El Paso Politics

(Note to readers: This piece is a reprint from a blog/column from two years ago) “When your children and grandchildren take their place in America, going to high school and college, and taking good jobs at good pay-when you look at them you will say, ‘I did this, I was there…at the point of difficulty and danger’. And though you may be old and bent from many years of hard labor, no man will stand taller than you when you say, ‘I marched with Cesar Chavez!’” Robert F. Kennedy Cesar Chavez Day is coming up and I thought I’d write a few lines about the man that I have come to regard as a personal hero. THE LINEAGE I grew up in the United Farmworker’s Union, as you can see in this photo. I was about 3 or 4 years old in this picture. It’s a picket line in Arizona, around 1978 or 1979. My family’s name is well-known in “La Causa” and am the third generation of my family to be heavily involved with the Union and the movement. My grandfather Pedro, and great-uncles Hector and Ernesto were clos...

She didn't. She danced around it, which might very well be the reason that she avoids talking with media for very long. Its sort of the Melina Castro/Rachel Quintana school of campaigning. Talk to regular people, avoid anyone who might have an actual question.

Normally a title like that would be the lead in to a piece about some elected official or candidate being funded by a person or group one would not normally expect to see as a supporter of said elected official or candidate. But in this case, its about actual marriages. State Representative Joe Pickett will soon tie the knot with Shannon Wiggins in an unusual place. He is apparently going to swap vows under the dome of the state capitol in Austin. This follows a whirlwind romance that started during last session and an engagement materialized before the end of the session. No official word on whether or not the Pickett wedding reception will be held in his 50's diner-style office in the legislature, but if it is, there is a pretty good chance that the guests will dine on free sodas, ice cream, and popcorn. Sorry, thats in inside-Austin joke. In related news, Judge Sam Medrano and is wife will also be renewing their vows here in El Paso soon. It appears they will be getting married ...

I was at EP Fitness earlier and I noticed a pretty big dude come out of the gym and get in to a car that was parked in a handicap parking space. I've seen the guy there before and I know I've seen him running on the treadmill there before. So why is a physically fit guy parking in a handicap space? He had handicap plates, which really isn't the point. He was completely healthy so why does he need a handicap spot? Which got me to thinking about how often I've seen people with no problems walking or moving parked in handicap spaces. I guess the way I think about the whole situation is if you don't have a mobility-related disability, what do you need the space for? Don't get me wrong, I am all for increased accessibility for the disabled but does someone who doesn't have mobility problems really need to park closer to the front door? Am I wrong on this one?

Maybe its a sign that I'm finally growing up, but when I pick my cubs up from school and I notice the fashion sense of some of the students I find myself asking, “What the hell?” Somethings are just wrong. Fundamentally wrong to the core. Things like guys wearing skinny jeans. Its just not right. Back when I was in high school there was a fad that drove my parents nuts, which thankfully we never really got in to. It was sagging pants. For some reason a lot of homeboys felt it necessary to show half their nalgas and most of their chones to the whole world. Which brings me to the most unholy marriage I have ever seen in teenage fashion. Guys who try to sag skinny jeans. Aside from looking like big pendejos, they walk funny as hell. Some of these little chavalos have the nerve to walk around like they are tough shit. I just want to tell them that it is impossible to look like a tough vato loco in skinny jeans. Especially when they are the same guys that shave their eyebrows.

My bad. I messed up. I wrote in a previous blog piece that an email exchange was between Rebecca Robledo and Blanche Darley. I misidentied one of the parties. The exchange was between Becky Baca and Blanche Darley. I got confused because I saw both names in the email exchange. I hate when people don't admit when they are wrong so I have to admit when I am. My bad people. I'm giving myself the Asshole of the Week Award.

People wonder why I carry around my camera and video equipment with me every where I go. Here is the reason why, you never know what you are going to come across. As I was on my way home from the station I saw this group of students protesting outside McDonald's and I stopped to learn more about them. They will be on the show on Wednesday so tune in to www.TalkRadio1150.com to hear the interview.

