The registered sex offender who launched a long-shot bid for Fresno City Council moved to make his controversial run for office official on Friday — despite sparking widespread outrage because of his twisted past.
Rene Campos took the oath of officeand requested his candidacy paperwork for a place on the ballot for District 7, Fresno County Clerk and Registrar of Voters James Kus told The California Post.
However, Campos had yet to turn in the 20 signatures needed to officially get on the ballot as of late afternoon.
The sex offender released a statement that he took the oath, but he did not comment on the signatures.
“For transparency, I’ve completed the oath and am finishing the remaining paperwork now to place my name on the ballot. Thank you,”the statement to KMPH read.
Kus clarified that every candidate must take the oath of office first as a part of the nomination filing.
In a second statement, Campos bizarrely invoked the Constitution to justify his controversial run.
“I took the oath today, and it was a powerful moment. That oath is not about a headline or a label — it’s about the Constitution and the promise that in this country we don’t decide who belongs and who doesn’t,” the statement read.
“If I’m ever entrusted with office, I will uphold that oath with everything in me. Because the Constitution isn’t meant to protect the popular — it’s meant to protect everyone. Today, it may be me. Tomorrow it could be you. And yesterday, it was someone else. That’s exactly why that oath matters.”
Reports suggested Friday that Campos had also officially filed the papers; however, the county clerk’s office told The Post that Campos “had not filed any candidate documents with my office.”
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
