El Paso Politics

Former talk radio personality Jerome Tighlman will be joining Congressman Reyes and Beto O'Rourke in the race for the Democratic nominee for congress. Tighlman confirmed his interest and I will be interviewing him next week to add to the videos. Tighlman made an attempt to run as an independent in 2008 and has also run for city council. Tighlman is an Army veteran and was a member of the elite Ranger Team. He is currently a teacher in the El Paso Independent School District.

Television gives you sound bytes and newspapers give you quotes. I've never really thought that was sufficient enough information to make an important decision like who to vote for. So this is the first in a series of interviews I will be doing between now and election day with as many candidates that want to take me up on the invitation. I spoke at length with both Congressman Sylvestre Reyes and his challenger Beto O'Rourke about a range of federal issues. Both are obviously very busy men but they were kind enough to set aside some time to visit with me about policy. I broke the interviews down in to bite-sized chunks so that they are easily digested by voters. The only editing done was for the occasional interruption during interviews so you get to see a pretty raw look at the candidates. The interviews will be broken down by topic whenever that is feasible in order to give a side-by-side comparison. There will be an occasional difference in the length of their respective a...

I added a new poll question on my blog. Go weigh in... Que dice la gente?

I wrote something that deserves a little clarification. Hector Enriquez is a likely candidate for HD 75. I wrote that he was going to run regardless of whether or not Quintanilla decides to run for re-election. I stand by that opinion, but I wanted to clarify that Enriquez did not say that. Enriquez said his decision was contingent upon Quintanilla's decision. People might not always agree with my opinion, but when I make a statement of fact I want to get it right and I don't want to confuse people. So do I still think that's what Enriquez is going to do, yes. But Enriquez was clear about his decision was contingent upon the decision of Quintanilla. A couple of other developments. Enriquez has spoken and me with Forma Group, but they are not on retainer and have not signed a contract. H also says there is no deal set in stone with the TLR, though he has taken a meeting with a local point-person of the TLR. So if I confused anyway, that's my bad.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Forma Group is working with Beto O'Rourke's Congressional campaign. I've been critical of them in the past, but one thing you can't deny is their track record of late. They have worked for Dee Margo, Naomi Gonzalez, Ann Morgan Lily, and Marisa Marquez over the last couple of years, so they are on a roll. The original campaign designs and announcement were done by Two Ton Creativity. Morris Pittle, who runs Two Ton, has been with O'Rourke since his first election and also worked with County Judge Veronica Escobar. So the move is somewhat surprising considering how long O'Rourke and Pittle go back. Forma Group has been closely associated with the Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR), which is a conservative PAC, going back to the Marquez victory of long-time State Rep Paul Moreno. As they say, politics make strange bedfellows...

There has not been a worse kept secret in this town than Quintanilla's bid for County Commissioner since County Judge Veronica Escobar pondered her run for County Judge.  But Quintanilla coyness is bordering on stupidity at this point. Zahira Torres wrote a piece that says Quintanilla has placed an order for signs that indicate he is running for County Commissioner.  Despite the fact that Torres found out about it, Quintanilla is still pretending he is not running for County Commissioner. That is flat out ridiculous and an insult to not only the reporter, but to voters intelligence. Honestly, I don't have a warm place in my heart for Quintanilla at this point. Its bad enough that he has a horrible voting record as a Democrat, but on more than one occasion he has dismissed something I have written as "gossip". Despite the fact that I was able to get comment on this items. But when someone knows there is artwork produced, speaks with Quintanilla about it, and he still ...

Former talk radio personality Hector H. Lopez is rumored to be considering a run for the seat currently held by Sate Rep Chente Quintanilla according to sources in Austin. Lopez is Vice President at the National Hispanic Institute and currently hosts a show on the Las Cruces PBS station. Lopez is currently out of the country and unavailable to confirm his interest. Ill keep you posted...

