Don Sanchez - No laughing matter

Well folks, the NAACP convention will close today without having put on a statewide candidate forum as planned.  The only candidate for top statewide office in Texas that agreed to attend as soon as he received an invitation was WorldPeace.  And the only candidate that never waivered in his commitment to attend was WorldPeace.  

Candidates for the office of Governor, lt. governor, attorney general, comptroller and senator were invited.  Both parties were invited.  WorldPeace said he would attend and did.  Akins appeared unannounced and Don Sanchez snuck into the dinner Friday night with his goons and read from his well worn note cards and vanished into the night leaving some of the attendees wondering who he was and the rest wondering what he was mumbling about.

There was originally to be a candidate forum on Friday from 3 to 5 pm.  By the end of the week of September 10th, six candidates initially agreed to appear:  WorldPeace, Akins, Watson, Abbott, and two others.  Then the fascist Neighborhood Democrats on Friday September 28th, called upon Don Sanchez' goons, the security at South Shore Harbour Hotel, and three League City Police to keep WorldPeace, his wife, and two others from entering the hotel were Don Sanchez was to speak to about 200 democrats.  WorldPeace was passive in the face of the fascism of the Neighborhood Democrats and left the hotel premises.  There is no incident ever in which WorldPeace has acted up in a public place either physically or verbally.

The Neighborhood Democratic? fascist wanted to protect their choice for governor, Don Sanchez.  They knew and know that Don Sanchez is a weak and corrupt candidate and they did not want WorldPeace to expose that truth.  Carl Silverman, the head fascist, lied to the press and said that WorldPeace threatened to be disruptive. (See article below by Mike King)  This was a lie.  It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if WorldPeace acted irrationally, his candidacy for governor would be over.  It was a total fabrication by Carl Silverman to cover-up whatever payoff he got from Don Sanchez.

At any rate, regarding the NAACP, twice Don Sanchez' people called the NAACP and said that they would not appear with WorldPeace at the forum.  Later they changed their story and said they had a conflict.  What liars they are.  

Then on Monday, October 1, 2001, within a two hour period, all the candidates other than WorldPeace called and said they would not attend the forum.  Now what was this about?  Both parties sending a message to the NAACP that they would boycott if WorldPeace attended?  Both parties?  Oh that's right, Don Sanchez was one of Bush's Pioneers.  Someone who contributed more than $100 thousand to his campaign.  But Don Sanchez contributed $350 thousand.  I guess I can see how the Republicans would get in line with Don Sanchez.

What is everyone afraid of?  WorldPeace?

After all the candidates other than WorldPeace canceled, the forum was cancelled and the candidates were told they would be allowed to speak at the final plenary session at 4:30 pm on Saturday afternoon.  Well Marty Akins showed up at 3:00 pm on Friday saying that he did not know what was going on.  (Just the kind of guy who needs to be Comptroller;  someone who does not know what is going on.)  So in one of the Friday events, they let Marty speak.  And the San Antonio Express reported on Saturday morning that Akins was the only one to show up and speak.  Wow!  The San Antonio Express was one of the newspapers that were on the forum.  They knew the details.  They knew that the forum had been cancelled and the candidates were allowed to speak at the final plenary session.  Yet that is not how it was reported.  They reported the non event as if Marty Akins was the only one to appear.

And then there is Don Sanchez.  As it was related to me by several of the Friday night dinner attendees:  Don Sanchez entered the dining room with three of four goons who spread out facing the attendees.  Then Don Sanchez was introduced.  But no one quit eating or talking.  No one paid any attention.  After Don Sanchez mumbled his speech from his note cards, he slithered off the stage and back into the night with his dogs in tow.  Many people did not know who he was and the rest asked what he said.  Several people said the rudeness of the attendees was laughable.

At the final plenary session, only WorldPeace appeared.  No one from the press.  WorldPeace spoke to about fifty members.  These people listened intently as WorldPeace spoke for about ten minutes.  They were not rude, they did not talk and at the end there was no question what was said.

How many times have members of an entrenched bureaucracy attempted to prevent the truth from being spoken?  How resistant are people to change?  How dedicated are people to breaking down those who say "the emperor has no clothes."  How many messengers bearing the truth have been abused, beaten, spat upon and crucified?  Such is the nature of social change.

The time has come to stand up for truth and justice.  The time has come in light of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center to take an honest look at the corruption that has permeated the world politic right down to the local precincts.  The time has come to stop doing business as usual and to make some real progress toward manifesting the truths enunciated in our secular constitutions as well as embracing our spiritual teachings to "do unto others as we would have them do unto us."  We are at the threshold of global change and we have the choice to remain in the darkness and continue reap the rewards of that darkness or to reach out to something bigger than all of us; to reach out to a more just and equitable society.

If I am a minority of one, the truth is still the truth. And as I have demonstrated, WorldPeace will stand up against the entire world in the light of the truth.  

The choice is simple:  WorldPeace or business as usual.  WorldPeace or Don Sanchez and his posse of rogues.

