Sunday, February 5, 2012 – 06:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 6, 2012 – 10:55 a.m.
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chairman James Ramos must be wanting a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in the worst way.
Since 2010, a whopping $592,000 has been funneled to two Ramos-controlled campaign committees.
By whom you ask?
Indian gambling interests.
An amount making up 82.41% of his total campaign war-chest raised.
For a candidate with many vulnerabilities, this falls into the category of major stupid
Ramos, a democrat, has been trying to distance himself from his title as Tribal chairman, and instead adopt the bait and switch title of businessman, hasn’t figured out that the already received money is now a landmine.
Throwing the Tribe’s money around the community in an effort to raise his profile likely isn’t enough to counteract the negatives.
Supervisor Neil Derry, the republican that Ramos is trying to unseat, has a twelve-point party registration advantage in the conservative Third District.
Ramos likely has a solid thirty-percent of the vote at best.
Sources say Ramos’ own internal polling shows as much.
The attempt at buying the seat combined with not paying various state income and property taxes is problematic.
The more of this type of ammo that Ramos provides Derry makes Ramos’ defeat less and less costly.
Some of the issues at hand already has Ramos’ supporters second guessing themselves.
Here is a more detailed look at Ramos’ casino-related campaign windfall.
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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE RAMOS, RAMOS FAMILY, AND OTHER TRIBAL MEMBERS DATE CONTRIBUTOR AMOUNT 02/10/10 JAMES RAMOS SR. $ 5,000 03/01/10 CARLA RODRIGUEZ $ 1,500 04/14/10 LYNN VALBUENA $ 500 09/22/10 CARLA RODRIGUEZ $ 2,500 05/10/11 RAMOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD COMMITTEE $ 50,000 06/13/11 VANESSA RAMOS $ 5,000 06/15/11 ROWENA RAMOS $ 10,000 06/16/11 JAMES RAMOS $ 50,000 (LOAN) 06/19/11 ALAINA MATTHEWS $ 5,000 06/19/11 THERESA RAMOS $ 5,000 06/22/11 SANDRA MARQUEZ $ 6,000 06/28/11 RAMOS COMMUNITY COLLEGE BOARD COMMITTEE $ 150,000 09/06/11 DELORES FIELDS $ 1,000 11/14/11 KEN RAMIREZ $ 10,000 12/26/11 CARLA RODRIGUEZ $ 10,000 12/27/11 JAMES RAMOS $ 50,000 (LOAN) SUB-TOTAL $ 376,500 . INDIAN TRIBES DATE CONTRIBUTOR AMOUNT 02/03/10 SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 15,000 02/16/10 SOBOBA INDIAN TRIBE $ 1,000 02/22/10 SANTA YNEZ INDIAN TRIBE $ 5,000 03/04/10 ONEIDA INDIAN NATION $ 5,000 03/19/10 MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 5,000 03/20/10 BARONA INDIAN TRIBE $ 1,000 03/25/10 SYCUAN BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 1,500 04/14/10 AGUA CALIENTE INDIAN TRIBE $ 500 05/26/10 SHINGLE SPRINGS BAND OF MIWOK INDIANS $ 500 09/01/10 SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 5,000 09/22/10 ONEIDA INDIAN NATION $ 5,000 09/27/10 MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 5,000 09/28/10 PALA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 2,500 09/28/10 SANTA YNEZ INDIAN TRIBE $ 1,000 03/30/11 SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 15,000 05/10/11 SANTA YNEZ INDIAN TRIBE $ 10,000 05/31/11 RINCON BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS $ 10,000 06/16/11 SYCUAN BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 2,500 06/19/11 MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 10,000 10/03/11 SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 10,000 10/25/11 PALA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 5,000 11/15/11 MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 10,000 11/18/11 SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 10,000 11/18/11 SOBOBA INDIAN TRIBE $ 5,000 11/18/11 YOCHA DEHE WINTON NATION $ 5,000 12/12/11 SYCUAN BAND KUMEYAAY NATION $ 5,000 12/14/11 AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS $ 2,500 12/14/11 SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 10,000 12/15/11 SAN PASQUAL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 500 12/27/11 29 PALMS BAND OF MISSION INDIANS $ 1,000 SUB-TOTAL $ 164,500 . OTHER CALIFORNIA CASINOS AND GAMBLING ASSOCIATIONS DATE CONTRIBUTOR AMOUNT 10/26/10 CALIFORNIA NATIONS INDIAN GAMING ASSN. $ 1,000 06/16/11 CALIFORNIA COMMERCE CLUB $ 10,000 06/22/11 CALIFORNIA NATIONS INDIAN GAMING ASSN. $ 5,000 11/14/11 CALIFORNIA COMMERCE CLUB $ 10,000 11/15/11 HAWAIIAN GARDENS CASINO $ 5,000 11/18/11 HOLLYWOOD PARK RACETRACK AND CASINO $ 2,500 11/15/11 THE BICYCLE CASINO $ 5,000 12/15/11 LAKE ELSINORE HOTEL AND CASINO $ 2,500 12/22/11 CALIFORNIA NATIONS INDIAN GAMING ASSN. $ 10,000 SUB-TOTAL $ 51,000 . TOTAL $ 592,000 . Source: San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters
All his contributors are either Mexicans or “Indian” tribes made up of mexicans. So I guess it is fair to say he is the mexican candidate. He also doesnt pay state or local taxes including car license fees. Lazy worthless parasite.
