San Antonio mayoral candidate Manuel Medina led a march of 50 supporters to the front doors of the San Antonio Express-News Monday afternoon to protest a Brian Chasnoff column that raised serious questions about Medina’s claim of continuous residency in the United States since his arrival as a child.
The column, which appeared Thursday, March 29, contained previously unreported information about Medina that directly contradicts his biography and campaign presentation as a U.S. naturalized citizen who was born in Mexico, immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 3 with his mother, and has lived here ever since.
Chasnoff cited records and sources in Mexico that indicate Medina worked at a university in Torreón, Coahuila, from 1997 to 2008. During that time he also ran unsuccessfully for public office there, was legally divorced, and then remarried.
About 50 people carrying American flags and pro-immigrant signs gathered on the steps of the newspaper’s front door at 301 Avenue E at 12:45 p.m. Local media, including the Rivard Report, received advance notice of Medina’s press conference. Chasnoff and other Express-News journalists were not given the same notice.
A few heated, verbal exchanges took place between Medina supporters and Express-News reporters. Medina did not provide any direct evidence to refute Chasnoff’s revelations, and refused to respond to questions asked by Express-News journalists. Some of those marching in support of Medina shouted racial epithets at Chasnoff.
Protesters gathered one block from the Express-News building and then marched to the front door, chanting “Medina: sí, Express: no,” “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Brian Chasnoff’s got to go,” “New year, new mayor,” and “U.S.A.” Some yelled “liar” and “racist” when they spotted Chasnoff in the crowd.
Medina, the Bexar County Democratic Party chairman, claims Chasnoff purposefully mischaracterized his residency timeline in an attempt to capitalize on “racist, xenophobic, and ignorant” feelings some people may have toward a non-native citizen, a charge the local columnist refuted.
“He made his immigration story the centerpiece of his biography on the campaign trail, and the question is: Is Manuel Medina being honest and truthful about his immigration story?” Chasnoff told reporters.
Medina, who became a U.S. citizen in 2009, has now acknowledged that he spent a lot of time in Torreón: teaching at a university (1997-2008), running for Mexican office (2005), and divorcing his first wife and marrying his second wife (2006) – but never for more than a couple days at a time, he told reporters Monday. None of that 11-year record of Medina operating in Mexico appeared in his biography or was known prior to publication of Chasnoff’s column.
“I would go down there for a night and come back,” Medina said, adding that the column gave the impression that he lived there for 10 years.
He did not explain how he was able to run for elected office in Mexico while not residing there.
Residing in Mexico would have prevented Medina from becoming a U.S. citizen, campaign manager Carlton Soules told the Rivard Report after the protest. “He applied for citizenship during that time frame … in the mind of the U.S. government, he has met every requirement he needs to be a resident.”
Medina read the column as an attack on his and other naturalized citizens’ patriotism. Others read it as a serious challenge to the personal story he has touted for months.
“The 47-year-old native of Mexico has stuck to this story on the campaign trail,” Chasnoff wrote, “portraying himself as a patriotic American who immigrated to the United States at age 3 and has lived in this country ever since.”
Medina takes issue with the term “portrayed” in regards to his patriotism, as though he is “pretending to be an American,” he said.
“To imply that he’s somehow less American than you or I is just wrong,” Soules said. “Plenty of people do business in Mexico and live in Texas, it’s a border economy.”
Medina claims that he only ran for office in Mexico to build name recognition for his political career.
“I had access to public records from Mexico that stated he was divorced in Mexico, he remarried in Mexico, he worked in Mexico, and ran for office in Mexico,” Chasnoff said. “So whether or not he lived in Mexico during that time, that’s a question that the reader should grapple with and the voter should grapple with.”
As for the accusations of racism and ignorance, Chasnoff said he’ll leave that up to readers as well.
“Anyone who reads [the column]…I am confident that they will come away from reading it with a conclusion that it’s not a racist column, that it really does just question his truthfulness on the campaign trail,” he said
“I’m a ‘one-hundred-percenter’ of the free press,” Medina told reporters. “I’ve learned that you can answer the questions but they’ll write whatever they want.”
Medina accused Chasnoff of describing him as “nothing more than a Mexican native attempting to portray myself as a patriotic American.” The column refers to Medina as a “native of Mexico” and clearly states he became a citizen in 2009.
The column’s implication that Medina didn’t live in the U.S. for long periods of time, Soules told the Rivard Report, is the most erroneous.
“[The column] made it sound like [Medina] lied about where he was for 10 years,” he said.
Chasnoff is known in the community for revealing interesting and/or controversial connections in San Antonio’s political realm. He is a columnist, which allows him to add his own perspective or point of view.
