El Paso Politics

Okay, I didn't realize how easy it was for ANYBODY to become an ordained minister. Turns out, its really easy. Since Pastor Brown, who from what I understand never had to receive a religious education, has now become Bishop Brown and is dressing like a Catholic Priest, I thought I would become a member of the cloth. And I did. Officially. Turns out you can actually pick the title you want when you become ordained from the Universal Life Church Monastery. According the website I can now use the title Revered, Minister, Pastor, Bishop, Arch Bishop, Cardinal, Monsignor, etc... I'm having a hard time picking out a title, so I will do another poll and narrow it down to a few different options and let the readers pick the title I will use from now on. I am partial to Reverend, but mostly because I really dig Run DMC and Run is now Rev Run. So with my membership in the clergy, I can now officiate (after I file my credentials with the District Clerk's Office) weddings, funerals, ba...

Okay, since there has been such a reaction to the piece I wrote about Joe Moody being drawn out of HD 78 and drawn in to HD 77, I put together a few polls. Take them. They are unscientific but I'm interested to see what the results are: <a href="http://www.zoomerang.com/">Online Surveys - Zoomerang.com</a> <a href="http://www.zoomerang.com/">Online Surveys - Zoomerang.com</a> <a href="http://www.zoomerang.com/">Online Surveys - Zoomerang.com</a> <a href="http://www.zoomerang.com/">Online Surveys - Zoomerang.com</a>

Former State Representative Joe Moody was drawn out of the HD 78 and drawn in to HD 77 in the latest version of the maps. That is a big development and leaves Moody with a couple of options. I haven't had a chance to speak with Moody yet, but these are his options as I see them. (Don't start freakin' out people. Its just a 'what-if' piece). Option #1 - Moody could just move back in to the district. He was drawn out, so moving back in won't be a big deal and he's running against someone who moved in to the district to run in the first place. The courts haven't made a decision on filing windows or residency requirements (which will also affect HD 75 btw), so time is on Moody's side. From what I am hearing out of San Antonio, it looks like the residency requirement won't be in play because of the flux of election dates, the candidate would just have to move in the district if they won. I should point out that Moody has always lived in HD 78. He was...

A fundraiser for El Paso Mayor John Cook will be held today at Don Quintin from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Don Quintin is located at 420 N. Campbell.

Am I missing something? I am completely lost as to the headline of this piec e in the El Paso Times today. The headline reads, U.S. Rep Reyes Can't Support Key Claim in Ad on Drugs. The piece is about the ad from Congressman Reyes' office that ran during the Oscar's. David K also wrote about this so I'll be brief since I think he pretty much nailed it. It looks like they got comment from O'Rourke and he said he never advocated for the wholesale legalization of drugs. Okay, maybe thats true, but aren't we talking about semantics here? Does it really deserve the headline "Reyes can't support key claim"? Weed is a drug. O'Rourke is very clear about wanting to legalize it. Yes, his position has changed and the language of what he is advocating for has been massaged, but I think if anyone were to ask him directly, I'm reasonably sure O'Rourke would  make it clear he wants to legalize marijuana. If marijuana is a controlled substance, and he ...

I've spent a lot of time and internet space being critical of local media at times, but when its time for props, I have no problem giving it. You all know the familiar faces in front of the camera, but having been around a newsroom, there is a lot that happens that you don't see. There is a lot of work that goes in to a couple of inches of print in the El Paso Times or news packages on TV. I've been fortunate enough to spend time playing with the varsity team on stories. By varsity team, I mean real journalists. Reporters, even the pretty faces in front of a camera, along with photogs, spend a lot of time sitting around waiting for something to happen. A lot of time is spent in the elements. Hot, cold, wet, dry, etc, reports and photogs can never take a day off the elements. Those big cameras get heavy after you have to lug them around along with a tripod. Then you hope you don't run out of batteries because then you have to run back to the unit for another and hope you...

