Legislators Meet with Community Members & Organizations

Three members of El Paso legislative delegation met with community members and organizations on Saturday at Café Mayapan. The event was organized by El Paso Grassroots.


All members of the delegation were invited to attend, but only State Senator-elect Jose Rodriguez, State Rep Marissa Marquez, and State Re-elect Naomi Gonzalez were in attendance.

Representative-elect Margo had confirmed with Xavier Miranda, one of the event organizers, but his office called Miranda the morning of the event to say they had no record of the event in their calendar.

Representatives Pickett and Quintanilla did not return the call of the event organizers.

Despite the fact that there were several events set up for Saturday morning, the group listened to the community members and organizations about issues facing the community and legislative priorities for the respective groups.

The groups consisted of activists and organizations involved in immigration reform, protection of the Franklin Mountains, education, and healthcare.

Commentary

I’ve been critical in the past of Rep-elect Gonzalez for not showing any stances on anything that remotely looked like an issue and for not attending events.

So if I’m going to lay down the much-deserved criticism of those two points, it’s also equally fair for me to point out the opposite.

I’m starting to see Gonzalez flesh out some positions on a few issues. She has also started to show up to events, even if it’s just for a few minutes. She usually shows up late and leaves early, but she is making progress.

On ABC 7 Extra, she sounded like a Democrat and I am encouraged by that. Luckily for her, the Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) probably won’t have to ask her to take any tough votes given the majority the Republicans have in the Texas House of Representatives.

I guess I’m coming to the realization that there was a perfectly good reason why Gonzalez didn’t run on substance or issues…she didn’t have to. She knew that all she had to do was give the community a viable alternative to Representative Norma Chavez and she would be elected.

I still don’t like the idea of running without substance or clear stance on issues, but I understand why her campaign was run the way it was run.

Lastly, let me explain why it’s important that legislators and elected officials attend events in the community. Visibility means a lot to constituents. It’s not an indication of someone’s work ethic, ability to lead, or intellect. It’s just an expression of how much the community means to them.

Showing up doesn’t mean you are really interested anymore than not showing up means you aren’t interested, but it means something to the constituents. They will get the perception that you are engaged and care about what’s important to them.

Kudos for Gonzalez for the progress she’s made. Hopefully there will be more to come.