El Paso Politics

A reader contacted me a while back and asked me if I could optimize my website for mobile viewing. That would make it easier to read on your mobile device. So I did. Recently another reader asked me if I could change the background color because it was a lot of white and hard on the eyes after a while. So I did. If you go to the LSB on your mobile device you will see that the background is now black and the text is now white. Since I was doing that stuff, I thought I would highlight a few of the other features on this blog that you might not be familiar with buy might want to take advantage of. Off to the right, under the description of the blog are several features I have included for your convenience. The first one is a poll. I try to keep it fresh, but that's not always easy. If you have an idea for a poll, shoot me an email. Follow By Email - You can use this feature if you would like an email alert sent to your email address whenever I post something new. This is a pretty popu...

She hasn't officially announced and most of you probably don't know who she is yet, but if she runs you will learn the name. Mary Gonzalez is the candidate who has been shopped around Austin by Annie's List, which is a progressive group focused on women's issues and specifically empowering women to run for elective office. So here's a quick summary. Gonzalez is from the valley and attended Loretto for elementary school and later Clint High School. She's got a very powerful back story and comes from a humble background in the valley. She   received her Bachelor Degrees in History and Mexican American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. In 2009, she received her Master of Liberal Arts with a concentration in Social Justice from St.Edward's University. During the early part of her career, she worked for Representatives Paul Moreno and Richard Raymond. She was also Assistant Director in the Office of Research and Demonstration at the National Hispani...

My buddy David K wrote a piece on Refuse the Juice about a guy named "Hector" running for office in the lower valley. I don't know any candidate running for anything in the lower valley other than Hector Enriquez who is seeking the seat for HD 75, being vacated by Chente Quintanilla. Interesting stuff. And you gotta give DK some credit. The vato is out of town and still writes about El Paso.

So we had a chance to ask the candidates one question in the first congressional debate on Monday. I asked Jerome Tilghman a question regarding how he expected Democrats to support him after he had delivered the keynote address to the Tea Party Rally. To get you caught up, here is the audio of the exchange. (Its a short recording) "If you look at the accounts of the presentation that I made to the persons at the Tea Party, it was design to say that the name of the game is cooperation, not competition." That got me curious. You see, I was at that Tea Party Rally because I wanted to interview the Tom Brown slate of candidates. They were all there in one place so I figured it would be an easy way to talk with all of them. And whaddaya know...I happen to have recorded his address to the Tea Party Rally. Listen to Tilghman's answer in the audio recording and listen to what he says in the video. You'll notice a couple of things. First, that he started his rem...

A quick update from Monday and Tuesday's filing dates. I stopped by Democratic Party Headquarters to on both days to see who has filed paperwork so far. Here's a few more names to add to the list. Judge Regina Arditti - Apparently she wasn't feeling well and sent her son to file the papers. Armando Rodriguez - He is running for Tax Assessor / Collector State Senator Jose Rodriguez - Rodriguez filed for re-election even though he was only elected two years ago. Since this was a redistricting year, he had to run again. Interesting tidbit, Texas State Senators represent more people than Texas members of Congress. Laura Strathmann - She is running against Don Williams for a judicial seat. State Representative Joe Pickett - He is running for re-election to HD 79 I was able to speak with Representative Pickett for a couple of minutes:

In a race that is really going to be a sharp contrast of candidates, Vince Perez is utilizing an interesting fundraising tool. Check it out (from his campaign Facebook page): Vince Perez is turning 30 this month, and to celebrate his birthday, the friends of Vince Perez are launching a $30 for 30 fundraising drive on Facebook to support the Vince Perez for County Commissioner Campaign. Join the fight to help this young El Paso leader bring stronger representation for the people of Precinct 3 in El Paso, Texas. To donate, visit www.vinceperez.org  and click the donate button. To read Vince's letter to donors, follow this link  www.vinceperez.org/?p=132

I really don't need to write this piece because Beto really doesn't need anyone's help on playing offense. Other than punching himself in the eye with social security, he's done basically everything right as a candidate. He's witty, strong on the issues, dynamic and very cool under pressure. As I've said before, a young Bobby Kennedy. So since I really don't have any extra wood to add to the fire for O'Rourke, I will touch on the areas where I think he's been effective against the Congressman. In general, he's been really great at hitting the "change nerve". You get the sense when you hear him speak that he's going to be a somebody some day. He's shifted gears now, but in the beginning he was great about going after the Congressman in a way that made it about issues, platform, vision, and direction without being disrespectful to the Congressman. I think that made people open to hearing him out. He's got a different tone thes...

