State of Chaos – The El Paso Democratic Party

The El Paso Democratic Party has been in a civil war for several years now. Just when things looked like they were getting better, they came to a boiling point the day of the President’s visit to El Paso.

The President’s visit was a policy visit, not a campaign stop. So the Democratic Party was only given a small amount of tickets. That made a lot of people pretty mad.

Organizing for America pretty much ran the show. Organizing for America is the remnants of the Obama delegates in the last Presidential election state convention.  Basically they were the people that were most screwed over the by the Hillary delegation.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party, the people who felt like they didn’t get their fare share of tickets were bitching and moaning about it.

One of them was Blanche Darley. Why Darley was even in the conversation is a mystery to me because she hates the President. She has state publically in the past that she didn’t vote for the President and once again stated that she was not going to vote for him in the next election. As an officer in the Democratic Party, it is actually a violation of Art. I Section B.4 of the TDP Rules: (Paraphrased) Any person who accepts a party office at any level must support the party nominees at any level or be removed. 

Don Williams responded to Darley’s aggressive tone by talking about the fact that he was contacted by the national and state party to coordinate various aspects of the Presidential visit, but the other top two officers in the Democratic Party don’t have regular contact with him about Party related matters. Don Williams is the SDEC and the other two top Dems in town are SDEC Yolanda Clay (niece of Blanche Darley) and Danny Anchondo, who is the party Chairman.

At some point Blanche Darley made yet another racially charged remark about the reason that Don Williams was given a certain amount of tickets. According to several witnesses, she something to the affect that it was because the President is black and only likes black people.

Others walked out of the room because it has devolved in to a shouting match between several people associated with Blanche Darley who apparently decided to raise historical beefs with one another going back to Democratic Party conventions in the past.

Alex Guzman, a Precinct Chair and witness to the events states, “It was appalling to have to witness Ms-Moreno-Darley publically spew racial epithets and then proceed to justify her statements as freedom of speech. What I find incomprehensible that the El Paso County Democratic Leadership would dismiss what is defined as hate speech, as simple disorderly bickering among members. Then to have, Yolanda Moreno- Clay’s daughter tell us “Democratic Monthly meetings are a safe haven for us to vent each other’s frustrations and whatever we say must not leave this room.” When civility, decorum, professionalism, and mutual respect are practice among a party, discreetness will follow and doesn’t need to be asked.   

To ask a Democrat from the X, Y Generation to tolerate racist statements is like asking us to conspire in a crime. History has taught us the complicity of others is what fueled the Holocaust. Regardless of the backlash and retaliation I will receive for speaking out, we must set a precedence, personal attacks on someone race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion; sexual orientation will NOT be tolerated and will have severe consequences within the El Paso County Democratic Party”.       

Christina Fenstermacher is the daughter of Yolanda Clay that Guzman was referring to.

To his credit, witnesses say Anchondo finally had enough and pounded the table and loudly called the room to order and laid down his authority saying something to the affect of shut up or get out and that he’s had enough of people not listening.

At some point former SDEC Michael Apodaca basically stated that the reason the administration works around the El Paso Democratic Party is because it is common knowledge that there is a lack of coordination and an abundance of in-fighting.

It is stuff like this that makes people stay away from the party. Instead of coordinating activities to benefit our platform, we point fingers. Instead of recruiting future candidates, we create enemies. Instead of expanding our base, we turn people away. Instead of fighting out combined enemy in El Paso, the Republicans, we fight each other.

The actions of a few, but loud, bad apples have hurt our party. The tolerance of their behavior and presence has hurt us worse.

I know that many of you in attendance didn’t want this to be written about. But it is only by shedding light on the situation that we can ever hope for the situation to be resolved.

Its about time someone did something about it.