As you know I try to provide in-depth issue-based interviews with candidates to help flesh out their positions on issues. I plan on doing the same in this election, so if you are a candidate, consider this an open invitation. On that note, I will start with the Congressional race. I have already interviewed Beto O'Rourke and will interview the Congressman and Jaime O. Perez before the week is over. I will post the interviews in pieces here on The LionStar Blog so you all can get a good comparison between the candidates on the issues. I will start with the two Democrats and then publish Jaime O. Perez's interview afterward. Again, open invitation to all candidates. The questions will all be issue-based and in-depth. Its your chance to showcase your positions to voters. No softballs and no sound bytes. Just meaty interviews. For scheduling and more info - thelionstarblog@gmail.com

Here is my opinion and analysis of the election of Blanche Darley as Chair of the Paso Del Norte Chapter of the Tejano Democrats. The election of the Blanche Darley as Chair of the Paso Del Norte Chapter of the Tejano Democrats sets back the organization at least a decade and is an embarrassment to the El Paso County Democratic Party. I have raised the point several times and I am not sure why no one has done anything about it, but Darley IS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF THE PRESIDENT. How can someone who is so public about her opposition to our Party's nominee and now President of the United States, be elected to ANYTHING in the Party, much less the Chair of the most-influential Democratic auxillery in the County? For God's sake, in her own announcement email she has to go back to 1980 to show support for Ted Kennedy for President instead of mentioning support of our President. Lets put that in to perspective, I am one of the older members of the El Paso Young Democrats. Most of the membe...

Blanche Darley, Chair of PDN Tejano Democrats (Photo Courtesy of Don Williams) Controversial figure best known for confrontation and racially-charged statements, Blanche Darley was elected as the new Chair of the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats. Her election came with a controversy and sparked interest in taking the issue to the state-level entity of the Tejano Democrats. I spoke to several attendees of last night's meeting, none of which want to be identified for fear of retaliation on the part of Blanche Darley. The controversy swirls around the credentialing process. Darley, whom I have actually recorded on video circumventing a credentialing process previously, was chair of the credentialing committee in accordance with the chapter charter. Darley apparently held on to the credentials list and would not let the list become public and would not share the list, as required, with the other officers of the club. There was a reason she had done so according to one source...

By  Getsemani Yañez In the midst of clear divisions this election year, we will be faced with even wider disenchantment and greater emotional charge. As a Christian and a democrat – yes, we can be both – I refuse to prostitute my God and my religion for the purposes of political capital. I am very troubled that others can do so with such ease, however. While I do believe the mayor and council failed miserably in their attempt to effect change in their first round of the domestic partnership talks, I do believe they had great reason to vote as they did. The fact is, however, we should have never let the matter escalate to the heights that it did. The only accomplishments we have to show for it are deeper divisions, a beat-up group in our society, and a recall effort that will have us dipping further into our pockets in the middle of a recession. Throughout this entire debacle, I have continuously thought of two scriptures. One comes from Luke 20:25 in the matter of taxes, wher...

The Republicans find themselves in a bit of a paradox. The people who will decide the Presidential election are people that live in the ideological center. Most Americans have a negative opinion of the Tea Party according to recent polls. Yet within the Republican Party, the Tea Party base has become very powerful within the likely Republican voters. So, the Republican candidates for president have been tripping over one another trying to appeal to that fringe group. This video makes a very important point. When the audience cheered people being executed, not a single Republican candidate called for civility. When people cheered to let someone die because of healthcare costs, not a single Republican candidate called for civility. And when a soldier in the United States Army asked a question via YouTube in another debate, he was booed, and still, not one Republican candidate pushed back. This is the type of stuff that turns off people in the middle. This is the kind of stuff that tu...

I swear I'm not picking on the guy, but its starting to get a little ridiculous. The County is dealing with the budget issues, a circumstance were really important decisions are being made on behalf of taxpayers of El Paso County and yet again, Precinct 3 County Commissioner Willie Gandara is not at the meeting. Click here to see the live video stream. What monies go to which precincts, departments, and programs are the decisions made in these types of meetings. Why are we talking about who can speak to voters in Spanish rather than who can speak on behalf of voters at the County?

Those are the not-so-subtle words of Blanche Darley at the state Democratic Convention back during the last Presidential election. I personally heard her say that. I'll never forget it because it was the first thing I ever heard her say. Flash forward to the next Democratic Convention during the recent Gubernatorial Election and she allegedly used the same racial comment toward the now-SDEC Don Williams. Now this picture of maturity, acceptance, and leadership is apparently running for Chair of the Tejano Democrats. It would be really bad for the Democratic Party as an organization if Darley were elected Chair. She is divisive and in my opinion does not represent the values of El Paso or the Democratic Party. The remark about the President is not only racist but should have led to her being relieved as a precinct chair and any leadership position within the party. The alleged remark against SDEC Don Williams didn't have much of an impact against Williams because most people in ...

