Why I Openly Endorse Eli Ramos For Aransas County Sheriff In The 2016 Republican Primary, And Why Democrats Should Cross Party Lines To Vote For Him.
I endorse Eli Ramos for Aransas County Sheriff. Eli is only the second political candidate I have ever publicly endorsed in my career in media and as a United State Citizen and Texas Resident. I do this for the sake of the residents of Aransas County and do to what I have discovered over the past several years as a investigative reporter in the area.
On Tuesday, March 1, 2016, the last chance you have to make your vote count in the 2016 Aransas County Republican Primary Election will come and go. I write in hopes of obtaining your vote for Eli for many reasons. In particular I am asking all of my fellow Democrats and Independents to cross party lines and vote for Eli as well.
Eli is a good guy, but that isn't why I want you to vote for him. I want you to vote for Eli becasue he has promised to hold those who are corrupt accountable for their actions. He has promised that he will investigate all allegations of misconduct by deputies and hold them accountable.
Aransas County is swamped with deputies who do what they want, when they want, to whom they want, without hesitation. These deputies actions include obsessive use of force, intimidation, threats, and retaliation, and have continued for several years with no intervention by their leader Sheriff William "Bill" Mills. These deputies actions are a direct representation of Mills as a leader, and as a person of integrity.
Eli has promised to conduct an internal audit of the Aransas County Sheriffs Department to assure everything inside the department is accounted for and documented. Eli has also promised to request a county wide computer audit to insure county employees and deputies are not visiting inappropriate websites and sharing unsavory materials.
Aransas County has been discovered to have multiple issues of misuse of county computers, which have been utilized by deputies and employees to visit unsavory web pages and send inappropriate images and messages to each other. There is also evidence that the sharing of computer passwords between deputies and employees to gain access to sensitive information concerning Aransas County residents criminal history without due process has also occurred.
Eli has promised to involve the residents of Aransas County in the operations and decisions being made within the Aransas County Sheriffs Department. Eli has promised to be transparent to residents, and media, about the department, and to encourage community involvement. To do this Eli says he will start a Aransas County Citizens Police Academy, which will be used to instruct the community about protecting themselves, their property, and working with law enforcement to stop crime. Eli says he will also invest in a Neighborhood Watch Program and intend to use social media for the purpose of transparency and interaction with the community.
The Aransas County Sheriffs Department in the only law enforcement agency that makes the gathering of public information near impossible. Information is disseminated to the public and media only when it suits Sheriff William "Bill" Mills or a deputy and his image.
No records are ever given freely to the public at request. Arrest reports, supplemental reports, warrants, and other documents which are readily available and should be released are never disclosed. Every other law enforcement agency in the area will release these documents without hesitation, but the Sheriffs Office under William "Bill" Mills does not. When requested a substantial fee will be charged by the department, or an Attorney Generals Opinion will be requested, even if there is already president to release the information. This is done to delay the release or stall the request. When information is released it is done so only to clarify or argue a point by the Sheriff on a particular case.
There has also never been a social media page for the Sheriffs Office until recently. The page that currently exists for the Aransas County Sheriffs Department sat idle for several years, and was only recently used once the election heated up. To say other wise would be a flat out lie. There is no, and never has been, any direct line of communication between residents and the Sheriffs Department unless a crime has been reported. nor has there ever been an effort to publicly disclose what is happening with the department unless its something that would improve the image or Mill or his deputies.
Aransas County has never had any form of proactive approach by the Sheriffs Department to address public issues and create a neighborhood watch program. Though there are some programs that do exist, these programs began with local residents and not with the Sheriffs Office. Nor has there ever been an attempt to involve the community in the department, unless it is a distinct advantage to a campaign related issue.
Eli has promised to make sure deputies use their body and patrol cameras while on duty, and to make these videos available to the public when ever possible.
Despite having body and patrol cameras, videos are never disclosed to the public without a fight. When a questionable situation involving an arrest occurs, the video either is not available or the camera was not used during the arrest. Each and every time a situation arises over the questionable actions of deputies teh footage is missing, never taken, or some other excuse is given. Surrounding agencies have told me that Aransas County Deputies will request that tell other officers to turn off their cameras when they arrive to assist i an arrest, and on at least four occasions accusations of obsessive force could not be properly investigated or were not investigated do to no video being available.
These are just a few of the reasons I am asking you to cast your vote on March 1, 2016 for Republican Candidate Eli Ramos. I could write forever on the reasons, but he above listed are the ones I am chiefly concerned with. Eli is only the second candidate in my life I have ever endorsed or supported, with the first ever being current Sheriff William "Bill" Mills in 2012.
Since my support of Mills in 2012 the things I have discovered and uncovered through my investigations not only has shocked me, but has shamed me personally for thinking so highly of a person as I did for Mills and several of his deputies. Disturbingly enough Mills and his deputies personally attack residents vocally and openly on social media and in public, which to me should only reinforce to everyone what kind if individuals we have allowed to protect and represent us. Just imagine what they do when no one is watching.
I would think as a deputy and as a Sheriff one should have an upstanding character and not be swayed emotionally by comments or criticism. I know that in politics things can get nasty, but one who holds a badge, a gun, and can take someones freedom away should be held to a hire standard and should not act out against a resident under any circumstances unless a life is at stake. The frequent and recent addresses by Sheriff William "Bill" Mills, his Chief Deputy and second in charge John Gutierrez, as well as the actions of his lead Narcotics Deputy Armando Chapa, should be enough to convince everyone in the county that we are being used.
Not all the deputies in the Aransas County Sheriffs Office are bad, but I will say a majority of them and especially their leaders are. Since leaders will ultimately dictate policy and how deputies will conduct themselves in public, it is now up to all of us to dictate to the leaders how we feel about the way they act and represent us as Aransas County residents. I'm tired of being told by our neighbors that Aransas County is corrupt and a joke, aren't you?
For the sake of our county and the people who live here, please join me and vote for Eli Ramos. If we don't fix this now, all we do is sanction the behavior and it WILL get worse. Thank you for taking time to read this. God bless and take care.