But before you get all warm and fuzzy in the Beto glow, which a lot of you already have, there are some chinks in the armor. And lets face it, the only place you are going to see an objective critique of the O'Rourke record is here because he's really, really, really good and working the media. Since the Reyes camp hasn't decided to play any offense and seem content to react to O'Rourke and let the Congressman take punches from O'Rourke, I thought I'd write down the areas I've identified as vulnerable issue-based discussion. (BTW, I weigh the pros and cons of every election I care about on a ballot, so if you are ever interested on a specific race, email me and I'll send you my thoughts). Hell, maybe I'll do a series of posts on pros and cons of candidates... Legalization of Marijuana O'Rourke has had a MAJOR shift in his position on legalization. He was originally for legalization of narcotics. That has now shifted in to a much softer conversat...

Sorry it took me so long to get to posting a wrap-up of the debate yesterday but I spent a lot of time at the Democratic Party Headquarters checking to see who filed to run during the first day to file for office. I conducted a few interviews and had to edit video for those interviews and then go home and edit video for the debate. The bad news is that someone must have accidentally turned off my video about half-way through but I was able to get the audio of the entire debate. The video is posted below. So here is a thumbnail of the debate. Beto O'Rourke is clearly a better speaker. Lets not act like that was a surprise either. Its O'Rourke's one big advantage over the Congressman, so he was SUPPOSED to look good against him. He appeared to have one gear during the debate, attack, attack, attack. He did a masterful job of prosecuting a case against the congressman. He landed a few hard blows and a pretty strong line about the Congressman's congressional staf...

     It is with great excitement that I announce my  candidacy for District 75 State Representative.   I have the utmost desire to represent you in Austin. Please join me and my family on Thursday  December 1st from 5:30 pm to 7pm at Andales  fine Mexican cuisine located at 9201 Gateway West, for our kick-off . Thank you and I look forward to seeing you. Art Fierro 915-630-6480

Interview with Joe Moody, who is running against Dee Margo for HD 78.

Here is an interview with Judge Bill Moody right after he filed for re-election.

Here is an interview I did with Miguel Cervantes, candidate for 41st District Court. Candidates, I have said this before, if you want to interview just hit me up. thelionstarblog@gmail.com

Sorry folks, I'm still laughing at the Tilghman prison jumpsuit video. Some things just make me laugh. And in El Paso, just when you think you've seen it all, BAM - up comes a congressional candidate in a prison jumpsuit! I was waiting for him to join a bunch of Filipino prisoners and all of them start doing the Thriller dance. But what the hell. I say we go with it. If you really want people to pay attention to the congressional race, then we should take this dress up thing to the next level. Tilghman can bring his prison jumpsuit, the Congressman can be a cop, and O'Rourke can dress like a construction worker and we can all get our YMCA dancin' on!

Before you guys accuse me of making this shit up, I'm not. I've seen campaign volunteers dressed as super heroes. I've seen props. I've seen craziness. I've seen fights. But this is the first time I've seen a candidate in a prison jumpsuit...on purpose. This is really video of Jerome Tilghman in a faux-prison jumpsuit. He made this video, not me. I just found it because I was looking for my video of him addressing the Tea Party Rally earlier this year. I love politics in this town!

