DEAR EDITOR:

The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force has been busy raiding and shutting down illegal “explicit” service spas and foot spas. Some of which have been raided on more than one occasion.

Trumbull County Commissioner and former Township Trustee Rick Hernandez was a “landlord” to one of these “explicit foot spas” that was raided TWICE.

Newly released official police reports and body-cam footage from the FIRST raid, posted all over social media, proves he has not only lied to news outlets but also to the residents of his hometown and Trumbull County. Every single claim and excuse he has made is in complete contradiction to the body-camera footage.

It has been stated by some that he has rights. I will agree that he does have rights.

The right to be honest; the right to do the right thing; the right to not collect rent money from a woman charged with prostitution; the right to help those women; the right to not allow them to live in his commercial building (not in compliance with zoning). He had and has the right to be a good and decent human.

He LOST all his rights after he failed to do the right thing after the FIRST raid. He continued to PUBLICLY say there was no proof or evidence of any illegal activity, the business would reopen soon (the one time he actually did speak the truth about any of this).

Sadly, more voters than not fell for his well-rehearsed antics. Many people voted “R” down the line without knowing the real truth, believing his lies and feeling sorry for him. We are stuck with him — a proven liar with no respect for women at all, as we can hear on the body-cam footage. This is the type of person sitting in a Trumbull County Commissioners seat running our county.

Unfortunately, I am restricted on how many words I can write in this letter to the editor.

So, I encourage everyone to watch the body cam, read the police reports, watch the videos he has posted. See the FACTS for yourself.

Rick Hernandez not only failed Hubbard City, Hubbard Township, and neighboring businesses, but he has failed Trumbull County in the grossest way possible!!!

This man needs to be removed from office. This man needs charges pressed against him for being complicit and making money from ILLEGAL activities.

PAULA STANISH

Hubbard