County Judge Veronica Escobar has only a few options for the appointment to replace El Paso County Commissioner Willie Gandara. As I stated earlier, she either selects someone who is a candidate, or she selects someone who isn't a candidate, but there is no guarantee that the person won't file to run for County Commissioner. If she selected someone who isn't a candidate there is really no way to tell who it could be. There are only a few names that come to mind, mostly people that have run before and all of which would probably run if they were appointed. So let's talk about the candidates in the race now and what I think the likelihood of their appointment would be. State Rep Chente Quintanilla is a non-starter. He is already a State Representative. He would have to resign from office and then there would need to be a special election to fill out the rest of his term, short as it may be. That would also come with a cost to tax-payers. So Quintanilla won't be the on...

Okay, the new maps are out. You can find the map here . The 23rd District was balanced out by taking out most of the Valley and putting it in a district that will be mostly represented by a Congressman in San Antonio. All the people who here bitching about being drawn "disenfranchised" by being drawn out of the 16th District that live in the Northeast aren't going to utter a single word about the people drawn out of the district from the Valley. Yes, that means the elected officials that were the first ones to complain about the maps. Mark my words, they won't have a problem with the valley being taken out at all. So if you live south of the freeway, as far west as Zaragoza, guess what? You are now in a San Antonio district. North of the freeway the boundary is Horizon Blvd. Clint, Socorro, Fabens, San Eli, Tornillo, etc are all now out of the 16th District. Huge loss for Congressman Reyes. Big win for Beto O'Rourke. I guess for Jerome Tilghman too. He now lives i...

Here is the letter sent to County Judge Veronica Escobar regarding the resignation of County Commissioner Willie Gandara. The letter is signed by Joe Spencer, who is Gandara's attorney. I think in order for the resignation to be official it would have to be from Gandara himself, so there may be another letter in the near future. But this is basically a done deal. Gandara can't all of a sudden decide he changed his mind and wants to stay in office. This letter is already public, so its a done deal. If anything, I'd expect an official letter to come from Gandara tomorrow, especially given the fact that the letter from Spencer says "effective immediately". COUNTY JUDGE MEDIA ADVISORY Potential Resignation of County Commissioner Willie Gandara Jr

Since Gandara has made his intentions clear about what he is going to do in terms of the race for HD 75 and being a County Commissioner (he's resigning), the decision to replace Gandara on Commissioner's Court is solely the decision of one person. The County Judge. With Gandara's resignation, that means the valley will have no voice on Commissioner's Court until a replacement is named. It would be irresponsible of the County Judge to not name a replacement until a successor takes office. That would leave the valley with no representation for around 9 months. County Commissioner's Court meets weekly and a lot of decisions are made during each meeting. So waiting until the winner of the election doesn't make sense at all. And frankly, waiting for the winner of the Democratic Primary doesn't make sense at all either considering that date is constantly fluctuating. So far the date we have is May 29th, but that could easily be changed and what ever changes there ...

KVIA is reporting that Willie Gandara will resign from El Paso County Commissioner's Court.  That means County Judge Veronica Escobar has to appoint a replacement. He's also withdrawing from HD 75 race. Fluid situation. I will post more later. 

El Paso County Commissioner Willie Gandara Jr. will be given a cash bond of $50,000 according to KVIA. That means he will likely get out of El Paso County Jail today. Now the questions for Gandara will start. Will he resign? Not likely. I'm betting he will stay on as El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct #3. That means for at least a few meetings Commissioner's Court is going to be packed with cameras and reporters wanting to get comment from Gandara. It will also mean they will likely be floating around his office as well, which is bad for Dora Oaxaca, who is running to replace her boss. She needs to distance herself in order to have any shot at all of being competitive in the race at this point. If Gandara stays on as the Commissioner there is no chance at distancing herself from him. Personally, I don't think it matters. The damage is done and I don't see a path to victory for her anymore. Will he stay in the race? Of course not. He's toast. Plus he needs to f...

