This is clearly not a question of two warring factions as some may think.
This is the direct result of Chairman Macareno’s ongoing quest for self aggrandizement and his petty efforts to be the only spokesman for Tulare County Democrats. Because he has turned the County Central Committee into a closed entity where he and his cohorts can tell each other how important they are, they have forfeited the right to complain when other active, loyal, and engaged Democrats want to build the Party.
As a former 12 year Chair of the TCDCC I know how these Committees are supposed to function; they are meant to be inclusive and welcoming, and certainly never to shut out and restrict citizens who simply want to participate and be heard. That is the polar opposite of what Democrats are all about.
It is indeed ironic that Mr. Macareno chooses to adopt the policies of the Republicans who fall all over themselves trying to deny participation in the political process and thereby choking the life out of the political process. The fact that the State Democratic Party, after it’s thorough review of all the actions of the TCDCC, has issued a scathing public rebuke for the Central Committee’s petty and completely misguided complaining, pretty clearly makes the point of who is really to blame here.
Perhaps this timely public disclosure of these anti-democratic antics will put and end to the autocratic power trip that is so unseemly. Mr. Macareno has been given the chance to be a leader, and an effective spokesperson for Democrats in this county, but instead he has wasted and squandered that opportunity by failing to be a leader who allows and encourages others to succeed. He has abandoned success and inclusion, and that’s a real shame.
Finally, if, as reported in this story, Mr. Macareno has convinced State Treasurer John Chiang to cancel his appearance at the Roosevelt Gala and deny county Democrats from hearing from a State Constitutional officer, they both should be mightily ashamed of themselves.