Bexar County Democratic Party Chairman Dan Ramos’ now-infamous anti-gay remarks came, ironically, during an interview 10 days ago about legislation aimed at removing him from office. Of course, calls for Ramos to step down have probably grown ten-fold in the wake of his comments in the interview comparing gay Democrats to “termites” and the “fuckin’ Nazi Party.” Trouble is, there’s still no clear path for removing Ramos from office. Or is there? Daniel Graney, president of the Texas Stonewall Democratic Caucus, forwarded a press release from Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio this morning explaining that it’s possible Ramos could be removed using Robert’s Rules of Order. The full press release is after the jump, but here’s the key passage:
Following Quintanilla’s remarks, Co-Chair Eduardo Juarez introduced D’mitri Kosub, who serves on the Rules Committee of the Bexar County Democratic Party. Although state election law and state party rules do not provide a clear path for removing Ramos from office, Kosub explained that there are provisions in Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (10th edition) (RONR) for doing so. Under RONR, an officer can be removed for official misconduct and dereliction of duty under a process that includes formal notice to Ramos of the bases for his removal, and a formal hearing at which Ramos will be given the opportunity to counter the charges underlying his proposed removal. Kosub announced that charges have already been preferred against Ramos and efforts are now being made to serve notice on him to appear for a formal hearing before a committee of the County Executive Committee (CEC) on April 16. This process must first be ratified by the CEC at its meeting on April 5.
FORMER COUNTY CHAIR SLAMS RAMOS; EXTOLS STONEWALL DEMOCRATS
Path to Remove Ramos Revealed
The former County Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party, Gabe Quintanilla, told members of Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio (SDSA) Monday night that current County Chair Dan Ramos is a “bigoted, racist person who needs to get out of town.” He praised SDSA as being an outstanding organization which has been highly valued by “rank and file” Democrats in Bexar County.
A former prosecutor and municipal judge, Quintanilla served as County Chair from 2000-2004. He welcomed SDSA as a newly formed Democratic club in 2000. He arranged for SDSA to have its first meetings at the Party headquarters that were located on Frio Street west of downtown. Several SDSA members were also LGBT precinct chairs during Quintanilla’s term and worked closely with him.
Quintanilla spoke about the need to “keep advancing the story” about Dan Ramos and to urge local Democratic elected officials to speak out. Noting that this controversy will some day be history, he warned elected officials that they will be asked, “Where were you?” after the controversy is over.
SDSA Co-Chair Elena Guajardo echoed Quintanilla’s comments by urging members to call their elected officials, especially those SDSA has endorsed and supported financially in the past. To date, only the following politicians have called on Ramos to resign: Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, State Senator Leticia Van De Putte, State Representatives Mike Villarreal and Joaquin Castro and Mayor Julian Castro. Ramos has defiantly refused to resign.
Following Quintanilla’s remarks, Co-Chair Eduardo Juarez introduced D’mitri Kosub, who serves on the Rules Committee of the Bexar County Democratic Party. Although state election law and state party rules do not provide a clear path for removing Ramos from office, Kosub explained that there are provisions in Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (10th edition) (RONR) for doing so. Under RONR, an officer can be removed for official misconduct and dereliction of duty under a process that includes formal notice to Ramos of the bases for his removal, and a formal hearing at which Ramos will be given the opportunity to counter the charges underlying his proposed removal. Kosub announced that charges have already been preferred against Ramos and efforts are now being made to serve notice on him to appear for a formal hearing before a committee of the County Executive Committee (CEC) on April 16. This process must first be ratified by the CEC at its meeting on April 5.
