This afternoon, NOWCastSA is webcasting the Bexar County Democrats' trial hearing to consider removing party chairman Dan Ramos on charges of misconduct and neglect of duty in office. You can watch the live stream below or watch the archive footage after its conclusion.
The Bexar County Democratic Party Executive Committee elected a trial committee of precinct chairs to hear and consider the evidence as presented in documents, audio and video recordings, according to a resolution by the executive committee. The chair of the trial committee will manage the questioning of the witnesses by the defense and the trial managers.
Update: As noted in the comments and reported by NowcastSA.com, the committee found Dan Ramos guilty of misconduct and neglect of duty. The full County Executive Committee of Precinct Chairs will hold a vote to remove Ramos based upon the findings on May 3rd. It is expected that Chairman Ramos will file an injunction to prevent the CEC from removing him and the case will end up in court to determine if they have the authority and cause to remove him.
As the weekend progressed more people and elected officials have called for Bexar County Democratic Chair Dan Ramos to resign immediately. To date the list includes:
US Congressman Charlie Gonzalez
State Chair Boyd Richie
State Vice-Chair Lenora Sorola-Pohlman
State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte
State Rep. Joaquin Castro
State Rep. Mike Villarreal
Mayor Julian Castro
Texas Young Democrats
There have been several other organizations and clubs who have also issued calls for his resignation that I may have missed. The San Antonio Express-News has also called for his resignation.
Yet Ramos remains in office and refuses to resign.
In a blog entry in the San Antonio Current posted today the audio of the interview with Ramos is posted with even more disturbing statements regarding African-Americans. In this day and age it's amazing that someone who was elected as chair of a county's Democratic organization would even utter such words. Our party is inclusive and fights for the civil rights of all. Yet Ramos seems to believe counter to the ideas of the Democratic Party.
Mostly likely the matter of his tenure in office will come up at a meeting of the CEC schedule for April 5th at 6:30 p.m. at Luby's Cafeteria, 911 N Main. It is important that precinct chairs attend this meeting to help resolve the issue of his office.
Hopefully this matter can be resolved quickly so the Bexar County Democratic Party can move forward, resolve the issue of the debt, and starting building a strong organization in preparation for the 2012 election.
In a cordially worded letter Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) called on Bexar County Democratic Party chair Dan Ramos to resign today. As Van de Putte noted "Inclusiveness, and respect for diversity, are Democratic values which we should all take very seriously."
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I thank you for your service to the Bexar County Democratic Party. However, because of our serious concerns due to recent public comments made by you, it has become clear that now is the time for you to resign your office.
Doing so will enable you to turn your full attentions to your precarious health situation, and enable the Bexar County Democratic Party to move forward in unity, fully-focused on our objective of energizing a growing Democratic base, and electing Democratic nominees.
I do not make this request lightly - Bexar County Democrats voted for you as County Chairman, and I deeply respect those voters.
I am equally convinced, however, that when Bexar County Democrats selected you to chair the Party, they were unaware that you would subsequently make the public outbursts you have recently made, and they could not have known the divisiveness your positions would cause. Additionally, voters could not have been aware that you would be a chairman who opts against an open Party process, and who fails to call County Executive Committee meetings in accordance with the rules of the Texas Democratic Party. Indeed, behavior such as yours has even prompted the proposed H.B. 2752.
Inclusiveness, and respect for diversity, are Democratic values which we should all take very seriously. For a County Democratic Chairman to turn his back on these principles is an embarrassment, an insult to valued members of the larger Democratic coalition, and a distraction which only serves to move us backward, not ahead. Comments such as yours have only served to anger and insult many activists and voters, making the chief duty of any county Party Chairman - growing the Party - an impossibility for you to achieve as long as you remain the Chair.
Make no mistake - the divisiveness you have caused is no simple family squabble, which we Democrats often have, and even at times relish. Rather, your behavior has caused irreparable harm, from which it is already too late for any future attempt at atonement on your part to repair.
For these reasons, and with great regret, I respectfully but firmly ask for your immediate resignation as Bexar County Democratic Chairman.
