Editorial
Yoshimura still not atop credibility index

Jon Yoshimura's political future should not — and will not — be decided by a small unfortunate incident in 1999 in which the councilman was fined for bumping into a parked car and then leaving the scene of the accident.

The event, in and of itself, was of little consequence and has nothing to do with Yoshimura's talents and abilities.

What does come into question, however, is Yoshimura's political common sense. His original story of how that small accident happened was not particularly believable.

And now, in a better-late-than-never moment, Yoshimura has offered up more details and further clarification. He's making progress, but our guess is his public will conclude he's not home yet.

Originally, Yoshimura told reporters that right after work one night, he noticed that he hit something as he was pulling away. At the time, Yoshimura said, he thought it was a light pole so he didn't bother to stop.

But a witness noticed the collision, took down Yoshimura's license number and called police. They showed up at his door and cited him for leaving the scene of an accident. He was fined $35.

It is normally pretty easy to tell the difference between a parked car and a utility pole. Perhaps, some asked, Yoshimura might have been distracted or inattentive because he had been drinking?

At the time, Yoshimura insisted he had not. But yesterday he acknowledged that, well, yes, he had taken just one drink with a colleague before the incident.

Let's hope he doesn't have to revise this story any further. Confession can be good for the soul and for one's political future, but it must be believable.

As President Clinton learned the hard way, dribbling out the true story one version at a time is no way to build political credibility.