CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — We understand that many of you may have questions about our recent coverage of the incident involving Councilwoman Sylvia Campos. We’ve heard from you – both in person and online. Stories like this are never easy — not for you, not for the subjects involved, and honestly, not for us as journalists either. We'd like to have a candid conversation about why we felt this story needed to be told.
Let's acknowledge the obvious — this is an uncomfortable topic. We genuinely sympathize with Councilwoman Campos. Health issues and bodily functions are deeply personal matters that nobody wants discussed publicly. If this were simply a private health incident, we wouldn't have reported on it at all.
What transformed this from a private matter into a newsworthy one was its impact on public resources, government operations, and proposed changes to how an elected official interacts with staff. When recommendations are made to limit a councilmember's in-person access to city employees — your representatives in local government — we believe you deserve to know why.
Over the course of reporting this story for the last several weeks, we wrestled with how to describe what happened. Using vague terms like "medical incident" might seem kinder, but in our experience, ambiguity often leads to speculation that can be far more damaging than the truth.
Consider how people might interpret a headline about a "serious medical incident" involving a councilwoman that resulted in damage to city property, staff being affected and recommendations to limit in-person interactions. Without specifics, many might assume the worst – perhaps a mental health crisis or cognitive impairment that could genuinely question her fitness for office. Such speculation could unfairly cast doubt on Councilwoman Campos's ability to serve in ways far more damaging than the actual incident.
We've seen how rumors can spiral when information is incomplete. In communities like ours, partial information often spreads through word of mouth, growing more distorted with each retelling. By providing basic factual context, we aimed to prevent potentially more harmful mischaracterizations while still maintaining appropriate boundaries.
At the same time, we took the following steps not to sensationalize the story:
- We chose not to publish the full report
- We included Councilwoman Campos's perspective prominently
- We respected her characterization of this as a private digestive issue
- We noted where the evidence was limited
As members of this community ourselves, we care deeply about both good governance and treating people with dignity. We believe you deserve honest, contextual information about events affecting your local government. At the same time, we recognize the human impact of our reporting.
We don't take your trust lightly. Our commitment remains to provide you with the information you need as community members and voters, while striving to report with compassion and respect for everyone involved.
This is a difficult balance, and we welcome your thoughts on how we can continue to serve our community with both transparency and kindness.
I can be reached at (361) 654-1645 or at jimbob.breazeale@kristv.com.
