It appears as though The Dallas Morning News is taking pity on Dallas County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Ramirez, which shouldn’t be too surprising given that The DMN is at least partly responsible for Ramirez being reassigned to a midnight shift at the jail.
Ramirez is vice president of the Dallas chapter of the Latino Peace Officers Association, which last year endorsed Republican Lowell Cannaday in his race against incumbent Democratic Sheriff Lupe Valdez. Six weeks before the election, in an apparent act of desperation, Ramirez publicly accused Valdez, who’s openly lesbian, of promoting “the gay lifestyle.”
In a move clearly designed to remind voters that Valdez is a lesbian, Ramirez took issue with a survey used in diversity training on sexual orientation at the sheriff’s department. As it turned out, the survey had been used in diversity training at other law enforcement agencies for years, with no complaints, so Ramirez’s attack was quickly exposed as anti-gay political gamesmanship. But this was not before The DMN, which was also backing Cannaday, had picked up the story about the survey and run with it.
Now, in what can only be described as humorous, poetic justice, The DMN finds itself championing Ramirez’s fight to get his old job back, patrolling the streets of Sunnyvale on a motorcycle. But it doesn’t appear as though the Dallas County Commissioners Court will grant Ramirez, who apparently is known as “Motorcycle Mike,” any relief.
Let’s face it, folks, while “political retribution” may sometimes seem unfair, it’s a fact of life. If you support your boss’ opponent in an election, and your boss wins, don’t expect a promotion. But Ramirez’s actions went beyond just supporting Cannaday; they were the equivalent of an employee accusing Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, who’s black, of promoting an “African-American agenda.” So, the way I see it, Ramirez is lucky to have a job at all!
Frankly, my only regret in all this is that DMN county reporter Kevin Krause, who authored the hatchet job about the survey but has failed to mention Ramirez’s anti-gay attack in recent stories, hasn’t been reassigned to the midnight shift on the Obituary desk.
To read my story from September about the survey flap, go here.