David K and the Strelz have both made a similar point that I think needs a little clarification. Both have referred to the number of votes that each of the candidates have received in the primary race. Under most circumstances it would be an interesting comparison, but there is one factor that makes the comparison inaccurate. Moody didn't have an opponent, so naturally there will be less votes for Moody in an uncontested primary. Margo was locked in a race with two other candidates that were churning out people to the polls so the numbers are higher on the Republican side than on the Democratic side.

The race for Justice of the Peace Precinct #4 is basically over already. Nonetheless, let's do some analysis of this race. The race is a run-off between former City Rep/County Commissioner/School Board Trustee/talk radio personality Barbara Perez and former Constable Pete Melendez. Like it or not, Barbara Perez will be able to add another title to her long list because she is going to win this race pretty handily. Aside from having name recognition that is astronomically higher than her opponent, he is coming off a recent loss, which is why he is a former Constable. Yes I know, Barbara Perez lost her last election, but that was a while back, Melendez lost in the last election. And one election is a very limited time to reestablish a relationship with voters. Perez has signage all over the place and says that she's working hard and not going to be out worked. Perez's biggest weakness was that she's not an attorney, but that is not an issue against Melendez because he...

Yet another reason I'll never make it in to the El Paso Democratic Party Hall of Fame. More bad news coming from our party. This is an email exchange between Rebecca Robledo, head of the Tejano Democrats and Blanche Darley, who thinks she's the head of the Tejano Democrats. Darley has sent out emails weighing in on her thoughts for the election and various candidates. In a previous email she admitted that she didn't support President Obama, who was the Party's nominee for President, something she is required to do if she wants to maintain her status as a Precinct Chair. In this email exchange, which is pretty much a lot of nothing if you ask me, Darley mentions that Gilbert Sanchez is a member of the Tejano Democrats. The TD's endorsed Norma Favela in the race for District Clerk. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks its funny that Blanche Darley is talking about UNITY!!!! Subject: Re: Tejano Endorsements Blanch, we know that the Tejanos have always been fair with ...

The El Paso Times lost another reporter Thursday. Sources indicate that Darren Meritz was fired but details are sketchy as to the exact reason. This is fresh of the recent departure of another reporter, David Montero who also left the El Paso Times after only a brief stint on the political scene here in the Sun City. Montero left quite an impression with readers and apparently with management as well because his letter of resignation was posted on the Community Board within the Times. Sources at the Times tell me that they can think of no other time that an employees letter of resignation was made available to the rest of the staff. The Community Board is usually reserved for announcements, thank you letters from kids, or atta-boys from the public. Meritz refused to comment on his employment status with the Times and said that if I wanted information I “should contact the Times”. If you aren’t familiar with Meritz reporting, these are the two most recent articles post on the El Paso Ti...

Other than State Representative Norma Chavez, El Paso’s Chicano leaders are completely and conspicuously absent from the debate at the state level over the inclusion and exclusion of certain historical figures from text books of Texas school children. The question is why? At some point, many of the Chicano leaders in this town that sit on Commissioner’s Court (four out of five members), City Council (four out of eight), the legislature (four out of six), and most El Paso area school boards have benefited from the hard work of history-making trailblazers. Yet they are no where to be found on an issue that will impact El Paso students one way or another. I sincerely hope these individuals haven’t forgotten where they come from. Get off the bench and get involved. Your absence is an insult and embarrassing.

Blanche Darley has been a fixture in Democratic Party politics for years. She has been as involved in party politics about as much as anyone else in El Paso that I can think of, mostly because she’s former State Representative Paul Moreno’s sister. She and State Representative Norma Chavez don’t play in the same sandbox. Its obvious to anyone that spends five minutes with the two in the same room that they don’t like one another, and trust me when I tell you, that is an understatement. The two found themselves on opposite sides of the presidential race in the 2008 Democratic Primary. Chavez was a big Obama supporter and Darley was a big supporter of Hillary Clinton. It took a long time for the Hillary supporters to come around to supporting the President, but eventually the majority of them did. For most Democrats supporting a candidate is an individual choice. But for party officials like the County Chair, members of the Executive Committee, or Precinct Chairs, their support of the pa...

