Bill Richardson criticism continues, recall effort begins
Despite being absent from Tuesday's City Council meeting, Councilman Bill Richardson and his recent Facebook statements about Hispanic police officers continued to cause a stir. About half a dozen residents shared their impassioned views and asked for Richardson's apology and resignation at the meeting.
“For somebody who is supposed to represent our city, to invite that in, infuriates me to no end,” said Michelle Martin, a representative of the San Angelo Law Enforcement Spouses Association. “That is my husband, my family out there. Anybody that treads on that blue line, it’s inexcusable.”
According to the association, Richardson on a group Facebook page called for "non-Hispanic" residents to keep a record of their encounters with Hispanic law enforcement officers. The post, which Richardson said he has since deleted, said he had "an encounter with a 'Hispanic' SAPD officer after I called SAPD dispatch about a problem with a 'Hispanic' neighbor. I asked for help from the SAPD yesterday. One of the officers was 'Hispanic'. His attitude was rude and disrespectful and I believe to be physically threatening."
The encounter between Richardson and two officers occurred Saturday, Feb. 18.
Veronica Velez, the neighbor Richardson has taken issue with for several months, shared her story with council. She said Richardson has shown up on her property on several occasions, sometimes intoxicated, for various reasons — “everything from asking for a ride to go to buy alcohol to complaining about our basketball goal located on my property,” she said. “Recently his bizarre behavior has included taking pictures of my children and myself outside playing, while he sits in his truck in his driveway.”
The most recent situation occurred when the family was out at the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo and only her parents were home, Velez said, adding that it led her to call the police.
The San Angelo Police Department confirmed that two officers visited Richardson at home and told him not to go back to his neighbor's residence. "The order communicated to him was a criminal trespass warning," said Tracy Gonzalez, SAPD public information officer. "Richardson acknowledged that he understood and would not go to their property again."
This means the notification is on record and in the SAPD system. "If Richardson is observed on the (neighbor's) property again he can be arrested for violating the criminal trespass warning," Gonzalez said.
In 1998, Richardson was found guilty of evading arrest in Tom Green County.
"I just don't think he needs to be on city council," said Veronica Velez, Richardson's neighbor and a constituent.
Rodney Fleming, who represented Single Member District 1 for two terms before stepping down and being succeeded by Richardson, agreed. “First of all, I’d like to formally ask him for his resignation,” Fleming said at Tuesday's meeting. “I know he’s not going to do that because he’s not even man enough to be here for this."
Fleming is moving to recall Richardson.
"To recall a city council member a citizen would need to file a petition with the City Clerk demanding the removal of that member," Bryan Kendrick, the city clerk, wrote in an email interview. He added that Fleming has picked up the petition paperwork and has 60 days to gather 30 percent of the number of votes for that office in the last election.
"There were 2,141 votes in Mr. Richardson’s district in the last election so a recall petition for Mr. Richardson would require 643 signatures from his single member district to be valid," Kendrick wrote.
Fleming posted this on his Facebook page:
Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer — who is also running for mayor — asked the city attorney to look into whether the council can issue any type of sanctions against Richardson.
Other candidates for mayor in the May municipal election also jumped into the fray.
Tony Villarreal, who said he attended the council meeting to give voice to all those who contacted him regarding the issue, called for a public apology from Richardson to the San Angelo Police Department officers and their families, and to the residents of San Angelo. He called Richardson out of line for his statements.
"We are one community with a diverse set of citizens. There is no reason to pit one segment of our community against another," he said. "What we need in our leaders are people who bring unity and respect to our community. Our police department should be commended, not ridiculed. Our neighbors are still our neighbors regardless of race, color or religion."
"Words do matter." ~ Tony Villarreal, mayoral candidate and San Angelo insurance agent.
"While we're all entitled to our opinion, I appreciate the fact that we live in a great country where we can disagree ... without divisiveness, in my opinion that's how our local council does business —with fairness, respect, and sincere interest in the betterment of the overall community," he said.
Zachary Taylor tweeted:
And Brenda Gunter sent a statement in a news release: "Without reservation I come down on the side of the police officers, and also on the side of those citizens of San Angelo who now feel their elected representative has a bias towards them based on their race.
"The statements and actions of this council member undermine San Angelo’s greatest strengths. We benefit greatly from celebrating diversity and embracing unity in our community. And we are a community that exhibits strong support for our police officers.
"When we look at our friends, our neighbors, and our police officers, we must first see a fellow San Angeloan. Not the color of their skin, not their personal beliefs, nor their gender. If we look at each other and see allies, then we will succeed. If we look at each other and see adversaries, we weaken our community now and create an unsound foundation for the future."
While Richardson didn't attend Tuesday's council meeting, he did post this Facebook comment regarding all the statements:
San Angelo Standard-Times' staff member John Tufts contributed to this report.
Related Story:
San Angelo law enforcement spouses group wants Richardson to go
IF YOU GO
What: The San Angelo Law Enforcement Spouses Association and local Realtor Rodney Fleming are holding a meeting for volunteers who can gather signatures to recall SMD 1 Councilman Bill Richardson.
When: Noon Wednesday, Feb. 22
Where: The San Angelo Association of Realtors, 1902 Pecos St.
Contact: Reach out to Fleming on social media or call Michelle Martin with the Spouses Association at 325-340-7365
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