The Councilor for Mobility of the Castelló City Council, Cristian Ramírez, today apologized for not having paid the blue zone fines that were pending before and doing so in the last phase of the administrative procedure and added that he has never tried to evade his responsibility for mayor. Likewise, he has denounced that he is experiencing an "unjustified hunt."
This is what Ramírez said in the extraordinary plenary session held today at City Hall at the request of the Socialist Group to explain the infractions committed in the blue zone and the situation of the fines.
The spokesperson for the Socialist Group, Patricia Puerta, stated as soon as she began her speech that she was surprised to see the Mobility councilor sitting, "because if he had a minimum of shame, decency and morality, he would have resigned," she said. Likewise, he has addressed the mayor, Begoña Carrasco, whom he has described as a "protector and accomplice", to ask her if accumulating 167 fines does not seem serious to her. "The wonderful thing is how well he moves in the lie, because it is audacity and lack of respect for him to say that the fines are the private sphere of the councilor, when since his inauguration he received 85 fines in the blue zone and he would only have paid 20 in the machine. It will make you laugh as a government team, but it provokes indignation for the rest of the citizens," he indicated.
"When someone makes a mistake 167 times, they have to resign," stressed Puerta, who has accused the mayor of "selling" Ramírez as a "committed citizen," and has ironically noted that he could be made a favorite son. "He paid the fines because he saw himself cornered, because if we had not reported him, he would continue camping freely," said the socialist councilor, who added that "it smacks bad" that they have not seized him, which is why he has announced that they will arrive "all the way" in this matter.
Puerta has highlighted that with the "malpractice and work negligence" of the councilor "he has betrayed the trust of the citizens, and any neighbor, in addition to paying fines, would be fired", and has asked "what the PP owes to Ramírez, or is it worth more for what he remains silent than for what he says."
Cristian Ramírez, during his explanation, stressed that this was the "most complicated" time in his life when he spoke in public "due to the expectation that the opposition has caused." "I am experiencing an unjustified hunt," said the mayor, who referred to his "humble" origins and everything he has "fought" to move forward, and explained that he entered politics "to contribute to improving the city." and that the path to becoming a councilor "has not been easy."
"I do not understand why so much evil, lies, hatred and harm, since they have accused me of making the CORRUPSOE graffiti - a complaint that will be filed and I hope they will ask for forgiveness - and they accuse me of accumulating fines that are not true, but you They are outstanding students of Sánchez," he said.
"I could hide and wait for everything to happen or lie, but I'm not going to do it because I'm not going to fail the neighbors, that's why I'm showing my face in the plenary session," highlighted the mayor, who said that he has paid all the pending administrative violations. "I should have done it sooner, there is no justification and I apologize for postponing the payment to the last phase of the administrative procedure," he added.
Ramírez has justified that the change of address and the fact that his car is rented "has delayed the notifications of the fines, but he has stated that he has never intended to evade his responsibility as a councilor. "I do not have any pending fines. that I have no debt with the City Council, and this issue is part of my personal sphere and has nothing to do with my powers as a councilor," he added.
"In no case have I taken advantage of the position of councilor and the public ridicule in which I have been involved is disproportionate, since I have not committed any crime, but rather an administrative infraction comparable to missing the ITV date, throwing a cigarette butt on the ground or not having a light on the bicycle and, although it is not aesthetic, no one can believe they have the right to insult me and they cannot monitor my person and my vehicle. This is not opposition, but harassment and demolition," he said. the councilor pointed out.
He concluded by pointing out that he will defend his honor with all the legal instruments at his disposal, and has announced that he has filed a complaint with the court and with the Spanish Data Protection Agency "because I cannot tolerate what they did in plenary session, using Private information".
For his part, the spokesperson for Compromís, Ignasi Garcia, has stressed that the Mobility councilor "more than three times a week violated the ORA ordinance in 2023", and has wondered why "week after week he decided not to put the euro in the machine while the rest of Castellón does. "Maybe it was thought that since he was a councilor he could remove the fines," he said.
"The PP has to say if we want to have the person who fails to comply with an ordinance responsible for it, if what he remains silent about is worth more than what he does," said Garcia, who has asked the Mobility councilor to resign, "well Castellón "You don't deserve to have a Mobility councilor who breaks the rules." "Resign for yourself, because if we ask the prosecutor for explanations, he will have to explain why he doesn't pay, and that day they will kick him," he added.
The socialist councilor Jorge Ribes has accused Ramírez of arriving at the plenary session like "a lamb with his throat cut, giving pity and pointing out those who uncover his fines", and has indicated that this week's story has been "a circus, with the same excuses from the government spokesperson or the mayor, who says that she will pay the fines like any neighbor's child, but the children of normal neighbors do not have 167 fines, and if they did, they would have been seized.
The 'popular' councilor Sergio Toledo has thanked Ramírez for his "exercise in self-criticism." "You know that you have made a mistake and that it should not happen again and I know that they are sorry, but many who are there in front have done atrocities, with very reprehensible behavior that as the opposition we did not want to engage in out of respect for their environment, and it never occurred to them. apologize," he highlighted.
"They amnesty terrorists and embezzlers of public funds and they want Ramírez to resign due to an administrative sanction, it must be reinforced concrete," said Toledo, who added that "Ramirez has made a mistake in the private sphere, while the negligent management of PSOE and Compromís, all the neighbors will pay for it".
