Share and Follow
A coalition of progressive lawyers has pledged to provide legal support for a controversial candidate intending to run for a city council position in California.
Rene Campos, who is listed as a registered sex offender, has officially declared his candidacy for the District 7 seat on the Fresno City Council.
Campos is urging voters to look past his criminal history, which involves charges related to possessing child sexual abuse materials.
In response to his candidacy, some Fresno City Council members have expressed their intention to propose a local ordinance that would bar registered sex offenders from holding public office positions.
Furthermore, California Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria has announced plans to amend Assembly Bill 2753. The proposed amendment aims to include provisions that would prevent any registered sex offender in California from running for local or state public office.
There is currently no law in the state that prohibits registered sex offenders from running for any local or state public offices.
Attorney Janice Bellucci, executive director for the Sacramento-based non-profit Alliance for Constitutional Sex Offense Laws Inc.(ACSCOL) said her group is willing to fight for Campos because they believe if action is taken against him it would violate the state constitution.
“We are here as an organization to support people like him who’re required to register and whose rights could be violated,” Bellucci told The California Post.
“We believe he has the right to run for city council and our mission is in fact to protect the rights for him to run.”
“When it comes to people who have been convicted of their offense and they have paid their debt to society by going to jail or prison by completing their treatment and therefore they do not pose a current risk of reoffense,” she added. “And therefore they do not currently pose a danger to anyone.”
Her group is “dedicated to protecting the Constitution by restoring the civil rights of people listed on the public registries and their families. In order to achieve that objective, ACSOL will educate and litigate as well as support or oppose legislation.”
At this point, neither the city council or Soria have taken action, but Bellucci said, regardless of the city passing an ordinance or Soria, once they do, her group will engage and challenge it in court.
Bellucci stressed that she’s not his attorney, and as an organization – with five attorneys on the board of directors – she said they are providing Campos with guidance.
She admitted it is unusual for a registered sex offender to run for public office and explained why it’s something we don’t typically see.
“Why is that? Most people on the registry spend their lives under the radar. They are afraid that if they do something they will be bullied,” Bellucci said. “Because every single person on the registry is afraid of vigilante violence from people in the community.”
“The public in general are increasing the chances of vigilante violence [against Campos], and the hateful things they are saying.”
She added, “I think that the citizens of Fresno should feel ashamed of themselves for bullying somebody like Mr. Campos.”
Last week. an elementary school in Fresno filed a police report after Campos held a press conference just steps away from a school.
Until 2015, under Jessica’s Law, California prohibited registered sex offenders from living within 2,000ft of any school or park in the state.
Fresno Councilmember Annalisa Perea said she was “deeply troubled” by Campos’s decision.
“Leadership requires sound judgment, respect for the law, and an unwavering commitment to protecting our community. When someone seeking office demonstrates the opposite, we have a duty to speak out with a clear message: those who have committed serious offenses against our children and continue to disregard legal boundaries should not be placed in positions of public authority,” Perea told the Fresno Bee.
Bellucci said Campos did nothing wrong and that there’s no state law that prohibits him from being across the school.
“It was perfectly legal for him to be across the street from the school. There is a law, one state law, that a person who is on the registry can’t be on campus. He’s across the street, not on campus,” the attorney said.
She said that people are “acting based on their emotions,” pointing out that Campos was convicted in 2018 for a “non-violent, non-contact offense” misdemeanor.
As of Thursday morning, Campos has yet to officially file to have his name on the ballot. He has until Friday March 6 to do so.
The election will be held on June 2.