In what has been an on-going debate of the race for El Paso County Tax Assessor/Collector, challenger Armando Rodriguez issued this statement that asks the Texas Attorney General's Office to look in to whether the office run by his opponent Victor Flores, is in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. I'll follow this and update you all. It looks like Rodriguez is questioning how much of the work of the office is now being done by private business and if it justifies the department having the same size staff if they are doing much less of the workload. Press Release-Open Records

HD 75 front-runner Mary Gonzalez held a fundraiser last night in Socorro. It was held at the indoor rodeo facility where Dora Oaxaca held her campaign kick-off event. I don't know how much money was raised, but it was the first campaign event she's held in the valley that I was able to actually attend and it was impressive. There was a decent crowd that showed up and it was filled with people from the valley. What was unique about it was the fact that I didn't feel like I was at a campaign fundraiser. It wasn't a stuffy suit and tie affair with wines, cheeses, and small talk. It was beans, brisquit, and abrazos. It was very Texas, very Socorro. Cowboy hats, boots, jeans, Spanglish, and an overall good atmosphere. Beer from a can served through a window that opens to the adjoining bar. Very down home. And there was a band that from what I was told was unexpected. They were Los Alegres de Quien-Sabe-Que, I don't remember their real name, but they were good. Playe...

Large crowd, but noticeably smaller than last year. I was surprised to only see one candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 1. El Paso County Democratic Party Chairman Danny Anchondo was the only candidate in that race that was in attendance. The other candidates, Liza Montelongo and Jaime Romo were not in attendance. Leon will be a candidate if he can get on the ballot and he was also not in attendance. Three of the four Congressional candidate were in attendance, Congressman Reyes, former City Representative Beto O'Rourke, and Jerome Tilghman. The crowd was clearly supportive of Congressman Reyes and the speaker, a congressional colleague, was very complimentary of the Congressman's time in Washington. After the awards were given out to the local Democratic Party activists, State Reps Gonzalez and Marquez gave an award to Don Williams. Since it was on the same night as the Oscar's, the two Reps went with the theme and did the announcement of the award like a nomination...

I think I forgot to mention this, but there was a funny moment that I should pass on to you. During last week's CBA debate, one of the Republican candidates said something that I am sure he would like to have a second crack at. When speaking about the drug war, Corey Roen talked about not legalizing drugs and then said the most absurd thing I've heard in a while. He said "there is no drug problem in the military". A lot of vets in the room almost spit out their tea. In fact, I think the Congressman and Jerome Tilghman both probably bit their tongues at that remark. I haven't heard something that absurd since Ahmadinejad declared there were no gays in Iran.

Politicians are generally pretty good at making asses of themselves. Some more than others. Take a look around, if there was a magazine that came out with a list of cities with elected officials that regularly make asses of themselves, I an assure you, we'd top that one too. Sure there are big cities with their fair share of douche-bag electeds, but seriously, if making an ass out of one's self were an Olympic Sport, we'd crank'em out they way Pennsylvania was cranking out quarterbacks at one time... The bottom line is, elected officials and candidates don't need anyone to help them make asses of themselves. But there is a freakin' legion of idiots out in internet-land that think they are being helpful but all they are doing is turning people off. I know what you are thinking, this as to be a piece about some of Reyes' supporters. Hell, if I wasn't the vato writing this, I would think so to. Trust me, some of the Reyes supports have turning off voters do...

Here is another part of my interview conducted with State Representative Marisa Marquez who represents Texas House District 77. Marquez is running for re-election in the Democratic Primary.

Another commercial from Congressman Reyes' campaign hit the airwaves last night during the Oscar's. If you missed it, here it is: Reyes Works -- Say No to Drugs -- from Silvestre Reyes on Vimeo . This commercial is guaranteed to be controversial and get a strong reaction, either in support, or from people who will strongly dislike the commercial. What I find interesting is that the Reyes' finally appear to be comfortable with calling O'Rourke "Beto". In fact, the message of the commercial was essentially, Say No to Drugs, Say No to Beto. It is now the second commercial released from the campaign and it was during yet another high-ratings period. I think the commercial actually aired twice, the first time being after the monologue from the host, during the first break. That's a pricey spot. I am wondering what a commercial from O'Rourke will look like. I am also wondering how the Reyes supporters are going to react when it comes out. O'Rourke has ...