As of 1:00pm today, 15 candidates have filed to run for office. Sorry I don't have something more interesting to share, but they are mostly judicial candidates (yawn). But the highlight so far is that two state rep candidates filed today. Joe Moody filed to run for HD 78 (video to follow) and Marissa Marquez filed for reelection to HD 77. The only other candidate to file so far that is not a judicial candidate is Hector Bernal who is running for re-election to Constable of Precinct 3. I was able to interview a few candidates today and I even have this handy-dandy how-to video that goes through the process of filing papers to run for office. El Paso County Democratic Party Chairman Danny Anchondo was kind enough to walk me through the process. The judicial candidates that filed include: Richard Contreras - 243rd Former Judge Luis Aguilar - 243rd Miguel Cervantes - 41st (his sister-in-law recently ran for District Clerk). I interviewed him and will post it later. He is running for...

El Paso Stonewall Young Democrats are hosting a Christmas with Council Event to show support against the recall movement for City Reps Byrd & Ortega and Mayor John Cook. The event is also a fundraiser event for the organization and they are trying to help a family from Dame La Mano have a better Christmas. Here are the details of the event and you can find more information here . I know this event is the same night as the Westside Democrats' Candidate Meet and Greet, but Democrats should make it a point to be supportive. If you can't attend, drop them the $15 to help out...

It seems like such a basic point, but the media seriously blows at election coverage. Here is a little tip media people...if you pay attention you will notice little stuff like the fact that at least one of the three candidates running for the 16th Congressional District Democratic Primary doesn't actually live in the district. The development happened as a result of the new maps issued by the Texas Courts. Jerome Tilghman, who lives in Northeast El Paso, does not live in the 16th District of Texas. He lives in the other El Paso Congressional district I wrote about. He knows it too. He feels like his base was drawn out of the district. I hate to break it to my former radio colleague, but he doesn't have a base to begin with. At any rate, the maps aren't going to change and while he can legally run for the seat, its doubtful we will see his name on a ballot come March. Tilghman says the lines disenfranchise people in that part of town. The same argument was made by people in...

The new congressional lines are out and they will play a big part in the race for 16th Congressional District. The Lower Valley was originally taken out of the 16th Congressional District by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature, making it a district entirely within the city limits of El Paso. The Texas Courts have ruled that the lines for several state and congressional districts were unfair to minority candidates and the lines were redrawn. In the new map, portions of the westside and the northeast were cut out of district 16 and put in to the 23rd district and the lower valley was put back in to the 16th district. For the first time urban El Paso will be represented by more than one member of Congress. So...do you like the change? Take my new poll over to the right (if you are not reading this on a mobile device). PS, I'm not 100% sure, but I think one of the three Democratic Candidates for the 16th Congressional District no longer lives in the 16th District according to t...

Michael Apodaca indicated on Sunday that he will not be running for Chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party. Apodaca stated that he wanted to focus on his business venture at this point. That leaves recently ousted former State Rep Norma Chavez as the only real candidate for the office at this time. This is despite the fact that sources indicate that Chavez has asked several former supporters for help on the campaign and they have declined. Chavez has likely seen that HD 76 district boundaries have been drawn in such a way that she would be a viable candidate to regain her seat in the state legislature. Essentially that leaves Chavez is a very good political position. She can basically walk in as Chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party with virtually no competition, or she  can run to win her seat back in the state legislature. As Chair it would be an easy race and she could reshape the Party as she sees fit. Many in the party indicate fear a dose of political payback if ...

Monday is going to be the real start to the campaign season. The Westside Democrats will be holding the first debate of the campaign for Congress between the incumbent Congressman Silvestre Reyes and the challenger, former City Rep Beto O'Rourke. The debate will take place at the Polly Harris Senior Center located at 650 Wallenberg Drive, El Paso, TX 79912-5638. The debate will start early in the morning, at 7:30. Later in the day Joe Moody will be filing his papers at Democratic Party Headquarters to run for State Rep against the incumbent Dee Margo. Democratic Party Headquarters is located at 1401 Montana. Moody's father, Judge Bill Moody will also be filing for re-election at the same time. Expect to hear some more concrete information about candidates for a range of offices next week as well. Art Fierro and Mary Gonzalez will probably both make formal announcements in the near future with Fierro's announcement likely in the early part of the week. Since Monday is the fi...

