Two California city councilmen are under fire after they admitted to being part of a group chat where messages were exchanged that featured derogatory slurs referring to Black people and Mexicans.
Peter Ortiz and Domingo Candelas, members of the San Jose City Council, are the two city officials at the center of the backlash.
News of their involvement in the racist group chat first came to light after the San José Spotlight reported that the two had been involved in the inflammatory chat that included other city officials and community leaders.
The chat was reportedly named “Tammany Hall,” after the Democratic political organization that dominated New York City politics in the 19th century and assisted immigrants with jobs, housing, and citizenship in exchange for voting loyalty. The organization became known for condoning corrupt practices at the direction of political bosses who operated behind the scenes, most notably William M. Tweed.
Participants in the group chat that included Ortiz and Candelas traded texts that used the N-word and referred to Mexicans as “scraps,” a derogatory term used to refer to Southern California gang members. Some texts also reportedly belittled specific neighborhoods and schools in low-income areas.
The texts were discovered on the confiscated phone of disgraced San Jose councilman Omar Torres, who recently pleaded no contest to three counts of felony child molestation.
Other than Ortiz and Candelas, Candelas’ chief of staff, the Working Partnerships USA Transportation Policy Director, and the community relations manager for the San Jose Downtown Association, who is also Ortiz’s partner, were also members of the group chat.
Following meetings with local NAACP members, the councilmen confessed to their involvement in the group chat at a news conference.
“These past couple weeks I have been meeting with several community organizations affected by these alleged messages and I’m working toward a path forward, rooted in understanding and empathy, but more importantly a commitment to social justice and healing,” Candelas stated, per KNTV.
“I will continue to always ensure Black and brown residents have a real seat at the table in every decision made at City Hall,” Ortiz added.
It’s unclear what language the councilmen used in the chat, but Ortiz denied using racial slurs or making demeaning remarks about the Mexican community.
“We had group threads, but there was never anything talking bad about African-Americans,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight. “I for sure didn’t. I don’t know anybody else who did.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and community activists are now demanding the release of the texts as part of calls for full transparency and accountability.
“These are serious allegations and, to the extent that this language was used in the course of city business or to describe constituents, the people of San Jose have a right to know what their elected representatives are saying,” Mahan said. “I’m especially concerned by the claim that some in City Hall subsequently tried to shield these messages from public view by claiming they are essential to an ongoing investigation. If the texts fall under the city’s usual standards for public disclosure, they should be made public to maintain trust with our community.”
“We need to get complete accountability for what occurred,” Sean Allen, president of NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley, told KGO. “And we need to make sure those seats are filled with people who will represent the community as a whole without bias.”
Some supporters of the council members believe that the law enforcement sources who revealed the chat’s existence to the San Jose Spotlight are seeking to instigate conflict for political gain.
“Some of the loudest calls for punishment (of Ortiz and Candelas) have come from individuals and institutions with no demonstrated concern for equity,” Allen, a former sergeant with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, said. “On the contrary, some of them have acted and continue to benefit from policies that harm the Black community. It is not lost on us that these alleged text messages were leaked with the intention of creating conflict between our communities.”
