Memorable Moments of 2010
So as we enter the New Year I thought I'd recap some of the more memorable moments of the last year. There's no scientific formula for how I compiled the list, its just my list of shit I remember from last year. No particular order here I either.
Onate Rides Again! - I often refer to former State Senator Eliot Shapleigh as Onate because he reminds me of Don Juan de Onate. A white guy who speaks Spanish and likes being in charge of Mexicans. Many thought he would ride off in to the sunset, but I had a feeling he had bigger plans. That remains to be seen, but he has decided to go for one last ride. Onate is now crusading against the EPISD and the Superintendent Dr. Gar-sea-yuh. Funny thing is, Shapleigh might end up being right and could end up having the last laugh.
Norma Chavez Destroys Her Own Political Career – The once seemingly unbeatable Norma Chavez was defeated by a candidate who was coming off a loss for City Council in a race for an open seat in a smaller district who didn't go anywhere near anything that looked like an issue. She essentially beat Chavez by not talking about issues and talking about Chavez's track record for not getting along with people. As much as it irritated me that Gonzalez got a total pass for not talking about issues and being almost completely funded by a Republican organization, its an indicator of just how unpopular Chavez had become.
While many might point to the now infamous Ramona Elementary Forum as the actual moment when Chavez's political career died, I would disagree. First, I don't think its dead. She might become a lawyer, work for some kind of advocacy group, become a lobbyist, or run for office again. I'm not saying she'll win, I'm just saying I'm not convinced she knows its over yet. And secondly, I don't think that's the moment she lost the election. She lost the election slowly over the years and 2010 was the year that enough people had decided that they would vote for someone else as long as they were given the option.
Gonzalez did it. She knocked out Joe Frasier and I had to eat crow. Gonzalez is now starting to take some positions on issues and is sounding like a Democrat. She might turn out to be a good legislator and I'll have to eat crow again if that's the case. Time will tell.
Running Man – Jorge Artalejo ran for office...again. He's run for several offices and appears to be poised to run for another office. What was memorable about his run this go around is that he ran for Chair of the Democratic Party but he doesn't really have strong credentials in the party and never seemed to be interested in winning the election. He spent more time campaigning for Naomi Gonzalez than he did on his own campaign.
Whistle Blower – Ben Mendoza, another perennial candidate had a funny campaign gimmick that was silly even by El Paso standards. Mendoza seems to go through “characters” when he runs for office. When he ran for Congress a couple years ago, he was El Paso's answer to Yosemite Sam. In 2010, he ran as a boy scout with a whistle. He would literally blow the whistle during candidate forums. He's a nice guy and means well, I just don't think he should be a candidate. But it was memorable.
You're Young, You're Gifted, & You're Brown – It's a lyric in a Radio La Chusma song, but it also describes the emergence of a couple of new auxiliaries to the two parties in town. The Young are the El Paso Young Democrats. The Brown are the El Paso Latino National Republican Coalition. Both clubs represent the expansion of both parties in to demographics that are key to their long-term effectiveness. Both clubs also represent a turning of the page in the old style of El Paso politics that was very exclusive and both clubs' primary goal is the inclusion of people who are often on the outside looking in.
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown – One of the truly good guys out there in politics, and there aren't a lot of them, is Joe Moody. He lost to Dee Margo, who has often been pretty good at positioning himself as the proverbial “bad guy”. Moody, who was recognized as Freshman Legislator of the Year by more than one organization, lost to Margo. Moody is a young guy and he'll be back. Probably soon.
Cirque Du Socorro – The Mayor of Socorro, Willie Gandara Sr, a member of city council, and a few colorful residents of the City of Socorro have turned the city council meetings in to public spectacles. While its extremely entertaining, the real loser in this big drama has been the residents of Socorro. Their genuine concerns and real efforts to progress have been over shadowed by egos and silliness.
Larry, Larry, Larry, and Larry – Former City Rep / County Commissioner Larry Medina had a pretty eventful year. He makes the list for four separate events and its fitting he appear multiple times as one of the only multiple winners of the Conquistador Award.
First, for getting in to a one-way shoving match with Sammy C because he wrote a piece on his blog that Medina didn't like.
He received is 37th Conquistador Award.
He was indicted in the on-going Public Corruption Scandal and made an appearance at the El Paso office of the FBI.
And he fired his lawyer, said he'd represent himself, and then said he'd hire another.
The Walk of Shame – Several more prominent El Paso leaders were indicted in the on-going Public Corruption Scandal. A few names came as a surprise to El Pasoans, including Larry Medina and Willie Gandara Sr.
