Tulare supervisor seeking re-election verbally attacks Latino board member. What he said
Tulare County Board of Supervisors chairman Larry Micari, who is facing a strong challenge from a Latino in his re-election bid, accused colleague Eddie Valero of wanting to replace all county department heads with Latinos.
“Eddie Valero was running his mouth saying that once he gets his Latino majority, they’re going to fire all the white department heads cuz the county is too white,” Micari is heard during a 33-second video posted online. “And they’re going to take 40 million (dollars) from the sheriff for their programs.”
The uproar was immediate in a county that is 66.5% Latino.
“Yesterday, at the Legacy Church candidate forum, I was disheartened to see a video with slanderous remarks made about me by a colleague. As someone deeply invested in serving Tulare County and people of all backgrounds, my colleague’s statements are 100% false. My colleague is using race-baiting and fear-mongering as a cheap political tactic,” Valero wrote.
Micari is running for re-election in the heavily Latino District 1 against Joe Soria. Valero is in the middle of his second term on the board.
Micari, a retired Tulare County sheriff’s captain, said the white board majority decided to safeguard against a Latino takeover.
“So, thinking ahead, we changed the personnel rules to try to protect that and make sure that we’re doing the right thing for everybody. So, anyway, I appreciate your vote, if you are in District 1, please share. Thank you,” said Micari.
Micari could not be reached for comment. He was first elected to the board of supervisors in 2020 after defeating one-term incumbent Kuyler Crocker, the first Latino ever elected to the board.
It’s not the first time Valero has found himself the target of comments made by other supervisors.
In April 2020, current vice chairman Pete Vander Poel III said, “Supervisor Valero wants another bite of the tortilla” after Valero asked for a quick follow-up question of a county health official during a board meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vander Poel’s comments raised plenty of noise after an audio of the remark was posted on social media.
Then Fresno City councilmember Esmeralda Soria, who grew up in Tulare County city of Lindsay demanded an apology from Vander Poel.
“Fear mongering?! I thought that was something of the past? Not in County of Tulare. Shame on Supervisor Macari for creating fear of electing Latinos to a county that is majority Latino. Fear mongering is dangerous,” said assemblywoman Soria, Monday morning social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter.
Vander Poel, who is also seeking reelection to represent District 2, was at the candidates’ forum and he is seen in the video next to Micari while he is speaking.
The forum did not include any Latino candidates.
Of the three supervisorial races on the primary ballot, incumbents Micari and Vander Poel III, face challengers, who are both Latinos.
Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias responded on X. “How does Tulare Supervisor Micari respond to being challenged by educated and accomplished Latinos. He goes to a Christian church and uses the 2018 Fresno play book of fear mongering Latino Representation. It didn’t work in Fresno and it won’t work in Tulare for much longer.”
Tulare resident Euler Torres, who is a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) wrote on Facebook: “For you to spread hate just like Trump is very disappointing. Who talks about someone with out them being able to defend themselves.”
While Micari faces challenger Soria, a Latino small business owner, Vander Poel III faces challenger Benny Corona, a biomethane analyst and son of a farmworker family.
Valero was the second Latino ever elected to the board when he won in 2018 joining Crocker who was elected in 2016 and was considered a rising star in the Republican Party.
While Crocker, whose mother is from Argentina, lost his supervisorial re-election bid to Micari in 2020 after one term, Valero became the first Latino to win a second term in 2022.
Lali Moheno was appointed to a vacancy but lost her bid in 2004 to win election to the post.
While Tulare County is 66.5% Latino, currently has only one Latino on the board of supervisors.
In 2021, Tulare County Board of Supervisors was unanimous in choosing a redistricting map with three Latino-majority districts.
Those districts were District 1 held by Micari (57.4% Latino), District 2 held by Vander Poel (55.2% Latino), and District 4 held by Valero (61.5% Latino). District 5, held by Dennis Townsend, is 49.6% Latino.
This story was originally published February 27, 2024 at 7:59 AM.
