The Leadership We Deserve

People complain about the leadership we have in this town all the time. Sometimes they mean at the County, sometimes they mean at the City, sometimes they mean the Legislature.

And at some point, their critique will inevitably hit home.

But let’s talk about the Democratic Party here in town if you will.

I recently wrote a piece about remarks allegedly made by Blanche Darley. I had no less than seven different sources on what she said. No one wanted to be identified for various reasons, but one common theme is fear of reprisal within the party. With alleged comments from Darley like, “We never forget who votes against us, and we get even…” their fears could be well founded.

Blanche Darley was given an opportunity to comment. She chose not to return my calls.

She could have sent out a press release or statement denying the statements.

She hasn’t.

Many would take her silence as an admission, but draw your own conclusions.

Believe it or not, the comments allegedly made by Blanche Darley don’t amaze me at all. After seeing her in action personally, I am not in the least bit surprised by the allegations.

But I am appalled.

Not by Darley…but by the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats and our party leadership. (If you are wondering why I am not appalled by Darley, just think back to the story of the frog and the scorpion.)

She would not be able to act the way she allegedly does but for the silence of the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats and the party leadership. She is allowed to not only be an active member of the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats, but she is allowed to hold several leadership positions within the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats.

Where is the outrage from candidates, elected leaders, party members, and Tejano membership? Surely they realize how inflammatory and ignorant those types of remarks are and how the reflect on the organization! Are we to take their silence as a passive agreement of her alleged actions and statements?

The Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats are quite simply the most powerful Democratic Party club in town and are the backbone of the Democratic Party. The fact that she is able to operate with impunity is a statement about our leadership within the party and the community.

If the environment within the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats wasn’t such that condoned that activity, she wouldn’t be able to get away with it. It’s that simple.

At some point, the leadership and membership of the PDN Tejanos has to come to the realization that many people in this town think people like Blanche Darley don’t reflect well on the organization. They have to be the ones to do something about that kind of leadership within their own club, or risk potentially damaging the reputation and good name of the organization.

If not, the club may find itself in the position of losing the membership of key people in this community. The time to make a change is sooner, rather than later.