Robert Grijalva, staffer for State Rep Chente Quintanilla and long time member of the Paso Del Norte Democrats did something that frankly should've been done a long time ago. He attempted to deal with the antics of Blanche Darley. In this email to Blanche Darley, Grijalva attempts to be the voice of reason and stop a dispute between Blanche Darley and the chair of the Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats. As I previously wrote, members of the PDN Tejanos stated that Blanche was trying to recruit someone to run against Robledo. In her response to this email Darley stated that she doesn't have an issue with the Chair, but also didn't deny recruiting a challenger. The Tejano Democrats meet this week for elections. Here is the email from Robert Grijalva to Blanche Darley: Good morning.  Our chapter of Tejano Democrats was formed at the same time that the state wide TD was formed.  Ours is the flagship chapter in El Paso.  Founding members included some of the most highly respected...

County Commissioner Willie Gandara chose not to attend the ABC 7 Xtra debate held between the candidates for County Commissioner Precinct 3. It was a mistake to not show up. He's already getting a lot of heat for not showing up to things and then he's a no-show for something as high-profile as a 30-minute television show? Not the best of decisions and he paid for it. His opponents were basically free to tee off on Gandara at their leisure. Although their critiques were basically a rehash over what has already been discussed. The big winner in the broadcast was Vince Perez. He was able to answer questions about his command of Spanish and was able to focus on the issues that are affecting the district. (On a side note, this Spanish thing isn't over. Mark my words, one of the other campaigns will have someone at a forum talk to Perez in Spanish in order to embarrass him and underscore the language proficiency. Its the valley, that's how they roll.) The other guy running, R...

Sorry, been busy and I know people have been wanting my take on it. I'll make it quick. First of all, Pastor Tom Brown should stop being such a drama queen. In my opinion, he personifies hypocrisy. He has absolutely no problem with a sign that shows Mayor Cook dripping with blood, but he has a fit on camera over the guy at Freeway Carpets that had a sign that was only text. By the way, I've written several pieces about the guy at Freeway Carpet and I think he, his business, and the sign are an institution in this town. I hope he never stops doing that. Its harder than blogging and tweeting and it could negatively impact his business and he still has the stones to do that. That makes me want to find an excuse to buy carpet. Anyway, back to the recall. All the rumors of the recall people having more than double the number of signatures needed turned out to be exactly what I said...bullshit. Yes, I think the Mayor could be in trouble. But lets face facts, its not really the Domest...

I saw this piece today written by Zahira Torres of the El Paso Times about Chente Quintanilla still weighing his options in terms of what race he will be running in (County Commissioner or State Rep). I'm betting he runs for County Commissioner. I mention the piece because Torres mentions Quintanilla's famous catch-phrase of Chente Por La Gente. I wrote the other day that the url of www.chenteporlagente.com had been purchased already. Turns out it goes to another Chente, Vince Perez's campaign website. I'm sorry, but that makes me LOL. You snooze, you lose. It looks like Hector Enriquez is going to be a candidate for State Rep in District 75 and word around Austin is that he is going to be backed by the Texans for Lawsuit Reform. The TLR has taken a particular interest in El Paso legislative races as of late, so it makes sense that Quintanilla would jump in to the County Commissioner's race. Enriquez is still in the exploratory stage, but he has a treasurer filed...

Word around town is that two of the three candidates for County Commissioner Precinct 3 are committed to debating on ABC 7 Xtra with Darren Hunt this Sunday. Vince Perez and Rudy Loya have agreed to be on the show according to my sources. I'm told that Commissioner Gandara hasn't committed yet. Commissioner Gandara has talked about being very busy but I would think he would find it of the utmost  importance to attend. If he's not there, both candidates will be able to tee off on him and he won't be there to defend himself. On the other hand, maybe he's better off not going. I don't think he wants a side-by-side comparison in the race with the other two candidates. I don't know much about Loya but I'm betting Gandara won't want to have to talk about his track record with two opponents on television. It might not measure up favorably for him.

So I was watching the news last night and they had a piece about Gandara going after Perez for his command of Spanish. I was not the least bit surprised that this was going to happen because its the lower valley whisper campaign in full effect. But I almost spit out my food when I heard a quote from Gandara that I couldn't believe. I'll get to it in a minute. First things first. Saying that Perez doesn't speak Spanish or saying he's not "valley enough" is something that people who live in the valley should find offensive. Think about it, what exactly are people trying to say when they say someone isn't "valley enough"? What does it even mean? I'll just be blunt. Its basically painting Perez as a white boy. Its an attempt at rejecting what Perez is, educated, successful young Chicano who came from a modest upbringing and avoided being a statistic. Does "valley enough" mean that he should speak with a thick accent in Spanish and say s...

