Dan Dow should resign 

I support a diversity of opinions and opportunities to learn from them. What I don't support are people who take an oath of office and then repeatedly and intentionally fail to fulfill the requirements of their office.

Sadly, despite constructive feedback from The Tribune editorial board, me, and others, Mr. Dow has continued to fail to fulfill his oath to fairly apply the law. First, he advocates selective application of the law at a private gathering with his Tea Party base. Shortly thereafter, he appears at a state secessionist rally. Subsequently, in an apparent effort to defend against charges of selective prosecution, his office's investigator gets called out for cajoling a witness to testify falsely about injuries from the civil protests. Most recently, the judge in the Tianna Arata case disqualified not only Mr. Dow but also the entire District Attorney's Office for conflict of interest.

More concerns are on the horizon. The Board of Supervisors recently acted to have the District Attorney (not the independent state Fair Political Practices Commission) determine violations of local campaign practices. How can the community have confidence in Mr. Dow faithfully fulfilling that role when he has such a strong personal political agenda?

Enough is enough. Since Mr. Dow is not honoring his commitment to the entire community, the honorable thing for him to do is resign. As a private citizen, he'd be free to express his personal prejudices. However, such behavior is not consistent with the higher duty of District Attorney.

Don Maruska

Los Osos