(Great news from San Antonio. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Today, in a series of votes on the proposed 2012 budget, the San Antonio City Council voted to extend benefits for city employees in domestic partnerships. The final vote on the budget was 8-3 with DP benefits included after an amendment by Councilwoman Elisa Chan (District 9) to exclude the benefits failed 4-7. The benefits, estimated to cost around $300,000 per fiscal year, will go into effect during the city's next enrollment period. According to city staff projections, an estimated 30 employees would possibly take advantage of the benefits. Before city employees can qualify for the benefits, an affidavit must be signed and two pieces of documentation (joint lease or mortgage; joint bank account; joint credit card; jointly paid household expense, such as a utility bill, bearing both names; and documents showing beneficiary status of life insurance or will) as proof of the relationship.
(Do the right thing, San Antonio! Pass domestic partner benefits. Lean times are no reason not to support full equality. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
The City of San Antonio is in the final week of budget deliberations for its 2012 budget of over $2.2 billion. This coming year's budget exhibits much of the fiscal control that City Manager Sheryl Sculley has brought to the city, providing San Antonio with a AAA bond rating by all three rating agencies. While maintaining those constraints, the city's budget continues to help move forward in helping achieve the city's SA2020 goals, it does so without any property tax increase and modest fee increases for waste management and other Enterprise services. But for all the changes expected in the 2012 budget, one change that amounts to .014% of the overall budget is getting the largest public attention - the extension of domestic partnership benefits for opposite- and same-sex couples. Extending those benefits to city employees has brought to the forefront the divisions people still have over LGBT rights within the 7th largest city in the nation.
A critique to the public concerning trash left behind after visiting Old Pue Road River Access where the Medina River meets West 1604, in South West Bexar County. I was a part of a group of South Side Fisherman who made a plea to Texas Senator Hutchinson concerning the difficulties to access large tracks of land owned by the public such as Niches of Nature created by the construction of bridges;specifically, the 1604 Medina River crossing on the west side of Bexar County also serving the North Side of Atascosa County and West Side Medina County.
There are three high schools in this area, and many of these children never spend time in the outdoors because most land in Texas is privately owned and accessible to only the wealthy few who pay a lower tax rate than anyone else; however, enjoy more Civil Liberties than the Majority of Texans.
Sometimes, encroaching development gives back to community such as the construction of the 1 mile 1604 bridge crossing replacing the Old Pue Road bridge that spans the Medina River on the west side of San Antonio. There are very few places on the South Side of San Antonio area that a family can go and harvest Texas Pecans, Texas Wild Grapes, Fish, Swim, and Hike or just kick back and reflect about the wonders of nature which is my personal passion.
Please consider the next time you visit this area to bring a trash bag with you and remove, not just items you would discard, but some of the trash that others have carelessly left behind. I know the first thing that comes to mind is River access on the North Side of Texas is always in the News and the South Side is forgotten or never mentioned. So I thought I would write something for US!
Why It Concerns Me:
a. Because Barack Obama, the President of The United States of America told me to do so via a general email to all Americans, "There are so many ways to get involved, and every American can do something. You can join me in participating in the National Day of Service by finding a service opportunity in your area on Serve.gov."
Note: I did not like the theme of the uTube video put out by the Sheriffs Association, "The President of the United States cannot tell us what to do." Oh yes he can! We are a Nation Transformed and We The People will not tolerate the insolence of a Police State any longer. You can bet your pay check I have already made that call and reported you treasonous Commies. You are starting to sound like that crazed governor of Texas playing his fiddle while Texas burns!
b. We could lose access to this area if we do not police our own behavior!
c. I am a registered Texas Horned Lizard Watch Volunteer who documents sittings of the famous near extinct Texas Horny Toad for the Texas Wildlife diversity Program 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, Texas 78744 www.tpwd.state.tx.us/tracker .
Since 1999, I have seen one Horny Toad on a Texas rural dirt road leading to the famous Chalk Bluff River Side park in Real County Texas.