I conducted a lengthy interview with State Rep Marisa Marquez for an upcoming analysis of the race. I extended the same invitation to her opponent Aaron Barraza. Barraza never responded but his campaign manager did respond and informed me that Barraza declined to be interviewed. Before we go further, I have been contacted by a couple of people objecting to how the attendee I spoke with earlier today characterized the event. I was informed by a caller that Rep Marquez's staff took video of the entire event, so I will try see if I can track it down and post it here so that you can draw your own conclusion of the discussion. I'm told that the issue of colonias came up during the breakfast meeting and as it turns out, it was one of the first questions I asked during the interview I conducted with Marquez on Wednesday. I will post other portions of the interview over the next few days. The interview covered a range of topics relating to the campaign and her time in the legislature.

The Gandara arrest is going to have an obvious impact on Commissioner's Court. He was already under scrutiny for his attendance record at meetings, which is probably why his assistant and best friend Dora Oaxaca has spent so much time filling in for him in his official capacity, even recently presenting an award to a comedian, which is just one of many opportunities she's had to be in the spotlight that she otherwise wouldn't have had. But Commissioner Haggerty is ill. He will be missing a lot of meetings. Gandara missed something like half of the votes on Commissioner's Court BEFORE he was indicted. He's likely to miss much more if he stays on as Commissioner. (There is the outside possibility that he would resign, but I doubt it. His Dad had to be removed via recall after his indictment). There are 5 members of Commissioner's Court. You need 3 for a quorum. County Judge Veronica Escobar, County Commissioner Anna Perez, and County Commissioner Sergio Lewis are ...

Multiple attendees at the City Representative Carl Robinson breakfast meeting this morning said that the exchange between the two guest speakers, HD 77 candidates Representative Marisa Marquez and challenger Aaron Barraza, quickly became a blood-bath. Apparently it was a spirited exchange between the two.  The attendee I spoke with had an issue with Barraza's voting record, or rather, lack thereof. The attendee said someone in the audience asked about it and Barraza indicated that he hadn't voted but quickly made a point about Marquez missing a particular vote on in the Texas House. The attendee felt that Barraza was avoiding the question and that several of the seniors were turned off by his answer and overall didn't like his demeanor. There was apparently also some discussion about Barraza wanting to make changes to the Texas constitution. I wasn't in attendance so I need to get more information before I go any further. I am trying to acquire some video of the breakfa...

The Central Business Association hosted a debate for the Congressional race earlier this week. The debate featured the Democratic candidates for Congress and the Republicans as well. It was nice to see all the candidates together on a stage one time. That was fine for the Burges Forum. But it was a little distracting at the CBA Forum. Originally it was going to be just the Democratic candidates, but the Republicans must've lobbied to be included. Frankly, they should have their own debate. But I think they understand that no one would attend so they figure the best way to get exposure is to be included with the Democrats. There were some pretty good moments in this debate. Strangest thing was the second video-taped message. I forget the guys name but he was also a panelist. As a panelist, I thought he did really well. He should be on more panels. But he should never video tape messages again. I didn't understand what the hell he was trying to say. Most people watching were wond...

Dear Socorro ISD Family: It is with mixed emotions that I announce my intention to leave the Socorro Independent School District at the conclusion of the school year. Serving as the superintendent of schools for the Socorro Independent School District over the past three years has been the most rewarding and fulfilling experience of my professional career. With the help of everyone, we have accomplished so much over the past three years. Ironically, it is our great work and the success of our students and staff that have led to a unique and exciting opportunity to provide leadership and support to 31 superintendents, their respective school districts, and the nearly 250,000 students they serve in the Silicon Valley of Northern California. This opportunity to serve as the County Superintendent in Santa Clara County, coupled with our strong desire to reunite with family and friends in California compelled me to pursue and accept the position. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees wh...

