropriate punishment allowed by law. For

his part, Ferryman should show true remorse, rather than the self pity

thus far exhibited, and acknowledge that the right thing to do is to

pursue all three possible courses of action suggested by the Pilot:

apologize (expressing regret is not actually an apology; of course he

regrets his action, he got caught), promise to make amends, and resign as

trustee of the school district. And that is not punishment; it is simply

what responsible leaders do when their actions compromise their ability

to lead effectively.

* ILA JOHNSON is a Costa Mesa resident who ran for a seat on the

school board in November.