They are many who are afraid of WorldPeace because they are all afraid of the truth.  And they well should be.  The truth has always dominated the darkness that is corruption and lies.  WorldPeace is a dangerous man.

John WorldPeace
The next governor of Texas

October 7, 2001

_______________

WorldPeace at War
Naked City
BY MICHAEL KING 

October 5, 2001: 

Democratic gubernatorial candidate John WorldPeace called "Naked City" last week to denounce the League City Neighborhood Democrats, charging they had forcibly prevented him and his associates from attending a Sept. 28 public fundraiser at League City's South Shore Harbor Resort and Hotel. Candidate Tony Sanchez was scheduled to speak at the fundraiser, and WorldPeace wanted to confront Sanchez and charge him with "dodging" debate and hiding out from the democratic process. 

According to WorldPeace, he and his associates were refused admission by the Democrats and asked to leave the premises by hotel personnel who eventually called League City police. "Tony Sanchez is a poor candidate and a bad public speaker," said WorldPeace, "and the Neighborhood Democrats -- who say they do not endorse any particular candidate -- were obviously trying to protect him from me." WorldPeace said he had expected some "dirty tricks" because he had previously been warned by the organization's chair, Karl Silverman, to stop running negative telephone ads about Sanchez or he'd "be sorry." 

Silverman essentially confirmed WorldPeace's version of the hotel confrontation, but points out that WorldPeace omitted crucial information: WorldPeace himself -- by invitation -- had addressed the same group in July. "I don't understand why he's behaving this way," Silverman says. "After we broke bread with him in our house, he addressed our meeting, and he was treated with every courtesy. He seemed like a nice guy -- then he starts running these telephone ads claiming that Sanchez won't show up. We don't endorse primary candidates, and I told him he wasn't hurting Sanchez, he was hurting our Democratic organization and its fundraising. He told me, 'It's just politics.'" By telling WorldPeace "You'll be sorry," all Silverman says he meant is that he's considering reporting WorldPeace to the state Ethics Commission for unethical campaign tactics. (WorldPeace confirmed to "Naked City" that because he makes a legal solicitation to anyone who answers the phone, he considers his voice-mail campaign messages a business-related tax write-off.) 

Silverman says WorldPeace claimed in his phone message that he intended to be "disruptive and confrontational" at the Sanchez speech, so Silverman asked the hotel to refuse entrance. "The hotel decided to call the police," Silverman says. "And now [WorldPeace] is denouncing us on his Web site as a 'Nazi' and 'fascist' organization." 

Indeed, those are only a couple of the tasteless epithets WorldPeace attaches to the Neighborhood Democrats, in a hysterical screed accompanied by an equally scurrilous denunciation of Sanchez as a "Mafia" candidate. WorldPeace -- who appears determined to demonstrate he doesn't deserve his adopted name -- links the Democratic front-runner in a desperately hyperbolic chain of guilt-by-association, eventually leading to New Orleans mob boss Carlos Marcello. 

Tony Sanchez may indeed not want to debate him -- but WorldPeace has now delivered a perfectly legitimate reason to refuse to do so.
________________

Express-News: Metro and State 
Most candidates won't be at NAACP's
forum 

By W. Gardner Selby 
Express-News Austin Bureau 

Web Posted : 10/05/2001 12:00 AM 

AUSTIN — Most candidates for five major statewide offices have declined an
invitation to appear and answer questions at today's annual gathering of the
Texas conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People, the group's leader said Thursday.

Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, called the refusals to participate
in a debate/town hall meeting "very disappointing."

"We regret that greatly," Bledsoe said, noting that African Americans comprised
16 percent of the statewide vote in 2000. "It's something that will be
remembered among the delegates. It's significant. It's a problem. I want them to
hear loud and clear we have a serious problem with them not agreeing to
participate."

Bledsoe, an Austin lawyer, said Democratic and Republican candidates for the
U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller and attorney general
were invited to answer questions from a panel of journalists and NAACP
members at an Austin hotel this afternoon.

Bledsoe said six candidates, whom he declined to identify, initially accepted the
Sept. 11 invitation.

He said four of the candidates subsequently withdrew, citing scheduling
conflicts, with two campaigns indicating they were wary about addressing
specific issues months before the March party primaries and November 2002
general election.

Bledsoe speculated candidate "handlers" do not want their candidates to take
early positions on sensitive issues such as affirmative action, capital punishment,
the fairness of the criminal justice system and state educational and economic
disparities.

"They don't want them saying things they're not ready to say," Bledsoe said.
"The potential impact on the campaigns at this stage clearly is motivating the
people behind the candidates."

Bledsoe said Marty Akins of Marble Falls, a Democratic candidate for
comptroller, and John WorldPeace of Houston, a Democratic candidate for
governor, were the sole candidates willing to participate in the forum.

He said Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, a Republican, received her
invitation last week and also had a conflict, but plans to visit the convention
Saturday.

Other candidates — including Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Tony Sanchez Jr. of Laredo — declined invitations to
speak to the civil rights organization, which plans to release a report card rating
state lawmakers during the meeting.