The Democratic Party needs a new Chair and it looks like the current chair, Danny Anchondo, isn't going to run for re-election. That is not only a good thing, its a great thing. I've been critical of Chairman Anchondo in the past and tried to work with him, but it became a pointless and unproductive endeavor because I think he fails to realize the importance of utilizing the talent within the party unless they are people of his choosing. Basic house-keeping stuff like keeping an updated website or managing a social networking project doesn't get done. The year is 2011 and the El Paso County Democratic Party doesn't have a regularly updated website and the administrators on the Facebook page don't post information. Only people who were removed as administrators on the order of Chairman Anchondo update the facebook page. There's no excuse for stuff like that to happen when you have the talent pool that is available to the Democratic Party in El Paso. I've writ...

I'm really glad to see your efforts at building a Veteran's Court. I support the idea as long as we can afford it. But do us veterans a favor. Please learn the correct way to refer to clothing worn by service members. They are UNIFORMS, not outfits. This is a uniform: This is an outfit: Signed, A Proud Veteran

As you have no doubt seen over the last couple of days, I have posted several pieces about potential candidates for a range of offices from judicial candidates to a kindergarten-class-size of candidates considering running for Rep Quintanilla's seat. I have one question for you. What the hell are you waiting for? Especially if you are taking on an incumbent. Volunteers are being sucked up by campaigns. There is a finite number of people in town that actually know the nuts and bolts of a campaign. Guess what, they are all probably committed to a campaign. Every day that you wait is one day less you have to talk to voters and convince them to vote for you. Every day that goes by is one less day available to raise money. Tick-tock people...

County Commissioner held a community meeting last night and had a pretty decent turn out of about 35 people.  The meeting was regarding the tax increase for UMC and UMC President and CEO Jim Valenti presented information about the increase and the hospital budget. He also went over some highlights of their accomplishments and some things to come. Also in attendance were State Rep Naomi Gonzalez and Gandara's opponent in the Democratic Primary, Vince Perez. Perez and Gandara exchanged a handshake and Gandara was cordial with me. Interestingly he staffer that I took a picture of at Perez's announcement made a point of taking a photo of me. I hope it goes up on Facebook and they tag me. I was wearing my favorite Redskins shirt. Gandara was questioned by Hector H. Lopez as to why he missed the vote on tax increase for UMC and Gandara said he is responsible for 70% of the area of El Paso County and has lots of meetings to attend. Gandara went on to say, "All the need, all the b...

County Commissioner Willie Gandara attended a community meeting regarding the tax increase at UMC yesterday. I'll post more on that a little later, but I thought it was interesting that he's not at today's budget meeting, as you can see in this live video stream.  http://epcounty.com/video/ During his meeting last night he addressed being late to the budget meeting earlier this week by stating that he was late because he was meeting with a department head regarding the Tornillo Bridge.

Charlie Madrid, who is about to take over as head hancho of the Mexican American Bar Association, confirmed that he was considering a bid to challenge County Commissioner Anna Perez. The confirmation came at this week's meeting of the El Paso Young Democrats. Perez was originally elected in 2008 after defeating Luis Sarinana.

Not only did my friend George Ybarra celebrate his 21st birthday this week, but he took time out of his day to write a great letter to the editor in the El Paso Times. Ybarra was writing against the recall people. George is a good Democrat.

In an almost unprecedented move in El Paso politics, two candidates in a race have vowed to keep their race clean. The candidates, Don Willams and Laura Strathmann are both seeking the office of, oh hell, its one of the judicial posts, the 3something. The two sat near one another at the Young Democrats meeting and I overheard them talking about making appearances at one another's fundraisers. Williams, an attorney, is the State Democratic Party Executive Committeeman, President of the Black El Paso Democrats, and a member of the El Paso County Democratic Party Hall of Fame. He's also a member of almost every Democratic Party club in town. Strathmann is also an attorney but I admit I don't know much else about her yet. I do know she has a fundraiser tomorrow and I will post the info as soon as I get it. Although its really refreshing that both candidates seem to genuinely like each other lets bear in mind that its still a competition. Only one of them is going to get the job...

