Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez said a fellow commissioner’s staffer “lied” when he told a Hispanic group that Ramirez was planning to cancel the county’s Cesar Chavez holiday.
The staffer’s boss, Commissioner Alisa Simmons, said she believes Ramirez, and she will address the comments internally with community outreach coordinator Gabe Rivas, who spoke to a group during a breakfast Aug. 11.
“I did not authorize Mr. Rivas to make that statement. I have already discussed this with Mr. Rivas, and will address it internally,” Simmons said in an email Wednesday evening.
Asked if she believed Ramirez’s staff was telling the truth about the commissioner not wanting to take the holiday off the county’s calendar Simmons said, “Your question makes clear that you have asked and my colleague has stated his position on the matter. I take him at his word.”
Richard Gonzales, who writes a history column for the Star-Telegram, said Rivas told the gathering that Ramirez was planning to remove Cesar Chavez Day and replace it with Veterans Day. Rose Herrera, who has been involved with numerous community organizations, was also at that breakfast when the holiday change was discussed.
Following the breakfast meeting, the Cesar Chavez Committee of Tarrant County and two local LULAC groups posted a letter online to voice their concern that the county would drop the holiday.
Ramirez, the county’s first Hispanic commissioner, wrote in an email to activists that he was disappointed in the staffer’s comments.
“Not only did they make this lie up, but they also spread this lie throughout our neighborhood community groups. Specifically, they announced the lie at the Chorizo Menudo breakfast this past Saturday,” Ramirez wrote in the email, obtained by the Star-Telegram.
“This individual never once reached out to me or my office about Cesar Chavez Day or heard from anyone on staff that I had any interest in changing anything. Neither I, nor anyone in my office have expressed any desire to remove this holiday.”
Ramirez declined to comment.
Chavez was born in Arizona, served two years in the Navy and in 1962 founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers. He died in 1993 at 66. Cesar Chavez day has been recognized in Tarrant County since 2001.
Cesar Chavez Day has been a county holdiay since 2001.
