Opinion: O’Hara still doesn’t get it

In his latest opinion piece, “Encinitas leadership is showing up when it counts,” Deputy Mayor Jim O’Hara lectures Encinitas about what real leadership looks like. He praises himself and his colleagues for showing up, facing difficult conversations and ultimately voting unanimously to support protections for immigrant families.

What he conveniently leaves out is that he began that very meeting by attempting to remove the item from the agenda altogether, dismissing it as a “political stunt.”

For nearly 15 months, our entirely volunteer-led nonprofit, Encinitas4Equality, in conjunction with grassroots organizations, has supported 42 local families affected by immigration enforcement and detention. Seven of those families have experienced a detention in just the last two and a half weeks.

Seven families. Two and a half weeks.

Children separated from parents. Spouses struggling to pay rent. Families living in fear of what tomorrow might bring.

That is why we were there Wednesday night. Not for a political stunt. Not for an election. And certainly not to provide political ammunition for anyone on the City Council.

Yet less than 48 hours later, O’Hara managed to turn an evening centered on families experiencing unimaginable trauma into another political attack on candidates running for office.

Of course he wanted the candidates there. Their presence would have given him another opportunity to focus on politics rather than the families whose lives are being torn apart.

And that is precisely why he continues to miss the point.

This was never about the candidates. It was never about the council members. It was never about who gets credit or who gets elected.

It was about the families.

The families represented by empty shoes at our Día de los Muertos ofrenda. The families represented by candles held throughout the council meeting. The families terrified to leave their homes, take their children to school or go to work.

O’Hara writes about the courage it takes to sit through difficult conversations. But sitting in a chair you were elected to occupy is not an extraordinary act of leadership. It is the bare minimum of the job.

Let’s be clear about what happened Wednesday.

O’Hara attempted to remove Councilmember Joy Lyndes’ item from the agenda. He questioned what it would accomplish and expressed opposition. Even as his colleagues began expressing support, he continued searching for reasons to undermine it.

Then, when it became clear the council would move forward, he voted yes.

And now he has written an opinion piece congratulating himself for that vote.

That is not courageous leadership. That is political cowardice dressed up as statesmanship.

Leadership would have meant standing alongside the council member who had the courage to bring the issue forward, rather than attempting to silence the discussion before it began.

I am grateful the council ultimately voted unanimously. I have acknowledged council members who demonstrated compassion and courage, including those with whom I frequently disagree.

But a unanimous vote does not erase the conduct that preceded it.

For those of us doing this work every day, this is not an abstract policy debate. We know these families. We help pay their rent, put food on their tables and connect them with legal assistance. We witness the fear, grief and uncertainty that immigration enforcement has brought into our neighborhoods.

We don’t have the luxury of treating their suffering as a campaign strategy.

Jim O’Hara says leadership is about showing up when it counts.

I agree.

But showing up means more than occupying a council seat, casting a vote and writing an opinion piece afterward.

It means having the courage to do the right thing before you know whether your colleagues will join you. And it means understanding that sometimes leadership requires stepping out of the spotlight so the people who actually need help can be seen.

The families are not props in your political theater, Jim. They are our neighbors.

And until you understand that distinction, you will continue confusing political performance with genuine leadership.

Mali Woods-Drake
Carlsbad