Posted on 07/03/2003 5:40:07 AM PDT by lqcincinnatus
Caller.com
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URL: http://www.caller.com/ccct/local_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_811_2085617,00.html
George Gongora/Caller-Times
Protesters march in front of the McAllen Civic Center Tuesday to try to stop redistricting proceedings. The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce hired temporary workers to boost the crowd in McAllen, but it is unclear who directed them to protest or how many actually participated.
Chamber sent temps to McAllen
Some backed off when the protests began
By Jaime Powell and Elvia Aguilar Caller-Times July 3, 2003
The Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce hired 40 temporary workers to boost attendance at a congressional redistricting hearing in McAllen. They were not hired to take part in the rowdy protest that nearly shut the meeting down, chamber officials and some of the temps said Wednesday.
Members of two local chapters of the American GI Forum said Wednesday that they were proud of their actions at the hearing. After their shouting prevented the start of the hearing, a promise of a hearing in Corpus Christi on Monday quieted them and the hearing proceeded. Corpus Christi had been omitted from the state's itinerary for redistricting hearings.
Script excerpts
STATEMENT FROM AMERICAN GI FORUM
TUESDAY JULY 1, 2003, 2 P.M. - I call on the people here today to state their views about congressional redistricting: "Do you want the Senate to do congressional redistricting?" - (No) - "Do you believe anything we say will matter to the Republican leaders in the Legislature?" - (No) - "Do you think we should let Tom DeLay, Rick Perry and David Dewhurst take away the voting rights of millions of Hispanics and Blacks in Texas by doing congressional redistricting?" - (No) - So Senators, please go back to Austin and tell Governor Perry, Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst, and your Senate colleagues that the people of South Texas and the Valley have spoken. There should be no congressional redistricting! Holding this meeting is useless. - Shut this meeting down. - Shut the special session down. - Shut it down
"Yesterday we had the courage to speak up and we weren't worried about the criticism of others," said Ram Chavez, commander for the Hector P. Garcia Founder's Chapter of the GI Forum. "Today we stand before you continuing to show that courage."
The chamber hired the workers at the behest of a local businessman, who said he would pay the bill because he wants the 27th Congressional District to remain intact, said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tom Niskala. The businessman, whom Niskala would not identify, wants the district's military bases represented by longtime U.S. Rep. Solomon P. Ortiz during base realignment and closure hearings.
Most of the temps ignored the instructions of one of the protest organizers and didn't take part in the shouting, witnesses to Tuesday's hearing said. Niskala said he was embarrassed by the behavior at the hearing and that it reflected poorly on Corpus Christi.
The Legislature is in a special session to consider congressional redistricting, as ordered by Republican Gov. Rick Perry. The Republicans are seeking to redraw the districts to give their party the likelihood of more congressional seats.
Forum members had said before they went to McAllen that they planned civil disobedience, even if it resulted in arrest.
There were conflicting reports on whether the protest organizers knew that the temps were among the Corpus Christi contingent, or whether the organizers expected the temps to agitate at the hearing.
Chavez said he had no advance warning about the temps.
"We had nothing to do with the group of people that were paid," Chavez said. "Talk to Tom Niskala of the chamber about that."
Susie Luna-Saldana, the education chairwoman for the Felix Longoria chapter of the GI Forum, also denied knowing that the temporary workers were on the bus.
"If someone had the money to pay for them to go and oppose redistricting, good for them, but they had nothing to do with us."
Niskala said the chamber did not use any of its own funds to hire the employees, but he did encourage the chamber membership to participate in the hearing.
"The businessman was concerned that the district might be split up during BRAC hearings," Niskala said. "There was concern about attendance because splitting up the 27th Congressional District could mean losing the bases."
Linda Jordan, owner of L.K. Jordan & Associates employment agency, said she sent 40 employees at a cost of about $5,000.
"They said they wanted them to be seat warmers," she said. "Someone from the Chamber of Commerce called. They did not fund it. They were just setting it up. They were not the ones to be billed."
Jordan's general manager, Jeff LeBeau, showed up at Value Bank on Tuesday morning to meet his employees and to see who showed up. Jordan said Sara Salvide, the contact person given to her by the Chamber of Commerce, asked LeBeau to leave.
"She just said 'You need to disappear.' Now I am assuming that they did not want people to know what was going on," Jordan said.
Salvide is associated with Citizens for Voting Rights, a group that has been associated with the GI Forum's anti-redistricting efforts.
Asked if she knew Salvide, Saldana said no. After it was pointed out that Salvide had sent several news releases to the Caller-Times listing Saldana as a contact number on behalf of the GI Forum and Citizens for Voting Rights, Saldana said she remembered her.
"She is not a member of the GI Forum," Saldana said. "Not our chapter. She is a really nice lady."
LeBeau said he became concerned Tuesday afternoon when an employee called from one of the buses to McAllen and disclosed what was expected from the temps.
"I just let Sara know that I wanted a statement that they did not have to participate. She put the phone to the side and I heard her telling the employees," he said.
Half an hour later, LeBeau said, he got another complaint from an employee. At that point, he called again, talked to Salvide and said he was concerned about the safety of the employees.
"She assured me that no one would be in harm's way and everything was fine," LeBeau said. "From what we are hearing now, Sara told them they were going to do it anyway. I felt comfortable at the time. But now I think she was just telling us what we wanted to hear. If we had realized what this was, we would have pulled our people at that point."
One of the employees on the bus, Neal Lindeen, said that when he got on the bus, organizers did not say anything about what was planned. But when the bus got to McAllen the group was told they would be a part of the protest, he said.
"The signs started to come out and they started talking about what to do if we were arrested," Lindeen said. "They said they had three attorneys. They told us not to resist, but to lock arms with the person closest to us. We kind of looked at each other, put down the signs and went and waited in the lobby area. Eighteen or 20 stayed on the bus."
Lindeen said a woman identifying herself as Salvide was walking around handing out signs.
One sign said, "DeLay = KKK," a reference to U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land, who instigated the Republican redistricting effort in Texas.
"She was telling us to hold them high," he said. "They gave us scripts, too. It told us what they would say and what our response should be. They also gave us information on redistricting opinions and lyrics to two different songs."
Niskala said he was outraged at the protesters' behavior in McAllen.
"This put Corpus Christi in the worst of light," Niskala said. "I hope they do not take it as a characterization of how we do business here. I do not necessarily think it hurt the Chamber of Commerce, but I think it hurt this community."
Contact Jaime Powell at 886-3716 or powellj@caller.com. Contact Elvia Aguilar at 886-4334 or aguilare@caller.com
Copyright 2003, Caller.com. All Rights Reserved.
My grandfather figured it out back in the '30's, and he would sum it up this way: "Dirty Damned Democrats." He may not have had book learning, but he knew manure when he saw it.
How dare ANY Democrat USE the name of OUR honorable MILITARY to sell their anti-military, UN-American, PRO-EU-Socialist agenda!?
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