Well, now it is clear. Ramos and his gambling buddies want to buy a seat on the Board of supervisors! In the words of Private Gomer Pile…Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!
Guess it sounds like somebody is jealous!
Scott Ferrand: Guess you are a bought-off-whore too. How’s that Tribal extremity feel? Comfy?
Taxpayers everywhere would rather have a candidate whored out to the tribes than a candidate selling his soul to the bloodsucking public employee unions. California’s biggest problem aren’t casinos but rather overpaid government workers and their bloated pensions. Derry isn’t a conservative-he’s a union whore.
Get a life you scumbag sabersix. Anyone paid to pimp for that filthy parasite casino thug should be horsewhipped or hung from a tree, or both. Be glad we dont do that to filth like you antmore. Go back under your rock you pathetic slob.
Good luck you mouthbreathers now that Bagley is in the race. I bet that guy gets more votes than the union whore Derry.
You mean the guy who lost two elections to city council in little old Twenty-nine Palms? You vewy funny, ha ha. Dimwit.
LOL…good luck. After he’s out of office, maybe the union gooch smoocher can start up a blanket donation program for the San Manuel reservation.
Sbresix
I salute you. The developer boys are very jealous of the people they hate the most. Indians sometimes do beat the cowboys The real issue is not how Ramos got his money and from whom, but rather why does Derry have so little for being such a popular incumbent. Even Josie the queen has 8x more then him. The Unions had their guy but he upset so many on the board he became powerless. They are not stupid and only give money and endorsements to those who have a chance to win. It is not personal just business. Derry is a dead man walking but is too proud to realize it. 12 point conservative lead is meaningless if you are broke and have a criminal record.
Sabresux and Fun Gay Times: Ramos has neither the demographics nor the brains to win this seat. His tribe is drenched in the mafia, and he can’t escape it…not to mention, he is Jerry Brown’s butt boy.
It doesn’t matter now that the REP vote is split. Ramos can take pictures with Pelosi and it won’t matter.
The REP vote would need to actually be split, Bagley has no following, no money, no name ID, and no chance. Not to mention, the folks in 29 remember his last two escapades or losses running for city council. Unlike Cook, he doesn’t draw votes. Besides, Derry won last time with Dem votes, many who will never vote for a rich 1 percenter like Ramos.
LOL
Oh, so now Derry is going to win with the DEM vote? Is this part of his genius strategy? He’s making great strides in courting the DEM vote, especially by calling Joe Gomez a rapist. LOL!!!
You mean Joe Gomez “the Rapist”. The guy that attacked his own Police LT’s wife at a party at the Police Officer’s own house? You must be kidding…You think Democrats will flock to that? Ha Ha Ha. If Joe Gomez is your defender among Democrats…you lose…and big!
SabreSix, YOU are dummer than a rock. What do you think James Ramos and SEBA have been doing for the last couple of years? Beside sharing the same hamburger at lunch.
He is courting the union just like you say Derry is. James just gave Highland PD a check for $19,000 for equimpment for reserve deputies. A SBSD contract city.
His casino employes more than a few retired cops.
One of the big supervisors in charge of casino security if Carol Abernathie the wife of Bill Abernathie former President of SEBA.
The same Bill Abernathie who ALMOST got him a job as Chief of Security for another Indian Casino. And I am sure James Ramos attempted to give him a boost on that job.
NOW with all that, you want us to believe James Ramos doesn’t need or want the unions backing. Listening to you it sounds like James will be anti-union.
Now go get back on the horse you fell off, and go play cowboys and indians!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, all that union courting got Ramos a grand total of….wait for it….$15K. How much did Derry receive from SEBA in 2008? I might be “dummer” than a rock, but I ain’t blind. Derry was already bought by the unions long before he stepped foot on the fifth floor. Ramos’ support to LE is only symbolic.
Outsider – you and the people like you prove that you lack even the basics of what we term “humanity.” I’m a white, Republican and I’m here to say that Reparations to the Native American people have been way late in coming and inadequate to boot. It’s just money and here society actually gets something in return (no different than the Lords of Vegas.) The lives lost and families displaced and culture that had to be reassembled like a jigsaw puzzle can never be made right.
That said, it is obvious that you are as stupid as you are ignorant. James Ramos could be kicking back, collecting his checks content to be a great husband and father but instead he has demonstrated the desire to become educated (Master’s degree) to search for innovative ways to help not only his tribe but the community as a whole. He operates several local businesses (providing employment) and pays taxes on them. Most people eschew politics precisely because of idiots like you and the desperate mud-slingers like Derry. But Ramos has already achieved elected office and fulfilled his duties in a commendable manner and is now in a position to help more people.
