click to enlarge Sanford Nowlin

Monica Alcantara, right, presents allegations against BCDP officials before a vote on their removal at a recent meeting.

After the Bexar County Democratic Party last month voted to dismiss two high-ranking officers , a precinct chair now maintains the vote was illegal and is demanding members push back at Chairwoman Monica Alcantara.In an email sent to BCDP members, Precinct 4084 Chair Stephen Manion argues that the Monday, March 25 meeting, at which the party's secretary and treasurer were ousted, did not follow proper procedure. The pair, he added, still hold their posts.In the message, Manion also demands that members attend a BCDP meeting scheduled for tonight at Harlandale Civic Center to "get this party back on track.""If you agree that we must put an end to this despotic and destructive tyranny by decree and return to governance by rule and by law, it is imperative that you attend the legally scheduled meeting at Harlandale Civic Center," he writes.Alcantara said the meeting to which Manion is referring to is an informal gathering, not an official meeting of the group as a whole. She also defended the March 25 dismissals, pointing out that they were voted on by the overwhelming majority of members present."We are trying to abide by the letter of the law," Alcantara said. "I understand change and new leadership are difficult for some people, but we're not doing anything without going before the whole body."The chairwoman has maintained for months that loyalists to Manuel Medina, the longtime chair voted out last year, have been working to undermine her. Making her case to members at the March 25 meeting, she said the ousted leaders cut off her access to party records, finances and even the group's Facebook page.Earlier in March, Alcantara held a press conference in front of the Bexar County Courthouse stating that she'd turned over party financial records to the FBI after she suspected that up to 15 Medina loyalists may have committed financial crimes.In a subsequent interview, Medina told theno illegal activity took place on his watch.