Interestingly if the Public Corruption Scandal were a child, it would be heading off to college soon. Not really, but it really has been a long time and would certainly be school-aged by now, possibly close to starting puberty.
Fightin' Judge- I've never personally seen one candidate do so much to alienate voters and still win an election, but Monica Teran, who is a Justice of the Peace in the Lower Valley some how pulled it off. She won a run-off election against John Chatman. Oh yeah, ad her to the list of people that got in to shoving matches last year with Sammy C, along with Larry Medina and one of Norma Chavez's Biker Supporters. Poor Sammy, for such a mellow vato, he ends up being a magnet for overly aggressive people.
Tim Besco's Email & Dion “El” Dorado's Super Power – Who could forget Tim Besco's now infamous letter to several Republicans? It was hilarious and even more funny than his campaign manager's My Space page. For a guy who was never a credible candidate to begin with and couldn't get people in his own party to pay attention to him, he seemed to be pretty good at getting everyone's attention via email. Talk about going down in a blaze of glory!
Not to be outdown, Dion “El” Dorado did his level best to show off his famous super power. He had the power to instantly bore an entire audience the minute he took a mic. He's so boring he should come with a warning label telling people not to operate heavy machinery while listening him speak. I was warned to not let go of the mike when I introduced him at a rally. I should've listened.
After finally letting go of the microphone and resuscitating the audience, Dorado would go on to get his ass whipped at the polls by a guy who was even older than Dorado and has been a Republican since the Civil War. He also decided to take a parting shot at the Democratic Party as well. Not on the scale of Besco and the Republicans, but certainly close.
Theresa Caballero on the Campaign Trail – And finally, Theresa Caballero on the campaign trail. Who could forget how upset she got when I was called up to ask her a question at a campaign forum. I've never asked her a question that wasn't point or relative to the campaign, but nonetheless, she obviously didn't want me to get my question out. In case you missed it, here's the video just one more time!
I guess to summarize the year, it looks like 2010 was the year that we started to turn the page on some of the old politics that have plagued this town. Starting in 2008 with the defeat of Paul Moreno, Pat Haggerty, and Theresa Caballero and finishing in 2010 with the defeat of Norma Chavez, Theresa Caballero, and the retirement of Eliot Shapleigh and Anthony Cobos, it looks like we have finally started to move past the politics of personality and are moving toward substance and results.
Let's see if that holds true in 2011.
Onate Rides Again! - I often refer to former State Senator Eliot Shapleigh as Onate because he reminds me of Don Juan de Onate. A white guy who speaks Spanish and likes being in charge of Mexicans. Many thought he would ride off in to the sunset, but I had a feeling he had bigger plans. That remains to be seen, but he has decided to go for one last ride. Onate is now crusading against the EPISD and the Superintendent Dr. Gar-sea-yuh. Funny thing is, Shapleigh might end up being right and could end up having the last laugh.
Norma Chavez Destroys Her Own Political Career – The once seemingly unbeatable Norma Chavez was defeated by a candidate who was coming off a loss for City Council in a race for an open seat in a smaller district who didn't go anywhere near anything that looked like an issue. She essentially beat Chavez by not talking about issues and talking about Chavez's track record for not getting along with people. As much as it irritated me that Gonzalez got a total pass for not talking about issues and being almost completely funded by a Republican organization, its an indicator of just how unpopular Chavez had become.
While many might point to the now infamous Ramona Elementary Forum as the actual moment when Chavez's political career died, I would disagree. First, I don't think its dead. She might become a lawyer, work for some kind of advocacy group, become a lobbyist, or run for office again. I'm not saying she'll win, I'm just saying I'm not convinced she knows its over yet. And secondly, I don't think that's the moment she lost the election. She lost the election slowly over the years and 2010 was the year that enough people had decided that they would vote for someone else as long as they were given the option.
Gonzalez did it. She knocked out Joe Frasier and I had to eat crow. Gonzalez is now starting to take some positions on issues and is sounding like a Democrat. She might turn out to be a good legislator and I'll have to eat crow again if that's the case. Time will tell.
Running Man – Jorge Artalejo ran for office...again. He's run for several offices and appears to be poised to run for another office. What was memorable about his run this go around is that he ran for Chair of the Democratic Party but he doesn't really have strong credentials in the party and never seemed to be interested in winning the election. He spent more time campaigning for Naomi Gonzalez than he did on his own campaign.
