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GOP Official Quits Over Remarks About Blacks
By Melanie Dabovich
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The chairman of the Republican Party in New Mexico's most populous county resigned Thursday, nearly a week after saying "Hispanics consider themselves above blacks" and won't vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Fernando C de Baca's resignation as GOP chairman in Bernalillo County was announced by state GOP Chairman Allen Weh, one of several top New Mexico Republicans who had called for him to step down.
"Mr. C de Baca has worked hard on behalf of the party, and his contributions should be appropriately recognized," Weh said. "We are glad this matter has been resolved and wish him well."
C de Baca, 70, was quoted in a BBC News blog last week as saying: "The truth is that Hispanics came here as conquerors. African-Americans came here as slaves. Hispanics consider themselves above blacks. They won't vote for a black president."
C de Baca had maintained his comments were taken out of context, explaining he was referring to views held by some in the generation of Hispanics who grew up before the civil rights movement. "Those were not my beliefs," he said Tuesday.
A spokesman for the BBC defended the report as accurate. Pressure on C de Baca to resign grew with the release of audio from a second BBC interview.
In that interview, he said older Hispanics would not support Obama "primarily because there is a strong feeling that African Americans during the civil rights movement took advantage, full advantage, of all the benefits and programs that the government offered, that were supposed to be offered to all minorities. But we were left behind, we were left sucking air, and we resented that ever since the '60s, and I don't see how a black president is going to change that."
As recently as Wednesday, C de Baca had refused calls to resign.
"He does not speak for the majority of Hispanics in New Mexico," said E. Lena Brown, NAACP chapter president in Albuquerque, which is part of Bernalillo County. "His comments were without merit and foundation. New Mexico is a multicultural state. Now I hope some of this stupidness will stop."
The remarks drew widespread criticism from black leaders, Democrats and high-profile Republicans, including Sen. Pete Domenici.
C de Baca led the state's health and social services agency in 1976-79 under a Democratic governor and served former President Ford as a White House assistant for Spanish-speaking affairs in the mid-1970s.
Weh had said in recent days that he has the authority to remove a county chairman under special circumstances but indicated his preference that the county party work to remedy the situation. Ryan Cangiolosi, treasurer of the county party, will take over as chairman.
Recent polls in New Mexico have shown Obama opening up a lead there over Republican nominee John McCain.
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