The El Paso blogoshere isn’t a competitive place, which is a bit counter-intuitive. For the most part, El Paso political bloggers have been made up of just a few of us like myself, David K. JOP, Lewis Irwin, the Avocadoan and that’s about it. As I have said before, bloggers are completely different from people that post on a forum, so I’m not dissing anyone by leaving them out, just making an important distinction that people should understand. My homeboy Sammy C has finally gotten in to the mix of bloggers in El Paso. As a Republican and a Chicano, he’s gonna have a different take on local politics that some might be used to. He’s blogging from “the right” so his blog is called www.LaDerechaBlog.blogspot.com . Go check it out and make it part of your blogging routine.

The Border Network for Human Rights is headed to Washington to push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Help them out: Please come and join us to support the Texas Caravan going to Washington DC to demand a just immigration reform. Presenting: Frontera Bugalu(Cumbia/Mambo) Stanton St Collective(Poetry/Jazz) La Familia(Dance) Crissy Gurrola(Acoustic) Enjoy: Antojitos Aguas Frescas Justice Date: March 14th, 2010, 12pm Location: BNHR Office Address: 2115 N Piedras El Paso, TX 79902 (map)

Okay, I just had to have some fun with the cell phone ban at City Council. Why stop at cell phones? Lets ban anything that is a distraction to driving. Enjoy!

In a stunning move of stupidity not seen since the last time The Weakest Link had on hip-hop artists (see video below), the City Council voted to ban the use of cell phones while driving in the City of El Paso. The same City Council that wants to legalize pot. No one wants accidents and certainly no one wants children injured or worse, but lets stop and think about this one for a minute. What is next to be banned? And there has to be someone making money off of this idea somewhere (cue the conspiracy-theory music). Blue-tooth makers come to mind first. I completely agree that using a cell phone while driving is a distraction and therefore dangerous, but if we are really serious about stopping distracted drivers, why stop at cell phones? Why not ban: Women who apply make-up and drive? People who read a map and drive? People looking in the paper for a movie time? Listening to the radio? Arguing with your significant other in the car? Smoking in the car? Refereeing fights between your kid...

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a special to TheLionStarBlog by Sammy C, co-host of Homeboy Fridays on The LionStar Live! heard on www.TalkRadio1150.com L. Rene Diaz woke up one morning and decided he wanted to make a difference. A former bank branch manager Diaz felt that his strong conservative views and relentless focus on change was what District 78 needed. He threw his hat into the Republican primary race up against a very well known Dee Margo and newcomer Jay Kleberg. Diaz had no name recognition, no big contributions to his campaign and had a very small following outside of his family and friends. Diaz spoke from his heart at every forum, he was the only candidate that was really sincere about his service to the community. With his wife by his side Diaz walked relentlessly. He was set on knocking on every door and talking to every person in District 78. Diaz had a good message that came from the heart. Would District 78 hear him out? I spoke to him before election day and he sounded ...

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That always gets people's attention. Since St. Patrick's Day is around the corner and everyone talks about the luck of the Irish, I thought I'd post a new poll about how often my readers get lucky. Take a break from politics and have a little fun.

I thought I would take a few minutes to respond to some comments made around the blogosphere about me and my support for Norma Chavez. Its funny how different people hate me for "supporting" different candidates. When I support someone from the Shapleigh camp, I get a group of people that hate me for it. If I support someone from the Chavez camp, I get an entirely different group of people hate me for it. You people need to make up your minds. As for being an uneducated ex-cholo...you act like thats something I should be ashamed of. Sure, I'd like to have a degree, but it won't magically make me any more or less credible and won't change the "ex-cholo" thing. So basically, kiss my ass. Your acceptance of me is neither desired, nor required. Moreover, the person who made that comment clearly reads my blog, which sounds alot like acceptance to me. As for Naomi not answering questions from me, get over yourself. Its not that I want her to answer questions f...

Well that was fast! I drove by the spot that used to have Christine Pacheco's billboard on I-10 and Mesa downtown. It has already been changed back to a Reyes & Reyes sign. That was really fast and sort of plays in to the criticisms many had of the length of time it took Larry Medina to change his campaign billboard on I-10 near Basset Center.

