Guest Editorial:
By Herman Baca
President (CCR) Committee on Chicano Rights

On June 3, 2014 the Chicano community gets the opportunity to pay back and vote out of office the most incompetent, corrupt and anti-Mexican District Attorney (DA) in San Diego County’s history, Republican Bonnie Dumanis. If our community votes we will send Dumanis packing. On the other hand if we don’t vote, Dumanis will be re-elected for four more years to carry out her anti-Mexican vendettas. Politician Dumanis was elected DA in 2003 and has a documented history of politically abusing the power of the DA’s office to racially profile SD County’s 35-40% Chicano population. Few can deny that Dumanis in her tenure as DA has politicized the office by profiling, criminalizing, indicting, and defaming persons (especially youth) of Mexican ancestry.

The Chicano community can pay back Dunanis for all her political vendettas by simply voting NO against her, and casting a YES vote for any of the candidates in the DA’s race. Reasons for recommending a NO vote against Dumanis are:

1. Dumanis’ political grandstanding press conference (2005) announcing the issuance of a “gang injunction” against Chicano youth from Old Town National City (OTNC). Dumanis not satisfied with her bogus injunction used the so-called gang issue to politically criminalize (data provided by the NCPD) the entire neighborhood of OTNC. Stating to the media that, “Old Town National City’s (OTNC) gang, which has prowled National City streets since World War II and whose members, in some cases go back four generations in the same family?” For the record, OTNC is National City’s (NC) oldest community, and SD County’s second oldest city outside the City of San Diego. Dumanis’ deplorable statements were augmented by the disgraceful silence of NC’s His/Her Panics politicians and present (then a city councilman) Anglo Mayor Ron Morrison. The community saw the “dual standard” used by DA Dumanis. Most understood that she probably wouldn’t label Anglo youth as “gangs,” issue “gang injunctions” against them, or label sectors of Lakeside/Santee, “gang communities.” The CCR responded stating, “In 37 years of our organization fighting for civil and human rights one would have to go back to the infamous “Sleepy Lagoon” incident in Los Angeles in the 1940’s to find a historical parallel where an entire Mexican neighborhood such as OTNC was criminalized, racial profiled, stigmatized and defamed by law enforcement.”

2. Mexican-American community members/organizations from North County (after the shooting deaths of five Mexicans by the Sheriff Department in 2005) accused Dumanis of being, “too cozy with local law enforcement, discriminatory enforcement of the law, and bias in favor of local law en-forcement after she failed to charge and indict Sheriff Deputies.

3. Dumanis’ “ethics” indictment (2008) against Chula Vista’s City Councilperson Steve Castenada. The indictment proved to be a blatant case of, “political persecution, a witch hunt, travesty, a political lynching, and abuse of power.”

After Dumanis spent over one million dollars of taxpayer’s monies the case, “ended in acquittal, and a mistrial.”

Many in the Chicano community believed that Dumanis’ “ethics” indictment of Castenada was politically motivated, and orchestrated by San Diego County’s rapidly depopulating Anglo political and economic power establishment. Due to the changing (Mexican) demographics.

4. Failure of Dumanis to release records (2006) of a telephone conversation with her and ex-Mayor Padilla that pertained to the failed investigations of Chula Vista city officials. Padilla publicly stated that Dumanis asked (or tried to coerce?) him to appoint her “hired Mexican” to a vacant Chula Vista City Council seat. When Padilla refused, Dumanis launched her investigations.

5. Dumanis failure to investigate and indict San Diego ex-Mayor Jerry Sanders (2012) for pay-for-play, after indicting 15 Sweetwater High School District (predominantly Mexican) trustees and officials? In San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ case; Sanders allowed Qualcomm Stadium (which Dumanis has $10,000 worth of stock) to temporarily rename the stadium Snapdragon Stadium to promote the wireless chip giant’s smart phone processor during three nationally televised football games. This despite SD City Attorney Jan Goldsmith’s legal advice that the move wasn’t legally permissible. Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs had contributed thousands to Sanders re-election campaign, and $45,000 to the failed half-cent sales-tax hike. An obvious quid pro quo, pay-for-play that Dumanis ignored. In a twist of poetic justice Dumanis recently became the subject of “ethics” complaints filed against her. In the complaint Dumanis was accused of accepting 50 dinners ($4,583), trips, tickets, etc., basically the same charges she filed against Sweetwater District officials. According to Dumanis the Sweetwater indictments was, “the worst corruption scandal of her tenure.” Talk about hypocrisy and a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black? Dumanis was also charged with keeping $10,000 for her 2012 campaign that was donated by two people who later pleaded guilty in a federal corruption case? Media reports stated that Dumanis has been cleared of both charges to no one’s surprise by the Fair Political Practices Commission, and San Diego’s so-called Ethics Commission. The decision brought to mind the old saying, “In Mexico it’s called what it is, “Corruption, La Mordida,” in the U.S. it’s called, “Campaign Contributions.”

6. Failure of Dumanis to investigate Sweetwater Authority General Manager Mark Roger statements that, “I don’t suffer bullies, liars, or cowards very well. They are present in your employee ranks, in elected positions, and in your community. They should be recognized as thieves and glory seekers who selfishly manipulate others into steering the good ship Sweetwater toward the rocks for their own hateful motives or personal gain. The above statement was tied to seven water rates increases for 186,000 ratepayers in 6 years, a water filter system that ballooned from a 4.1 million bid, to 10.5 million, and payments of stipend to board members (to them-selves) of up to $26,000.

7. Failure of Dumanis to investigate SD Police Officer Andrew Scheidecker’s (badge #6827) for perjuring himself on a CA Department of Motor Vehicles form that resulted in Mr. Jose Guadalupe Martinez having his license suspended unjustly, illegally, and without any legal cause on June 8, 2013.

The questions for our community are; will elected/appointed politicians, organizations take a public position against Dumanis’ re-election? The other question is, will individuals vote against, or for Dumanis? Think about it, a vote AGAINST Dumanis will get our community respect, a vote for Dumanis (or if one doesn’t vote) will get our community 4 more years of anti-Mexican vendettas? The decision on how to vote on June 3 is in your hands!