Hector Enriquez, who has been rumored to be considering a run for House District 75, the seat currently held by Innocente "Chente" Quintanilla attended this month's meeting of the El Paso Young Democrats. Enriquez confirmed his interest in the seat but said he was still in the decision-making process. Interestingly Quintanilla hasn't indicated whether or not he is going to seek re-election or jump in to the race for County Commissioner. Quintanilla had walked back earlier discussion of a rumored bid for County Commissioner as just "gossip", which is strange because I actually confirmed that he was considering the bid with one of his staffers. Quintanilla also recently remarked how favorable of a district he carved out for himself in HD 75 during redistricting. Quintanilla has never really faced a credible challenger during his term in the house but was seen as vulnerable after recently being characterized as "furniture" by a Texas legislative publi...

I tried to sit down and write this piece all day today but stuff just kept coming up. You know, it happens. (That will make sense in a minute). During his campaign announcement for County Commissioner Precinct 3, Vince Perez made a strong critique of the incumbent, Willie Gandara Jr., primarily regarding his attendance record. Gandara characterized it as negative attacks and said, "Let's fight on the issues". Perez criticized Gandara's attendance record. If Gandara doesn't see his lack of attendance to meetings he was elected to attend on behalf of the precinct is an issue, then that IS an issue all by itself! And I thought his choice of words was interesting. "Fight" as opposed to debate, discuss, or even argue. Maybe I only noticed his choice of words because I have seen just how down and dirty it can actually get in a valley campaign. In the a story on ABC 7, part of Gandara's response to Perez's critique of attendance issues was, "If I m...

Its election season and as usual, people who never attend Democratic Party functions start showing up to things. Relax people, I know those of us who "pay our dues" get pissed because we do all the work and these people just float around until election season is over and then disappear, but we just have to grin and bear it. It is what it is. But it was one of our better meetings last night. The guest speaker was former State Senator Eliot Shapleigh and he did pretty good. A few candidates showed up to introduce themselves, but I'll write more about that in another piece. The highlight of the meeting was when Aldo Lopez of the University Democrats stood up to complain about not getting recognition for his club. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what his actual point was, but he certainly didn't win any new friends at the meeting. He characterized the University Democrats as the most under-appreciated Democratic Party club in town. Most of us looked around and thought ...

I'm glad that after almost 20 years congress finally came to its senses and reversed a shameful policy that treated gay and lesbian service members, who devoted their lives in service to their country, in a dishonorable way. It shouldn't have taken this long and I wish we'd had leadership on this issue long before now, but I'm glad they finally figured it out.

It looks like Danny Anchondo will not seek another term as chair of the Democratic Party in El Paso County. There was talk that Don Williams was going to run for County Chair until a judicial position became open that was anticipated to be open. Multiple sources within the Democratic Party state that they have been contacted by a familiar name that was allegedly considering a run for Democratic Party Chair had Don Williams decided to run. The sources state that former State Representative Norma Chavez had indicated that she was interested in running for Chair if Don Williams was a candidate for the position. Chavez has long been a standard-bearer for Democratic Party values and votes, but has also been known to cross the aisle when necessary. She has also been very outspoken in support of the recall effort spearheaded by Pastor Tom Brown as of late. Gay rights and equality are part of the national platform of the Democratic Party. There are strong indicators that Robert Grijalva (pictu...

Couple of quick notes for rookie candidates or candidates that just don't know what they are doing. There are certain things you are not allowed to do. For example, as I mentioned yesterday, you can't be a county employee and campaign on county time. Another thing that can't be done is campaign on school grounds. My brother-in-law in Socorro tells me that a candidate down in the valley was working the concession stand at the Socorro homecoming game and was passing out campaign materials. I am getting the materials and will scan them and post them. He didn't remember the name but he'll get it to me later and I will update you.

The day after Vince Perez announced his candidacy and critiqued the incumbent County Commissioner Willie Gandara for having poor attendance, Commissioner Gandara is absent from yet another meeting. There is a budget hearing that started at 9:00am today. They are talking about the valley right now. Commissioner Gandara is not in attendance. You can see for yourselves using this link. http://epcounty.com/video/ When asked about his absences yesterday by Marty Schladen of the El Paso Times, Gandra replied, "I've worked my tail off...I work 24 hours a day, seven days a week at being a county commissioner." Commissioner Haggerty just made a comment regarding Commissioner Gandara's absense, "Willie's not here, we get a lot done..."