Sincerely,
Leticia Van de Putte
County chairs and organizations across the state, including Harris Couty, have also denounced Ramos' statements and actions. The Northeast Bexar County Democrats, a local Democratic organization, has created an online petition people can sign calling on his resignation.
The Dallas Voice reported that State Chairman Boyd Richie felt that Ramos possibly was in need of mental health services. "If this had only happened one time and he had made a sincere apology, then I might feel differently. But after having had the opportunity to do that, he's only exacerbated the situaion and made it worse. In my humble opinion, Mr. Ramos is in desperate need of mental health services," said Richie.
It is unfortunate that the news from Bexar County seems to only be focused on this individual who does not represent the values of Bexar County Democrats but we seem to have our own siege mentality occurring here. Ramos stands nothing to lose and shows no signs of resigning while the business of the county organization are almost at a standstill.
(You'll be hearing more from Randy (and others) soon, but this is timely and important. I think all of us here at BOR agree that this type of language from a Democratic County Party chair is unacceptable. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
The Democratic Party of Bexar County seems to always be in the news these days, much more than its counterpart. Granted you might expect the news to relate to the infamous shellacking Pres. Obama characterized after the 2010 election. Instead it's more about the administrative and management aspects of the party, primarily as it relates to it's chairman, Dan Ramos. So is there an end in sight to this mess? Maybe if you consider Ramos' latest meltdown after an interview with the San Antonio Current but with Ramos continuing a defiant hold on office, much like Col. Gaddafi of Libya, we could be in for a long summer.
In an interview with the San Antonio Current Ramos essentially slammed everyone except his little contingent of westside neighborhood activists. In quoted statements Ramos disparaged the LGBT community, specifically the Stonewall Democrats, and Blacks in profanity laced language. "I liken [Stonewall Democrats] to the Tea Party - the Tea Party and the f***ing Nazi Party - because they're 90 percent white, blue-eyed, and Anglo, and I don't give a s*** who knows that," said Ramos in the interview.
So far several have called for Ramos to step down, including state party chair Boyd Richie. Even with Richie's demands Ramos continues to remain defiant and refuses to relinquish the seat he was elected to in March of last year. In an article in the Express-News Richie's statement said "I will not dignify Mr. Ramos' most recent outburst by restating it, but I will make it clear that the bigoted attitudes he expressed are totally contrary to the beliefs and declarations of the Texas Democratic Party."
This is not the first time Ramos has gone contrary to the local party. Shortly after being elected Ramos decided to appoint people to empty precinct chair positions, essentially what would have led to stacking the deck on the CEC in his favor. I wrote about that situation last May and the issues I saw then. "It's really a time to see if Ramos has the leadership skills for this organization or wants to regress the organization. One action, simple as it may sound, will define his and the organization's future," I said back in May.
Now it looks like not only does Ramos not have the leadership skills to effectively manage the county organization, he seems bent on destroying it as quickly as he can. Several have looked at this lack of leadership and called for Ramos to step down including an editorial in today's Express-News, citing his language and attitudes associated with the SA Current article. "Those comments and his failure to retract them demonstrate his unsuitability to hold any position of leadership," said the editorial.
In a letter today to Bexar County Democrats Chairman Richie re-emphasized the state organization's commitment to help move the county organization forward and create a more meaningful dialogue. "Not only does spiteful and bigoted rhetoric have no place in the Democratic Party, it is in direct conflict with the core principles that define the Democratic Party," said Richie in the letter.
In a normal world Ramos' public comments would be grounds for termination by the organization. Those kind of hateful and spiteful actions would not be tolerated regardless of the organization's political leaning. It's just not who we are as Americans. Well maybe it is if you're a bigoted, racist extremist who really has no desire to constructively work with others. The problem is that Ramos doesn't seem to live in a normal world. He continually seems to be digging for a conspiracy to help substantiate his position.
This is a very dark time for Bexar County Democrats, the likes of which I have never seen in my 23 years in San Antonio. Never before have I seen such behavior and defiance to conventional wisdom by an individual. It is time for Dan Ramos to do the right thing and resign his post as chairman of the Bexar County Democratic Party. Only then can the county organization start working towards healing the wounds that remain and build a strong Democratic organization in San Antonio.