Sources close to Cesar Blanco, former chief of staff to Congressman Ciro Rodriguez, indicate he is considering a run for the 23rd District of Texas. The Congressional District spans from western San Antonio to northeast El Paso, including the trans-mountain corridor, and portions of Fort Bliss. Blanco has also worked for Congressman Silvestre Reyes and is currently the Director of the West for the National Democratic Committee (DNC) where he oversees day-to-day political operations of western states spanning from Alaska to Hawaii, including Texas and California. He is in contact with local, state and federal elected Democratic officials as well as grass-roots organizations and community-based initiatives. Blanco is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso, and a veteran who served in the Navy. The El Paso area has been represented by two members of congress for quite some time now, but it has only been the far east portion of the county that previously was represented by anothe...

Family is in town so I have been too busy to blog lately. So here are just some quick hits to catch-up on the political scene. Beto O'Rourke spoke at the El Paso Young Democrats Meeting on Monday. Much smaller crowd that what showed up for the Congressman. Generously speaking it was a little more than a third the attendance that the Congressman's appearance had. But since it was Thanksgiving week I think people just had full calendars and couldn't make it out. They missed a good performance by O'Rourke. Looks like he has really refined his critique of the Congressman. He is very sharp and succinct in his criticism of the Congressman focusing on the number of bills Reyes has sponsored, and his voting and attendance record. O'Rourke now needs to start honing his message about what he's going to do. You hear a lot of criticism of the Congressman, but not a lot what he would do different or what his agenda would look like outside of the word jobs. I'd like there...

The Recall Election will be held on Saturday, April 14th, 2012. Let me just rip off the band aid and tell it like it is. That election date is really bad for Beto O'Rourke, Susie Byrd, Steve Ortega, and Mayor Cook. Its bad for Byrd, Cook, and Ortega because its on a Saturday and its the second election in the month of April and the third election in 45 days. Its hard enough to get voters to come out for one election, much less a third in 45 days. The good part about that is that it means that the most committed voters will be out in the polls, the question is are there more of them for the Recall than against it? I'm inclined to think that more of the people that are FOR the Recall than against it will go to the polls for a third election. People are usually more inclined to vote against something than they are for it. In this case, you have a whole lot of people who will be voting against the members of council. If Tom "I plead the 5th" Brown has shown one thing, its...

As I said before, if you have a campaign announcement I will post it. I saw this one today and am posting it here. Remember if there is something you'd like posted about a campaign event, send it to thelionstarblog@gmail.com or call me. Please join us for a fund raiser To re-elect Judge Patrick M. García 384th Judicial District Court Tuesday, November 22, 2011 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Andale  Mexican Restaurant and Cantina 9201  Gateway West El Paso, Texas Donations welcome / Cash Bar Pol. Ad paid for by Judge Patrick Garcia Campaign, Ray Trujillo, Treasurer •  9004 Shaver, El Paso, Texas 79925 In compliance with the voluntary limits of the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act Hosted by: Rick Gutierrez and Tito Porras

From the beginning people said that this campaign would have the feel of a big fight and so far it hasn't disappointed. There have been several exchanges of punches and counter punches so far and today is another salvo from both campaigns. This morning O'Rourke punched with a video on jobs and the Reyes campaign is counter-punching with this press release on O'Rourke's book release. The book calls for the legalization of marijuana. Here is the press release: ASK O'ROURKE WHY HE IS BACK PEDDLING ON REFORMING THE WAR ON DRUGS      EL PASO, TX -   Although Mr. O'Rourke promotes his book "The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico" on ending the prohibition of marijuana during interviews and book signings, he is now downplaying his stance on reforming the War on Drugs as a desperate attempt to gain votes and divert attention to issues Congressman Reyes has long championed: job creation, improving our local economy and ensuring  veterans...