I realize that I have pissed a lot of you off because I was very frank in my assessment of Saint, oops, I meant Senator Shapleigh. I have challenged a lot of people on something and no one has been able to meet the challenge. The challenge is this: identify a platform or policy stance from Naomi Gonzalez. Go ahead, take all the time you need. I'll wait. Can't think of one? Try her website. Go ahead, I'll wait here and tap my toes while you look for one. Done yet? It's okay, I have all day, I can wait... Seriously, keep looking. Can't find one can you? Neither could I. Thats because she doesn't have one. This is the closest thing I could find to a platform or policy stance. Its from her website: Restore public integrity to our State Representative Office. Hold the line on property taxes. Put El Paso first in the push for state funding. There is a mailer that says the words "New Vision. New Leadership". At the risk of sounding like New Hec...

If you've seen my previous interview with Senator Shapleigh, you probably remember the Senator getting pretty bothered by the fact that I asked him if he would vote for Representative Moody if Republican Jay Kleberg made it to the general election. How dare his Democratic credentials be challenged. But when you think about it, the self-described Democrat of all Democrats has challenged his own Democratic credentials. As I have previously posted, the Senator has been openly cozy with Kleberg. Now Senator Shapleigh used his visit with KVIA last night as a chance to attack Representative Chavez over her argument about money from the Republican-backed Texans for Lawsuit Reform and by default, defended Gonzalez's acceptance of the money. This is part of the reason why people are becoming frustrated with Senator Shapleigh. Organizations like TLR, along with Rick Perry and Tom Craddick backed Dee Margo in his bid to unseat Senator Shapleigh a few years ago. Now he's defending Gonz...

I have to admit it, I'm shocked at the outcome of the race for HD 76. So much for bullet-proof. To all you haters that are leaving comments without a name, kiss my ass, no one has “shut” me up. Gonzalez didn't win, she's in the lead going in to the run-off. But there are clear lessons to be learned in this election for Chavez. First of all, she is in trouble...big trouble. Her camp needs to take her cell phone from her, snatch her laptop, break them, put the pieces in a plastic bag, climb to the top of the giant Asarco chiminea and drop them in there so she can't get a hold of them. They have to do everything they can to keep Chavez from being her own worst enemy. Keep her off talk radio so that she will stop her sudden compulsion to commit public political suicide. I'm serious, somebody needs to go to the dollar store and buy all the duct tape they can find. They have to stop the conspiracy theory, everyone-is-out-to-get-me, I'm-running-against-everyone, the-co...

This is the first time that I've stuck out my neck for a couple of candidates, which means I have a tremendous amount of faith in the candidates. There are three other candidates that I wanted to do the same for, but two of them don't need my help and I ran out of time for the third one. Please take a couple of minutes to hear me out on State Representative Norma Chavez and County Attorney Jo Ann Bernal.

If you heard my show last week then you heard me discuss something that I think is worth some clarification. If you read the El Paso Times last week, very carefully because it was hard to find, you would've seen a piece talking about Pacheco returning a certain amount of money that had been donated to her. Pacheco had taken more money than was allowed under election rules for judicial candidates. The article leads the reader to believe that it was an error that was caught by the campaign. If you were under that impression, you are wrong. The piece in the El Paso Times specifically says, “She said she recently discovered that the firm's total contributions of close to $6,000 exceeded the limit on law firms established by the Texas Ethics Commission.” She discovered that the contributions exceeded the limit because I told her campaign manager about it . Stick with me here, I want to lay out the timeline for you. I also wanted to write about this because there are some things tha...

So I was watching the KVIA debate on Sunday morning between County Commissioner Veronica Escobar, Sergio Coronado, and Rick Ledesma. I was watching for several reasons, but the smart ass in me was watching to see Coronado and Escobar struggle to answer a question in under and hour and forty-five minutes. Don't get mad, admit it, they take a long time to answer a question. For some reason Rick Ledesma showed up dressed like Cab Calloway, minus the fedora and tap shoes. My favorite part of the debate was the end when Rick Cabrera gave the candidates a chance to ask each other a question. When this is done, you can always tell who the candidates see as the front runner because everyone guns for that candidate. Ledesma started the questions by asking Escobar about the Playboy article and government cheese comment. Escobar offered a bit of a new development. She stated that Ledesma knew very well that the author of the article was a freelance writer, not a regular contributor to Playboy...