I wasn't able to attend Dora Oaxaca's fundraiser but attendees told me that the turnout was pretty good, possibly as high as 50-60 people. I'm told she received a lot of enthusiastic encouragement from supporters, which is not a surprise because supporters are supposed to support you. I'm also told by an attendee that the Sheriff's Officers Association and CLEAT are going to stand firm with their support for Oaxaca. I forgot to mention that Commissioner Gandara's office was close and no one was in attendance all day long. However a search warrant for the office was executed on Wednesday night. So far there is no indication of how much money was raised a the fundraiser and the attendee I spoke with indicated that the mood was upbeat and Commissioner Gandara's name was not mentioned.

The Ron Paul supporters held a Q&A Event at the Percolator on Wednesday night. It was their first attempt at holding an event like this and I was surprised by a few things. I was surprised at how many people showed up. I expected the place to be half-full at best. But the place was packed and I don't think there any open seats. I was also impressed by the fact that most of the people in the meeting demonstrated a pretty strong grasp of the issues. And most have a freakishly deep knowledge of portions of financial issues. They all seem to be completely lost on the Civil Rights Bill. They seem to get it confused with other later policies and blur it all together. That being said, they were a very welcoming group. Although their insistence in signing in was a bit annoying. It started to feel like that awkward feeling when you have a Jehova's Witness that catches you at home in your yard and you feel cornered. The meeting was pretty much split in to three parts. A YouTube fest,...

Here are the other interviews I conducted after the Congressional debate on Wednesday that was hosted by the Central Business Association. I posted the interview with Ben Mendoza last night, so here are interviews with Jerome Tilghman, Beto O'Rourke, and Congressman Reyes. Since my tripod was stolen yesterday, the next one I get will have to have Tilghman and O'Rourke settings so that it doesn't look like I'm shooting video of their nostrils. Obviously given the Gandara story, I am a little late in catching up on some of the stuff I meant to post previously. So I'll catch up as much as I can today.

I dig the post-fight interview. Since I've interviewed all the other Congressional candidates I thought I would take the opportunity to interview Mendoza. During the interview I asked him about the decision from the 8th Court of Appeals because he was a central figure in the recall effort. And yes...I asked about his idea to make Mexico part of an American commonwealth...Sorry, couldn't resist.

Before you guys blow a gasket about my comments on ABC 7 about the Gandara's being the Kennedy's of the Valley, let me explain the entire interview. The person that coined that phrase is Joe Muench, not me! I have actually made fun of him about that. Earlier in the interview, that did not get aired, I stated that they were previously labeled as the Kennedy's of the Valley. I didn't come up with that. In fact, as I have said before, the only thing I think they have in common is that they are a political family and to the best of my knowledge, Catholic. That's it. Muench labeled them that a few years ago. Chill out. It wasn't me.

Gandara EP Indictment Final

Dora Oaxaca, candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 3 and staffer for County Commissioner Willie Gandara, Jr has indicated that she will stay in the race. Which should surprise no one. Oaxaca is no stranger to adversity and if anyone can mount a campaign through some tough times, its Oaxaca. Affirming her desire to stay in the race for County Commissioner, Oaxaca stated, "I am an open book...I have nothing to fear and nothing to hide...if anything, this makes me want it more. I have been so blessed with an outpouring of support this morning..." When asked directly if she was going to drop out of the race Oaxaca replied, "I'm not. I'm going to stand on my own merit and my own name...my heart is with the working people of the Precinct." Oaxaca has been a close political operative for both Willie Gandara, Sr and Willie Gandara Jr who are now both facing separate indictments. When asked how she felt voters were going to feel after this arrest about the fact...