Whistle Blower – Ben Mendoza, another perennial candidate had a funny campaign gimmick that was silly even by El Paso standards. Mendoza seems to go through “characters” when he runs for office. When he ran for Congress a couple years ago, he was El Paso's answer to Yosemite Sam. In 2010, he ran as a boy scout with a whistle. He would literally blow the whistle during candidate forums. He's a nice guy and means well, I just don't think he should be a candidate. But it was memorable.
You're Young, You're Gifted, & You're Brown – It's a lyric in a Radio La Chusma song, but it also describes the emergence of a couple of new auxiliaries to the two parties in town. The Young are the El Paso Young Democrats. The Brown are the El Paso Latino National Republican Coalition. Both clubs represent the expansion of both parties in to demographics that are key to their long-term effectiveness. Both clubs also represent a turning of the page in the old style of El Paso politics that was very exclusive and both clubs' primary goal is the inclusion of people who are often on the outside looking in.
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown – One of the truly good guys out there in politics, and there aren't a lot of them, is Joe Moody. He lost to Dee Margo, who has often been pretty good at positioning himself as the proverbial “bad guy”. Moody, who was recognized as Freshman Legislator of the Year by more than one organization, lost to Margo. Moody is a young guy and he'll be back. Probably soon.
Cirque Du Socorro – The Mayor of Socorro, Willie Gandara Sr, a member of city council, and a few colorful residents of the City of Socorro have turned the city council meetings in to public spectacles. While its extremely entertaining, the real loser in this big drama has been the residents of Socorro. Their genuine concerns and real efforts to progress have been over shadowed by egos and silliness.
Larry, Larry, Larry, and Larry – Former City Rep / County Commissioner Larry Medina had a pretty eventful year. He makes the list for four separate events and its fitting he appear multiple times as one of the only multiple winners of the Conquistador Award.
First, for getting in to a one-way shoving match with Sammy C because he wrote a piece on his blog that Medina didn't like.
He received is 37th Conquistador Award.
He was indicted in the on-going Public Corruption Scandal and made an appearance at the El Paso office of the FBI.
And he fired his lawyer, said he'd represent himself, and then said he'd hire another.
The Walk of Shame – Several more prominent El Paso leaders were indicted in the on-going Public Corruption Scandal. A few names came as a surprise to El Pasoans, including Larry Medina and Willie Gandara Sr.
Interestingly if the Public Corruption Scandal were a child, it would be heading off to college soon. Not really, but it really has been a long time and would certainly be school-aged by now, possibly close to starting puberty.
Fightin' Judge- I've never personally seen one candidate do so much to alienate voters and still win an election, but Monica Teran, who is a Justice of the Peace in the Lower Valley some how pulled it off. She won a run-off election against John Chatman. Oh yeah, ad her to the list of people that got in to shoving matches last year with Sammy C, along with Larry Medina and one of Norma Chavez's Biker Supporters. Poor Sammy, for such a mellow vato, he ends up being a magnet for overly aggressive people.
Tim Besco's Email & Dion “El” Dorado's Super Power – Who could forget Tim Besco's now infamous letter to several Republicans? It was hilarious and even more funny than his campaign manager's My Space page. For a guy who was never a credible candidate to begin with and couldn't get people in his own party to pay attention to him, he seemed to be pretty good at getting everyone's attention via email. Talk about going down in a blaze of glory!
Not to be outdown, Dion “El” Dorado did his level best to show off his famous super power. He had the power to instantly bore an entire audience the minute he took a mic. He's so boring he should come with a warning label telling people not to operate heavy machinery while listening him speak. I was warned to not let go of the mike when I introduced him at a rally. I should've listened.
After finally letting go of the microphone and resuscitating the audience, Dorado would go on to get his ass whipped at the polls by a guy who was even older than Dorado and has been a Republican since the Civil War. He also decided to take a parting shot at the Democratic Party as well. Not on the scale of Besco and the Republicans, but certainly close.
Theresa Caballero on the Campaign Trail – And finally, Theresa Caballero on the campaign trail. Who could forget how upset she got when I was called up to ask her a question at a campaign forum. I've never asked her a question that wasn't point or relative to the campaign, but nonetheless, she obviously didn't want me to get my question out. In case you missed it, here's the video just one more time!
I guess to summarize the year, it looks like 2010 was the year that we started to turn the page on some of the old politics that have plagued this town. Starting in 2008 with the defeat of Paul Moreno, Pat Haggerty, and Theresa Caballero and finishing in 2010 with the defeat of Norma Chavez, Theresa Caballero, and the retirement of Eliot Shapleigh and Anthony Cobos, it looks like we have finally started to move past the politics of personality and are moving toward substance and results.
Let's see if that holds true in 2011.
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