not guilty of bribery and fraud in 2017.)<\/a><\/p>\nHowever, now, Alexander wrote in his letter, \u201cyour conduct has placed you on the side of obstruction rather than progress. The community sees it, county staff feel it, and your colleagues live it daily. Enough is enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price\u2019s outburst toward Garcia on Thursday came during a discussion about constable funding. Budget Officer Ronica Watkins was explaining a proposed allocation of $570,000 for new positions and equipment in Constable Precincts 3 and 5. Price interrupted with a \u201cStop, stop, stop\u201d and asked, \u201cWhy the hell all of a sudden\u201d Precinct 5 was getting additional funding.<\/p>\n
When Garcia tried to interject with some detail, Price yelled: \u201cStop! I\u2019m not talking to you!\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cOK then don\u2019t say nothing to me,\u201d he continued. \u201cGoddamn it! I said I was talking to [Watkins]. Do not interrupt me! Don\u2019t interrupt!\u201d<\/p>\n
It was not the first time. In March, during a discussion about the county\u2019s organizational chart, Price interrupted Garcia as she was talking. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to scream,\u201d Garcia told Price. \u201cStop it. I am sick and tired!\u201d Price yelled. \u201cYou\u2019re not my god—n mama \u2014 stop it!<\/p>\n
In a statement to The News on Monday, Garcia said Price\u2019s decades of work have \u201copened doors and created opportunities that deserve to be recognized\u201d and as the senior member of the court, Price \u201cbrings invaluable institutional knowledge and continuity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, as elected officials, we have a duty to lead with decorum and diplomacy,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cOur constituents expect us to work collaboratively with our colleagues, our staff and community partners to address the many pressing challenges facing Dallas County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia said she will continue serving constituents and \u201cworking productively with all of my colleagues and staff in the best interests of the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins did not respond to questions emailed to him and his staff on Friday, and resubmitted on Monday in light of Alexander\u2019s letter. <\/p>\n
In an interview, Alexander noted he has seen Price demean other county staff in meetings.<\/p>\n
Price routinely grilled Elections Administrator Heider Garcia in meetings, often raising his voice. Earlier this month, Heider Garcia announced he would be resigning to work in the private sector effective Aug. 29. He told The News Price\u2019s treatment of him played no role in his decision. Alexander said the treatment was unacceptable. <\/p>\n
Precinct 2 Constable Deanna Hammond previously told The News she believes her lack of friendship with Price contributed to his attempt to replace her deputy constable with a fire marshal to bailiff Judge Katina Whitfield\u2019s court earlier this month.<\/p>\n
She said Price \u201coverreaches his power of authority,\u201d on her office. <\/p>\n
In his letter, Alexander said he believes Price should publicly apologize to Garcia, \u201cto recognize that leadership rooted in fear, aggression, and control is no leadership at all. Our next generation is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n
County Commissioner Andrew Sommerman said the court has a decorum policy that should be followed, but an apology \u201cis a gift that can only be given willingly: it can not be taken from someone.\u201dSommerman said Garcia \u201cis a force in Dallas County and nationwide in the Latino community. She has dedicated her life to service and progressive policies. She deserves respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The very act of Alexander\u2019s letter is significant in itself, said Precinct 5 Constable Michael Orozco<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years John Wiley Price has operated without being challenged,\u201d Orozco said. \u201cMinister Alexander\u2019s public condemnation is significant because it comes from inside the community he claims to represent. If he\u2019s attacking fellow minority leaders, it forces us to ask\u2014who will he turn on next?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price berated Commissioner Elba Garcia at a budget workshop last week, it…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":156841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,31006,1596,7290,50,80,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-156840","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-civic-engagement","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-county","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-politics","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115052155383900116","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}