Controversies
On January 31, 2007, a story on the Politico.com website reported that Rep. Joe Baca had called Rep. Loretta Sanchez a "whore" in a conversation with Speaker of the California Assembly Fabian Núñez, prompting Sanchez to resign from the CHC. Rep. Baca has denied this charge, but two other CHC members, Linda Sánchez (Loretta's sister) and Hilda Solis, expressed support for Loretta Sanchez. In the case of Solis, Baca called her "'a kiss-up' to Speaker Nancy Pelosi," for which he has apologized to Solis both privately and publicly.
A year prior to the "whore" incident, The CHC's Political action committee gave $3,000 to Joe Baca's children's campaigns for state offices in California. Although Baca recused himself from the decision to make the contributions, six members of the caucus criticized the decision, saying that CHC's PAC should support only federal candidates. Consequently, on November 15, 2006, when Joe Baca was elected chair of the CHC, Solis and the Sanchez sisters challenged his election, saying that the voting should have been done by a secret ballot.
On Monday, April 2, 2007, Congresswoman Linda Sánchez closed her offices in honor of César Estrada Chávez Day, a state holiday in California (which fell on a Saturday that year). CHC chair Baca made the following comment on Sánchez's decision to close the office "I believe the best way to observe César Estrada Chávez Day is not by taking the day off from work or school." On April 12, Linda Sánchez announced that she had "suspended her membership in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, citing a need for 'structural reforms to ensure that the caucus is more equitable and inclusive of all its members.'" She specifically stated that her decision "was not based on personal animus directed at Baca."
Read more about this topic: Congressional Hispanic Caucus