“I have a track record of writing columns that question candidates when I perceive that they are not being truthful,” Chasnoff said. “To me it was just another example of pointing out to the readers of the Express-News that a particular candidate was not being truthful to the voters.”
Soules said he’d like to see the Express-News leadership as well as its owner, the Hearst Corporation, hold Chasnoff accountable and “take this seriously.”
“We stand by not only our columnists, but our columns,” stated the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Mike Leary in the paper’s coverage of the protest, “They’re 100 percent accurate and documented.”
Mayor Ivy Taylor declined to comment on the issue. Councilman Ron Nirenberg (D8), also campaigning to unseat Taylor, could not be reached before deadline but he told Chasnoff, “This certainly betrays the myth that Manuel Medina has created about himself … and tells voters he can’t be trusted on his biography, let alone his wild promises.”
It’s quite frankly, disgusting that Manuel Medina is using racism as a cover for his lies about living in San Antonio all his life. A reporter pointing out the fact that Medina lived in Mexico is not an attempt at slander, Medina’s offense is that he bothered to lie about his time in Mexico at all. Manuel Medina didn’t have to insist that he lived in San Antonio his whole life! People could have seen him as worldly instead of what kind of name he is making for himself now. Me thinks he doth protest too much…
Him visiting family in Mexico, or working part time in Mexico as a visiting professor does not mean he was not a resident of our city or country. We all know non establishment candidates have always gotten the short end of the stick.
Chair of the Bexar County Democratic Party is hardly non-establishment. He is inexperienced, not independent, not non-establishment.
Lol all his life. He never said that dude.
He working and visiting Mexico to me is a non issue. Us citizens alway visit family in other countries. Many business men operated worldwide was as Medina has operated South of the US in his business ventures.
I do see where the Express and News reporter is trying to smear Medina. This yellow journalism does not surprise me against Manuel Medina the non-establishment candidate. As everyone knows that reads Express News if you’re not an establishment candidate you’re going to get the short end of the stick.
I am glad the Medina camp called out this excuse of a newspaper.
Manuel Medina is the Bexar County Democratic Party chair. How is that “non-establishment”?
Sure, many of my friends visit, work, consult in Mexico and return to the U.S. He ran for office in Mexico–this is not the same thing. Let’s hear him explain how that was possible. And while we’re at it, let’s hear him tell us why he lied about his recent history. Haven’t we learned anything about politicians who lie?
The rules to run for public office in Mexico are not the same as they are here. Since it is a whole different country, lol. In Mexico for certain positions you do not have to reside in the area but for some others you do.
Unfortunately, after listening to Medina at the Pearl Mayoral Town Hall last month, I am not at all surprised to hear that Medina pulled off such a stunt. This is exactly what I’d expect from him. He’s a clown. It’s low down, dirty, and meant to incite. This kind of smear tactic is meant to distract from the real issues at hand. Medina is a dishonest politician, and we cannot afford to elect him as mayor. Vilifying the media, and taking aim at real, hard working reporters like Brian Chasnoff, are tactics that come straight out of the Trump/Bannon playbook. Do not be fooled. Medina is not good for San Antonio.
Indeed, this is clearly the truth. I worked under his “leadership ” of the County Demo during the recent election and this is consistent with my observations and experience of Manuel Medina—-professional politician and poor administrator by far.
He doesn’t seem to reflect positively on the local democratic party, either.
Brian Chasnoff’s column identified Medina, as a “47-year-old native of Mexico portraying himself as a patriotic American.” The rest of the article questioned Medina’s residency during the period of time that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services both granted Mr. Medina residency and granted him citizenship. Mr. Chasnoff’s column was both offensive and xenophobic by suggesting Mr. Medina is a Mexican carpetbagger pretending to be a patriotic American. (To read the rest of my thoughts please follow the link below) http://www.thepetitionsite.com/511/032/753/help-stop-media-bias-against-foreign-born-american-citizens/
He should just answer the questions about his background if there gaps that need explaining. By attacking and trying to intimidate the journalist he just comes across as hiding something. Calling the journalist racist is childish and shows he will run a dirty campaign.
This manufactured outrage sure looks like he has something to hide. Nothing about Chasnoff’s piece was racist or xenophobic and Manuel could clear the air by answering questions proposed by the paper instead of grandstanding and calling certain media outlets to cover his public tantrum. While he’s at it, he should explain how running his campaign out of the party headquarters is ethical. Not all Democrats support [him] for the non-partisan position.
Keep up the good work, Brian. [Medina] needs to feel some heat.
So these people are protesting the truth… the facts. And the candidate hasn’t come forward to refute Chasnoff’s column, so basically, they’re protesting because Chasnoff exposed the facts.
Wow. How very Trump-like.
Well, it works for the president, why not a mayoral candidate?