WASHINGTON  - Today, Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) released the following statement regarding the Department of Defense's (DOD) effective repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell: "As a combat veteran, I strongly believe that soldiers fighting for the freedoms of all Americans are entitled to the same freedoms that all Americans enjoy in the workplace. “The Department of Defense’s year-long study confirmed what many of our troops have told me over the past years regarding ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’—which is that repealing ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will not disrupt our military’s readiness, effectiveness, cohesion, recruiting efforts, and retention of personnel. “As the report stated, in civilian society, there is no law that requires individuals to conceal their sexual orientation to keep their job.  Continuing such a policy in America’s military is simply inconsistent with our nation’s ideals of fairness, equality, and justice. "Starting today, service members impacted by...

Prominent and powerful attorney Theresa Caballero is said to be considering a bid for a seat on the bench as a judge. There has been buzz for a couple of weeks that another prominent attorney and President of the Canutillo Independent School Board Sergio Coronado may also be considering a run for a judicial post. Turns out, they may be considering a run at the same seat. Coronado said he will make his decision very soon. The bid by Coronado makes sense. He has pretty good name ID, he has run a county-wide race recently, and given his possible opponent, it is very likely that fundraising wouldn't be a problem for him. Coronado has several options for his political future, including another judicial seat, so he will likely be very calculated in his next move, but he'd be a strong candidate for a judicial position in this election. Its a Presidential election so turn-out will be higher than normal.

I haven't given awards out in a long time so I thought I'd dish out some hardware today. Let's start with the Asshole of the Week Award. I know most of you hate when I stop talking politics, but if you know me personally, you know the other thing in life I'm passionate about is boxing. Its an easy pick this time, Floyd "Money" Mayweather. Not for the punches, I thought he was completely in the right and thought it was perfectly legal. Classless, and he looked like a leva for doing it, but legal. Ortiz was getting his ass beat. I told my friends on Facebook that Ortiz was the victim of the boxing hype machine. They had to hype him up in order to sell the pay-per-view. Ortiz quit in the middle of a fight in the not-so-distant past and so the intentional headbutt wasn't a surprise. He was frustrated, like many fighters before him, about not being able to land clean punches on Mayweather. He lost his head, fought dirty, and Mayweather busted his ass for it. Or...

Okay, I am about to get started on several pieces today about a variety of political and current events, so you will want to check back in throughout the day. But a couple of quick notes, word on the street is that someone thinks I don't know how to post video because of the video I posted as part of the Vince Perez announcement yesterday. Well, I am sort of known for video around here. I posted 1 second of video because I was in a hurry and didn't have time to convert the video image to a still frame. The person who said that, probably has no clue what the means, so they should really not comment on something they know about. The point is, it was video documentation of a staffer attending a campaign event during what most people would consider part of a normal business hours on a day commissioner's court meets. This stuff happens all the time, particularly at the county, but it doesn't make it right. Same person who was making comment about my video, was also making ph...

Vince Perez, who started off as an intern in Congressman Reyes' office before working his way up to Communication's Director, made his bid to unseat the current County Commissioner Willie Gandara, Jr. Perez's announcement was framed within the various issues affecting the precinct and capped-off with a strong critique from Perez about Gandara's attendance record. "The valley needs a seat at the table, not an empty seat." Perez cited the fact that Gandara has missed several County Commissioner's Court meetings. Perez zeroed in on a recent meeting at University Medical Center that led to an increase in taxes by 20% in which Gandara was not in attendance and called Gandara's absence "inexcusable" . Perez also stated that Gandara, who sits on the MPO board missed the first four consecutive meetings of 2010 and cited a policy of the board that states that after missing 3 consecutive meetings, a member actually loses their voting privileges. ...

Sources in the Paso del Norte Tejano Democrats indicate that Yolanda Clay has been speaking with elected officials within the organization asking for their support in a possible bid to be the Chair of the organization. Clay is currently the State Democratic Executive Committee Woman and is Blanche Darley's neice.

Kudos to Rebecca Robledo, Chair of the Tejano Democrats. She sent out the email below to membership and word on the street says that Blanche Darley is not too happy about it. Darley is known for sending emails out to Tejano membership on a variety of issues that may or may not be the official position of the Tejano Democrats. Most recently she sent out an email supporting the recall of the Mayor, Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega, despite the fact that gay rights and equality are part of the national platform of the Democratic Party. From The Lion Star Blog by Jaime Abeytia There was some whispers last month that Darley had resigned as treasurer of the Tejano Democrats and that there was an effort to find an interim replacement until elections that will be held later this month. And speaking of elections, apparently Darley is so upset about this email, that she is allegedly actively seeking an opponent for Robledo. Darley is also seeking re-election as treasurer of the organization. Darley h...