If you actually knew Mr. Ramos, you would know that he’s no “lifetime politician” with an attitude of entitlement. He is a servant, a man who has a heart for people and is out there trying to make the world a better place for his family for generations to come. Heck, he’s even trying to make it a better place for your family. America – what a country – the only country where anybody can espouse hate and bigotry from a soap-box, hidden behind a cloak of anonymity and not pay for it with their freedom.
I think this country is headed for a rebound, a new spirit, a new way – a new train of thought. Outsider – you and people like you (like the Klan in the deep south) are like the T-Rex, You were in control for awhile but, now you are extinct. Your time is finished. You”re dead and you just don’t realize it yet.
Ask your orderly to ratchet up your meds. They clearly aren’t working.
Ramos can take pictures with Pelosi?
He did, long ago, ask him to make it public, or will he say he lost it, because he sure can not deny having it.
SabreSix, your mouth is getting brave, and Ramos in more of a hole- is it you talking or the liquor?
MrWhite== I dont doubt that you are well meaning, but you are misguided and are ignorant of American history. People like you brought us such guilt-ridden programs as affirmative action, political correctness, indian gambling monopoly, etc. How have all those worked out,huh?
As for the Noble Red Man, victim of White Americans, allow me to tell you what the Indian history really is. They were filthy (literally), warlike, constantly raiding and stealing other tribes belongings, animals and women, they were practicing slaveholders; they were barbaric and unbelievably cruel; they practiced torture and maiming. And finally, they didnt own America. They were a tiny population in a great big land. The idea that the whole continent belonged to these sparse indian tribes is laughable. So people migrated here, and because they were more advanced in culture they built railroads that pushed Indians away. Sounds like the history of the world.
So the next time you decide to write drivel about the poor mistreated Indians who need “reparations” you might want to actually do some research on history. P>S> How many years of Indian gambling monopoly stealing money from poor people who need it to put food on the table would suffice? And tell me White why should Indians like Ramos pay no taxes? Dont they use state and local services or do they stay only on their reservation?
You are an insufferable and an ignorant fool. I dont think a Republican could be so naive and self righteous at the same time. Sounds so liberal Democrat to me! Reparations indeed!
It is clear that the Derry’s folks are just a bunch of racists who just hate Mexicans and Indians. The true colors of Chris Jones are coming out. This is not Alabama in 1950. You will lose trying to argue that Ramos should not be supervisor because his tribe has a casino and his tribe should just stay on the reservation.
Derry is in bigger trouble then ever. His handlers almost put him in jail and now they will put him out of office.
Outsider-
If you are really a history buff, you know that bad people, the power hungry, cruel and lazy come in all colors and sizes. Any generalization lumping everyone from any ethnic class into a single group is foolish. Your second point seems to rely on the “might makes right” principle or maybe that the end justifies the means. Every atrocity inflicted on mankind or ethnic cleansing undertaken has adhered to this principle. It’s no big deal, though, Outsider, unless your the unwanted pain-in the ass they’re coming after.
Instead of making a convincing counter-argument, you’ve succeeded in proving mine – namely, that Derry and so many politicians before him see political office as an end justifies the means to a privileged, influential lifestyle. Too often we have hear the timeworn story of the politician accepting favors and returning them, using this barter system to line their war-chest and keep them in office lone after their usefulness has ended. Ramos doesn’t “need” to be in office. He has nothing to gain personally from running for office. In fact, if he were to ask me, I’d suggest that he doesn’t need the aggravation. Nevertheless, he is running and should be commended for caring enough to stand up and do the right thing.
As for the whole tax and money issue. I don’t begrudge the Native American people for building their own future under the laws of this nation any more than I begrudge Steve Wynn for building an empire in Vegas. I’m not much of a gambler but it’s inconsistent to spew your venom on Tribal Gaming while Vegas is thriving. It’s unfortunate that people ruin their lives gambling, drinking, etc. but I’m not suggesting that we become a police state outlawing every vice real or imagined.
Our tax laws are so screwed up that multi-national corporations can end up paying no corporate taxes, getting write-offs for putting our workers on the street. Yes, there are a lot of screwed up things in this world but your hate for Indian peoples is stupid and pointless. What we need is more people like James Ramos who don’t need a job but instead want to represent our best interests – not their own.
Finally, there are a lot of really bad people in this world. James Ramos isn’t one of the, nor any other native American people II’ve met. Why don’t you save your blogs, your hate and anger for the really bad people and injustices in the world. If so, I won’t begrudge the 20 minutes I’ve wasted on you.
I certainly dont begrudge success, however, comparing Steve Wynn to James Ramos is not the same. Wynn competes in an open environment; Ramos has a state-given monopoly. And why should Ramos and the “Indians” have such a monopoly anyway?
Ramos does not epitomize anything more than how liberals can take losers and create winners by taking from some and giving to others. Lets open gambling to all in the state and see how long chieframos and his band of gamblers can compete. Then will see if he really accomplishes anything.