My colleague R. Scott Moxley loves to paint an aura of homoeroticism around Orange County Register columnist Gordon Dillow whenever the crank writes about men in uniform, but the Dillow-nator (as former Weekly managing editor Matt Coker loved to call him) also has a hard-on for Know Nothings. Yet nothing Dillow has ever published will ever compare to the spilled load that was today's piece on deposed Anaheim Union High School District trustee Harald Martin. Martin, you may recall, was appointed by AUHSD trustees to fill a vacancy this summer but resigned last week in the face of a pitchfork-and-torch-wielding recall effort. Harald–who previously, controversially served from 1994 through 2002–vows to run again. In the meanwhile, however, Martin told his side of the recall to Dillow–not a big shock. But, wait–there's more after the jump…
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Martin describes himself as a martyr for the anti-immigrant cause, telling Dillow, “I've been out there pushing for a long time. When you do that, eventually they're going to get you. And I got got.” (Wonder why Martin didn't compare himself to the Zapatistas again?). Dillow quickly follows Harald's cue and tells readers that Martin's enemies are “community activists who have long hated Martin – “hate” is not too strong a word – for his stands against illegal immigration.”
No, Gordo: folks hate Martin because the guy is a grandstanding, arrogant bigot with illusions of grandeur and a bad goatee. Folks hate the cronyism that allowed Martin to sneak back onto the board, his campaign against the students that he's suppose to care for, the hatred of diversity, the comparison of illegal immigrants to Osama bin Laden.
Then Dillow commits his greatest sin: he allows Martin to finally apologize for telling a reporter in 1999 that a 13-year-old AUHSD student was culpable for her molestation at the hands of a teacher. “[Martin] now calls that comment 'dumb' and 'stupid' and 'my greatest error,” Gordo solemnly reports.
Funny, Martin's apology. He never did during his years on the board, according to former AUHSD trustee (and current County Board of Education trustee) Alexandria Coronado. Indeed, when community members asked Martin in 1999 to apologize during a school board meeting, Martin refused and even tried to justify his blame game. “I stand by my words, and no amount of your unsubstantiated vitriolic rhetoric will change it,” he told a community activist. “Your actions are nothing less than those of a politically correct terrorist with a mailing list.” Dillow makes no mention of this, of course.
Why the Martin apology now, you ask, eight long years after the fact? As we said earlier, Martin wants to run again, whether if it's in a special election held in the coming months because of his resignation or in the 2008 general election. As the Weekly previously revealed, Martin is trying to scrub his sordid past clean in an effort to make himself palatable to AUHSD parents. He never apologized before because there was nothing to gain, which makes his current mea culpa sick–and Dillow's willing, panting, lapdog support even sicker.
