The father of a fallen Selma police officer is calling on Mayor Scott Robertson to stop using his name in his reelection campaign.
Gonzalo Carrasco Sr. sent a letter to Robertson on Monday asking him to remove all reference to his son, Gonzalo Carrasco Jr., who was shot and killed on duty on January 31, 2023.
Driving the news: Robertson put up campaign signs for his reelection bid featuring a picture of him with Gonzalo Carrasco Sr. at a memorial for Carrasco Jr.
- The signs said Robertson was proudly endorsed by Carrasco Sr.
The big picture: The Selma Police Officers Association sent out a press release saying Robertson lied about being endorsed by Carrasco Sr.
- The release included the letter Carrasco Sr. Sent to Robertson on Monday, asking Robertson to “please immediately stop using the memory” of his son for his political campaign.
- “My family continues to grieve,” the letter reads. “When we spoke, I did not know that you were recording my emotional response for future political use. I did not know that you planned to use the photo we took in front of my son’s memorial for your political campaign. I did not know that you were going to use my family’s grief to garner political support.”
- The letter continues, “Let me be very clear – neither myself, nor any member of my family endorses your candidacy or anyone else’s We are not political, and this is not about politics. This is about doing what is right and honoring the memory of my son.”
Robertson’s response: Robertson sent an email to Carrasco Sr. asking him to tell him in person if he wants the signs taken down.
- “I mean no disrespect to you, but I received the clear endorsement from Mr. Gonzalo Carrasco Sr. in person not via an email on September 23, 2024,” Robertson wrote. “If he wishes to retract his endorsement of my candidacy for Mayor of Selma I would like to hear this from him in person just as I received his endorsement in person witnessed by my wife Rose Robertson and sister in law Sarah Guerra.”
- Robertson wrote that he has left a message for Carrasco Sr. asking him to come to his office, adding that he will take the signs down without hesitation if Carrasco Sr. wants.
- “Please not all of his words on the campaign video were his own,” Robertson wrote. “He received no coaching or words from Rose, Sarah or me. Those words came from his heart, and I was immensely proud to receive them as I stated on the video.”
State of play: Carrasco Sr.s’ daughter Alma Ordaz plans to speak at the Selma City Council meeting on Oct. 7 to ask Robertson to stop using her brother’s memory, according to the Selma Police Officers Association.
- But Robertson didn’t wait for next week, announcing in an Instagram video that he is taking down the signs featuring him with Carrasco Sr. out of respect for the family.
- Further, Robertson said in a statement to McClatchy the issue surrounding Carrasco Sr.’s endorsement lies at the feet of the Selma Police Officers Association, which has endorsed his opponent Louis Franco.
- “The Selma Police Officers Association, which has previously endorsed my opponent in the Selma Mayor race, is obviously attempting to make a political issue out of this concern raised,” said in the statement. “I am willing to meet in person with any members of the Carrasco family to discuss their concerns at any time.”
