The Real Issue About Councilman Perry

By now, you’ve heard that District 10 City Councilman Clayton Perry was found in his backyard Sunday night, dazed and smelling of alcohol according to numerous outlets, including KTSA News.

His vehicle was still running in the driveway, and in this bodycam video, he is unable or unwilling to answer questions, including whether or not he left the scene of an accident, as reported by witnesses.

City Council will vote on his continued membership, but only Clayton Perry can decide his future.

This is painful and personal for me because I have hosted him on our show numerous times, including just a couple of weeks ago. He has always been a genial gentleman who took and articulated principled positions on the issues.

My email this week has run the gamut, from “keep that guy off your show” to “lock him up” to various insinuations about his politics or mine. I don’t think he’ll be worrying about radio hits for a while. I will certainly not turn my back on someone just because they fell down. There’s no excuse for what we see on that video, but there should be no pleasure taken in it, either.

Personal demons? Every one of us has a struggle others can’t see.

What I am seeing here is someone in a crisis, someone who needs help. I’m much less interested in the politics and much more interested in the human being.  The issue is his survival. He needs to concentrate on getting help and making amends, not on a political career, as much as I valued his service. Thank God he didn’t kill himself or someone else if he was driving like that. I’ve said before, I think there’s probably way more impaired driving than any statistic shows.

I hope and pray he is able to face his demons, and I would feel the same about anyone struggling with drink or drug.