In late December, the Merced County Sheriff’s Posse announced they would be attending the Presidential inauguration to represent the state of California. “I feel honored having the opportunity to ride with this unit,” Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke told the Merced Sun-Star. “Out of 58 (California) counties, we’re the one representing the state. You guys can tell I’m kind of giddy about it,” he said. The sheriff estimated the total expense for the trip would be $80,000. The Sheriff’s Posse is a volunteer-based group that was created in 1948 as “goodwill ambassadors” for parades and events.
To raise the funds, the Sheriff and his posse held a fundraiser on January 8. It cost individuals $25 to enter, with the highlight of the event being an auction of the U.S. imperialist flag that will be carried in the parade.
Merced residents denounced this lavish trip to Washington D.C. and stood for hours in the rain outside the fundraiser denouncing the reactionary incoming president and any support given to him. Residents chanted, “Not my President, No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA.” Rodolfo Rodriguez, Unit Chair of UAW Local 2865 was part of the demonstration outside and stated, “Donald Trump did not win the popular vote in Merced County, California, or in the United States. But also, the hateful, racist, misogynistic rhetoric he has used before and during the campaign demonstrates he is not an individual fit to hold such a powerful position. In contrast, we believe it is time to reject the incoming president-elect.”
Sheriff Warnke also requested $10,000 of Merced County’s Marketing Budget to help fund the trip. The Board of Supervisors was set to vote on the matter on January 10. This meeting was heavily attended by Merced residents who opposed the use of public funds to help send the Posse to Washington D.C. Sheriff Warnke spoke at the start of the meeting, claiming that all the necessary funds had been privately raised. He then asked the Board to take his “safety net” request off the agenda.
Even though Supervisor Daron McDaniel’s own county had voted against Trump, he stated, “I fully support the Sheriff’s Posse going to the inauguration… It’s not about the person in it; it’s about the process and the president of the United States. Once elected you are the president, so I just want to make sure you understand that.”
According to Transparent California, Sheriff Vernon Warnke made $310,000 in total pay for fiscal year 2015. The U.S. Census Bureau released data in 2013 stating Merced County had a poverty rate of 35.1 percent. According to a study released in 2015 by The Violence Policy Center Merced County ranked 5th in the State of California in homicides with victims ages 10-24 years old. Many Merced residents have formed coalitions to ask Merced legislators to invest in youth, to no avail. Merced is tired of leadership that does not put residents first. Who does the Sheriff serve when he spends $80,000 to send his Posse and horses in luxury trailers to Washington D.C? In Merced, residents wonder when the Sheriff and his supporters will raise $80,000 for homelessness or youth programs?
It was a victory for the community of Merced who stood up to the Sheriff and his Posse at the Board of Supervisors meeting to denounce the misuse of funds. We are not proud of their participation in the inaugural parade; instead the community will be holding actions on January 20 to denounce the president elect and his billionaire cabinet.
