El Paso Politics

J udge Lucilla Najera's recent campaign material says she cleared the court backlog at El Paso Justice of the Peace Precinct 5. State records show the backlog barely moved for nearly three years - until roughly 40,000 cases vanished in the two-month window her reelection campaign launched. By Jaime Abeytia  |  El Paso, Texas  |  April 6, 2026  |  Data: Texas Office of Court Administration When Justice of the Peace Judge Lucilla Najera launched her reelection bid in November 2025, she came to voters with a confident message: she had done what her predecessor could not. She had cleared the backlog. Her campaign materials cited a chart showing she scheduled more than twice as many cases as the judge before her, framing the court at Precinct 5 as a model of productivity under her leadership. The problem is the data - specifically, the monthly activity reports published by the Texas Office of Court Administration, the state agency that tracks every case filed, r...

If you’ve been keeping up with  Lucila Najera  over the last few months, you know the campaign has turned into less of a race and more of a… let’s call it a creative writing workshop. Because at this point, we’re not just dealing with spin. We’re dealing with numbers that seem to come from fairy tales, fever dreams, or possibly a broken calculator from 1997. Let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane, shall we? Because she's told so many fairy tales I lost track.  Just kidding, here is a list: There was the now-famous “cash-only weddings” situation. First, she said she made about $4,000. Maybe $5,000. You know, just a casual “I’ll ballpark my own income” moment. Then, a few days later, boom, we’re at $10,000. And look, inflation is bad, but it’s not that bad. Now, a reasonable person might think, “Hey, shouldn’t someone know how much money they’re making, especially if they’re, I don’t know… reporting it to the IRS?” But that’s where things get interesting. Because when e...

There are two types of change in politics. The kind where someone has a genuine moment of self-awareness, reflects on their behavior, and decides to do better. And then there’s the kind where 75% of voters basically grab you by the collar, shake you like a piñata, and suddenly—mira qué milagro—you “update” your website. Guess which one we’re dealing with here. Because yes, after getting politically curb-stomped in the primary, Lucila Najera has officially made a bold, courageous, absolutely stunning move… She deleted the “cash-only” part of her wedding services page. 👏👏👏 Growth. Evolution. Personal transformation. We love to see it. Now for those of you who missed it the first time around, Najera wasn’t just doing weddings on the side like every other judge trying to make a little extra feria. No, no. She was the only judge in West Texas out here proudly advertising: Cash. Only. Not “preferred.” Not “accepted.” Not “we take everything including your cousin’s Cas...

Let’s go ahead and clear this up before it turns into one of those El Paso political urban legends that somehow ends up with a UFO sighting and a chupacabra cameo. There’s a rumor floating around that I told Judge Marlene Gonzalez she was at the wrong party’s convention when she showed up to the Democratic Convention last weekend. And I’ve been getting calls. Texts. Messages. Probably a carrier pigeon en route as we speak. “Hey bro… did you really say that?” So let me address this the only way I know how. Yeah. You're damn right I did. With my whole chest. No subtitles needed. Now, before anyone clutches their pearls so hard they sprain a wrist, let’s talk about why. This isn’t about being rude. This isn’t about being dramatic. This is about reality. And reality doesn’t care about your feelings, your title, or how many people you’ve got around you pretending everything is fine. We’re talking about a sitting judge who, according to filings from the legal arm of the Catholic Church, ...

I first wrote about Fareed Khlayel’s federal civil rights case back in December. At the time, it drew little attention. Months later, I decided to revisit it and see what had changed. So I called him. He answered. And he had documentation. Over the past year, Khlayel has obtained a substantial set of records from the City of El Paso through the Texas Public Information Act. These are not leaks or anonymous tips. They are official documents the City itself released, complete with redaction logs. He walked me through them. What follows is a reconstruction of what those records show. The Police Report One document stands out. The El Paso Police Department Public Information Report for Incident #24333032 was released by the City with minimal redactions, limited to dates of birth. According to the City’s own redaction log, dated September 23, 2025, no law enforcement or litigation exemptions were applied. By the City’s own determination, the report is public. Under “Associated Names,” the c...