Citation Image: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DM07...
d. The rare Guadalupe River Bass, mentioned in Senator Cornyn's article "Celebrating Texas' Great Outdoors" can be found in the waters below the Medina Dam in this area. Warning to fisherman - Catch and release is the only way this species will survive! Citation: http://cornyn.senate.gov/publi...
e. There are 100rds of acres of private land which belongs to the public that is blocked off to the public on the South Side of Town. Why should the State of Texas allow us our liberties to enjoy nature if we do not keep it free from human pollution by discarding our trash anywhere we please?
A group of poverty stricken South Side San Antonio fisherman, as me as their proxy, made a plea to Congressman Ciro Rodrigues via Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to reopen this Public Area approximately 15 Acers of River, Streams, Pecan Groves, trails, and Texas Wild Grapes.
You're Representatives in Congress and the U.S. Senate responded with a used car parking rail, a trash can, and the construction of a rock wire-mess wall to stop the sand from washing out the bridge.
The protective wire mess wall was designed by the Texas Highway Department in such a way that any healthy person can access the Medina River south of the Medina Dam. We thank you.
I now see children hiking with their parents in those same areas of untouched natural resources with big smiles of adventure as they prove to themselves that there is a forest beyond the tress!
I and other Texans would like to develop some of these areas with profit making concessions that will help preserve Nature and Our Right to enjoy them. Privatizing the concessions of these areas is a stroke to the heart strings of any True Texas Republican.
Tell me, how can I approach the Texas Department of Agriculture if their counter argument is that the People on the South Side of San Antonio have no respect for their natural resources? Hey, that's what they are saying about the People on the North Side - I Know We Can Do Better!
We can start by giving the Park a name such as a green highway sign that reads "The Park With No Name" or if you would like an entrepreneur like me to take ownership and responsibility with no cost to the State of Texas, you can name it after me "O'Dell Park." When you make a citizen of the State the responsible party, he/she takes ownership that will ensure access to Texas Public land and the preservation of Niches in Nature by defending Our Right to enjoy them!
God Blessed Texas with Natural Resources. Please help preserve public lands. The Best Things In Life Are Free!
(Austin is losing the sustainability race to San Antonio. It's time to wake up people and stop resting on laurels. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
San Antonio boldly goes where no Texas city has gone before... CPS Energy, owned by The City of San Antonio, announced earlier this week it will close its clunker 800+MW coal plant in 2018, invest heavily in local solar and natural gas electricity generation, invest heavily in attracting clean tech manufacturers, and build a 200MW "cleaner coal" plant. Read full Bloomberg article here: http://www.businessweek.com/ap...
Why? It's better economically. Their big plan will bring 800 to 1,000 green tech jobs to town by 2015 while eliminating millions of tons of airborne greenhouse gas emissions and toxic pollution.
Mayor Julian Castro, "San Antonio understands the nexus between sustainability and job creation."
Castro's leadership has some folks saying, "San Antonio will be America's greenest city."
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.
I'm sitting with a couple of friends in between sessions at MobiCamp San Antonio just after I presented on how the mobile phone will some become your identity. Both are politically savvy and are residents of District 1. I strike up a conversation about the upcoming D1 race and how interesting it should be. "Yea, there are three people running, right?" said one of my friends. No, there are four. When she started naming the candidates it was Carolyn Kelley's name she left out. "Carolyn who?" That helped confirm something I've been seeing in the race for D1. Kelley's being called the insider of the race but, in reality, she may be more of an outsider in the district than people think.
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.
It seems a little strange writing an introductory post as a new Burnt Orange Report writer but it's probably in order in this new phase of BOR. When Phillip and the team asked me to write for BOR on San Antonio and general topics I was a little apprehensive, thinking this would be more work in an already busy schedule. But really it's just an extension of the writing I do today for my local blog - Concerned Citizens. Most likely I'll be posting entries in both sites about things happening in San Antonio.
It will be exciting to write about San Antonio in the coming months, especially during the administration of our new mayor, Mayor Julian Castro. San Antonio just recently celebrated the 175th anniversary of the battle of the Alamo. In seven years San Antonio will celebrate its tricentennial and will be in the final stages of our visioning process, SA2020. What better way to help spread the news of a city that has played such a major role in Texas history than to write about its current politics.
I don't profess to know all that's going on in San Antonio politics and will rely on the help of others. Please feel free to write me if you have information or ideas at bor@randybear.com. I can't guarantee I'll write on everything but will try to cover as much as I can.
