Leadership of Hispanic Chamber of Commerce contested

BARSTOW • Former leaders of the Barstow Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are calling a new group that has taken over the organization illegitimate.

A group of people, some of them existing members of the Hispanic Chamber and some of them previously unaffiliated, held an election to select new officers and a new board of directors for the organization April 15, said Alejandra “Alex” Ross, who was sworn in as the group’s president, along with the rest of the new officials, at a ceremony Tuesday night.

Manny Lopez, the primary founder and president of the Hispanic Chamber in its previous incarnation, said Wednesday that he was ready to step down and allow new leadership to take over but felt that the new group had not gone through the proper channels to bring it about.

He asked that they come to the Hispanic Chamber’s regularly scheduled meeting May 18, pay their membership dues, and then hold an election.

“The bottom line is, I welcome this, but it has to be done properly,” Lopez said. “You can’t just go in to any corporation, any business, and just say... ‘We’re going to take this corporation over.’”

Lopez did not have a copy of the original bylaws of the organization available Wednesday but said that participation in elections was only open to members in good standing, which, according to him, most of the new officers and directors were not. Ross said all of them were either existing members or became members at the time of the election.

Although Ross said the group had notified Lopez that the new elections were taking place, Lopez said none of them had ever contacted him.

Lopez’s business partner, Roland Ulloa, president of Dos Costas Communications and one of the seven founders of the Hispanic Chamber, accused Mayor Joe Gomez of orchestrating the take-over of the Chamber and called it inappropriate.

At the ceremony Tuesday, where Gomez swore in the new officers, he denied that the election had been his idea but said he did support the new board.

Some of the existing members and founders of the Hispanic Chamber said it was time to open up the leadership of the organization to more people and bring fresh blood into it, as well as working more closely with the Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ralph Ribera, realtor for Coldwell Banker Golden West Real Estate, one of the newly inaugurated board members and a member of the Hispanic Chamber in its previous incarnation, said the leaders had always asked members to get more involved.

“They shouldn’t be (upset) because we’re doing what they’ve asked us to do all along — step up and take over,” he said.

Alex Alvarez, one of the original founders of the Hispanic Chamber, and the former owner of the now-defunct Ideal Auto Center in Barstow, praised Lopez and Ulloa’s hard work but called the new board a positive move.

“I think the leadership needed to change,” he said. “I think it got stale. I think the (leaders) got burned out. ... It’s just time for new blood and a new direction.”

Alvarez said, however, that the new leaders will need to prove that they are making improvements.

“If they’re just a bunch of empty suits, we’ll find that out in the next six months,” he said.

Gabriel Diaz, another of the founders and former owner of the Ambiance Steak House, said he was not asked to be a part of the recent election but will remain an active member and support the new board.

In the past, Lopez said, the Hispanic Chamber — which was governed by officers and had an executive board made up of the founders — had attempted to hold elections for a governing board, but the efforts failed when people rejected their nominations or did not show up to elections.

A corporate filing dated April 9, which was provided by the Secretary of State’s office Wednesday afternoon and signed by Ross, lists Ross as the president, Cynthia Mosqueda as vice-president and Eladio U. Garcia as chief financial officer. Ross said they submitted the filing to bring the records up to date because the Hispanic Chamber’s status was listed as suspended with the Secretary of State.

Lopez said he had not realized the filings were changed until he opened the secretary’s Web site and saw Ross listed as the registered agent instead of himself.

Ross said Tuesday that the new officers are still working on drafting new bylaws and will meet monthly until they can get everything in order. She said they have not asked for or received any documentation from Lopez to date.

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New leadership of Barstow Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
New officers: President, Alex Ross; Vice President, Cynthia Mosqueda; Secretary Lola Kirk. Eddie U. Garcia confirmed as Treasurer May 5.
New board members: Gloria Darling, Marvin Ellis, Ralph Ribera, Barbara Rose, Viola Vasulta, Elaine Peralta, Robert Washington.