Aides to the major candidates for governor and lieutenant governor said their
non-appearances were caused by other commitments and are not intended to
slight the NAACP.

Perry, who received his invitation Sept. 20, plans to honor a prior commitment
to attend an event honoring his wife, Anita, at West Texas State University in
Canyon, near Amarillo, his campaign said.

"Gov. Perry has met with the leadership of the NAACP and looks forward to
continuing the dialogue with them," said his campaign spokeswoman, Deirdre
Delisi.

Sanchez — who earlier passed up an Aug. 25 Coalition of Black Democrats
candidate forum saying he had not received the invitation in time — declined the
Texas NAACP invitation because he had plans to be in Dallas where he hopes
to attend a Dallas fund-raiser for Democratic Sen. Royce West.

The fund-raiser is scheduled for 3 p.m., the same time as the NAACP forum, a
Sanchez spokeswoman said.

Spokeswoman Michelle Kucera said that Sanchez would fly to Austin late
today to visit with NAACP delegates.

"He'll have a chance to speak to the delegates," Kucera said. "We're fully
committed to working with every community."

John Sharp, seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, already
had other commitments when he received the NAACP invitation, said James
Mathis, his campaign manager.

Sharp will be in Corpus Christi for a meeting of the American GI Forum today,
Mathis said.

Mathis further noted that Sharp attended the Coalition of Black Democrats
candidate forum in August.

"We're certainly not dodging," Mathis said. "Had there not been a conflict, we
certainly would have been to this event."

A spokesman for Land Commissioner David Dewhurst, who seeks the
Republican lieutenant governor nomination, said: "Commissioner Dewhurst was
originally scheduled to be out of town Friday, but will now be in Austin for
briefings from state law enforcement as a result of his appointment Monday as
chairman of the Governor's Task Force on Homeland Security."

Bledsoe said he was happy to hear of Sanchez's evening plans. He also
expressed thanks that Susan Weddington of San Antonio, who is the
chairwoman of the Republican Party of Texas, will attend an event with
Democratic and Republican party representatives that will take place in lieu of
the intended candidate forum.

The Texas Democratic Party chairwoman, Molly Beth Malcolm of Texarkana,
plans to send the party's field director as her emissary.

Late Thursday, Bledsoe issued a two-page statement, saying in part: "We won't
any longer tolerate candidates who take our vote for granted or ignore us. We
will support those who support and respect us and we will make it known who
those candidates are regardless of party affiliation."

The statement, noting that the largely forsaken forum would have given NAACP
members from small towns and rural Texas their only chance to hear statewide
candidates, concludes: "Candidates who fail to show up, who fail to take our
members seriously do themselves, our members and the African American
community as a whole a deep disservice."

wselby@express-news.net

Express-News Austin Bureau Chief Peggy Fikac contributed to this report.

10/05/2001 
_________________

Express-News: Metro and State 
NAACP forum draws only 1 election hopeful 
By W. Gardner Selby 
Express-News Austin Bureau 

Web Posted : 10/06/2001 12:00 AM 

AUSTIN — One candidate spoke Friday at an event the Texas NAACP had initially intended to be a debate/town hall meeting showcasing major candidates for the state's top five elected offices.

"Being here was very important to me," said Marty Akins of Marble Falls, who seeks the Democratic nomination for comptroller.

Addressing 50 members of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches, Akins said: "I think you have to set priorities in your life. And you show those priorities by showing up at events you want to go to."

Akins appeared a day after the president of the civil rights group revealed that nearly every candidate invited to appear and answer questions declined the invitation.

Texas NAACP President Gary Bledsoe, an Austin lawyer, said the rejections by Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller and attorney general were "very disappointing" and would be remembered by members.

Most candidates — including Republican Gov. Rick Perry and Democratic hopeful Tony Sanchez Jr. of Laredo — cited scheduling conflicts.

Aides said Perry was attending an event at West Texas State University honoring his wife, Anita. Sanchez was in Dallas at a fund-raiser for Democratic Sen. Royce West with plans to attend the NAACP gathering Friday evening, a spokeswoman said.

Bledsoe said two campaigns indicated their candidates were wary of taking positions on sensitive issues months before the March primaries and November 2002 general election.

Two party leaders, fielding questions during the time period originally set aside for the candidate forum, said they wished candidates had come.

GOP Chairwoman Susan Weddington of San Antonio said: "I'm here. I think it's important to be here. But it would be wrong for me to make excuses."

"Obviously we are not the schedulers for the candidates," said Janice Kinchion, field director for the Texas Democratic Party. "I would love to see more candidates here for everyone."

The Texas NAACP also released a Texas legislative report card rating lawmakers based on their voting records on six or seven issues of interest during the 2001 session.

From Bexar County, Republican state Reps. Frank Corte and John Shields of San Antonio received failing marks on the report card. Corte and Shields each voted against four measures favored by the NAACP.

wselby@express-news.net


10/06/2001