COMMENTARY: With the elections behind us, my family and I would like to thank the many citizens of Las Cruces for their faith, trust and support of my candidacy. As I have always said, the best people in America live in Las Cruces!
Courtesy photo
Ken Miyagishima
I would also like to congratulate and compliment all of the candidates who participated in the Nov. 3 municipal elections. Although some may feel holding public office is a thankless job, I believe that one of the most rewarding things we can do is be of service to our community.
It is not always easy to place yourself in the eye of the public, but those are the challenges when a person runs for office. During the final days of the most recent campaign, attack materials were sent out through several channels of communication. One flyer contained a November 1993 incident report of my then-wife and me.
I realize that the position I hold within the community demands accountability, honesty and integrity. First let me say that the allegations are untrue. The incident report was made during a time my then-wife and I were moving toward a divorce. She had been led to believe that I had been unfaithful to her during the marriage, and we eventually divorced in 1994.
After a year, she realized that I had not been having a relationship outside the marriage. She asked me to come back, reconcile, and put our family back together. We started seeing each other again in 1995 and remarried in 1997. We enjoyed raising our daughter, but unfortunately this marriage lasted only four more years.
This 1993 incident was well-known at the time, and successive editorial boards at the local newspapers have, over the past 22 years, reviewed the record and found there was no reason to continue to report on it.
It remains only as a topic for ugly attacks by those who are indifferent to the effect of their actions on me, my family, and on our city as a whole.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this information.