EL PASO – Vince Perez, Candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 3 released the following statement on yesterday’s arrest of Precinct 3 County Commissioner Willie Gandara on drug trafficking charges by DEA, ICE, IRS, and the FBI: “Yesterday’s arrest of Commissioner Willie Gandara is yet another sad example of the ‘cycle of failed leadership’ in the Lower Valley and Far East El Paso where another elected official has undermined the integrity of public office.  This latest allegation against another member of the Gandara family further demonstrates the urgent need for new leadership that moves beyond the Gandara family and those who have spearheaded their campaigns for public office. “In order to break this cycle of failed leadership, the people of Precinct 3 must demand greater accountability of candidates seeking to represent them in public office.  When I first challenged Commissioner Gandara to serve on Commissioner’s Court for Precinct 3, I highlighted the fact that Commis...

County Commissioner Willie Gandara Jr, who spent the nigh in County Jail has a hearing this afternoon at 2:30pm in Judge Guaderama's court. Gandara was transferred from the El Paso County Jail to the Federal Courthouse shortly after 11:00am this morning in an SUV. Gandara was in the rear passenger seat, but I was unable to get video. The El Paso Times photographer is a real pro and risked injury to himself to get a good shot. He ended up getting pretty close to the window so it will probably be in the El Paso Times tomorrow and is likely on the website now. The windows were heavily tinted on the vehicle and Gandara was put in the vehicle while the garage doors were closed. When the vehicle initially exited the jail Gandara appeared to be ducking low but was sitting upright when the vehicle passed my position. The vehicle taking him to the federal courthouse appeared to gun-it from the stop sign as we (myself and the photogs from the real media) tried to get video. Oh, and in a matt...

Do you remember what was the big story in the news just before 9-11? I do. It was shark attacks. We stopped talking about shark attacks after 9-11. Do you know what the big political story was gonna be today before the Gandara arrest? The mayoral candidate that was allegedly caught with a stripper in Sunland Park and the mayor that was allegedly extorting the candidate. That was the crap that was going to have this community enthralled for weeks. Lucky for them the Gandara thing happened last night. BTW, props to the El Paso Times and ABC 7 for being on top of things. They had great stories last night. The 10 o'clock news had sex and drugs. All they were missing was a story about rock n' roll.

I'll make this brief. People are already giving their various opinions about how this arrest of Willie Gandara Jr impacts the on-going discussion of drug legalization. I honestly don't think the general public is going to be receptive to a legalization argument after this arrest. In fact, I think it makes the conversation even more of a central point, particularly as it relates to the Congressional race. People are not going to react to this development in a positive way. I know its a little early to say, but I'd venture to guess that a majority of the people in El Paso are going to be even more against legalization than before.

Okay, so details of what Gandara is being accused of aren't out yet, but I think its important to go over the political impact. In America we are innocent until proven guilty, so we should proceed based on that assumption. But in politics, people think the opposite. What that means is that this arrest is likely the end of Gandara's campaign for HD 75. I don't think that there is any question that he is unelectable at this time based on what he is facing. In fact, he's got more important things to deal with. Some other possible impacts: Will he stay on Commissioner's Court or will he resign his seat? His father stayed on as Mayor when he was indicted but he was recalled shortly thereafter. Depending on the complexity of the case, there is a possibility that he would resign. If that is the case, the County Judge would appoint a replacement. Political contributions - Given his charges, people who received contributions from Gandara are going to be having to do some dam...

According to reports on El Paso Times and ABC 7, County Commissioner and candidate for House District 75 has been arrest on federal drug trafficking charges. They also report that his home in Socorro was raided tonight by multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI, ICE, and the IRS. This is a story that is going to echo throughout the campaigns. Stay tuned to the local media outlets for more information.

Now that the San Antonio Courts have tentatively set a date for the election (May 29th), its time to talk about who are the winners and losers. So here's what that looks like. In general, front-runners are losers in the date change because of the fact that its more time that their opponents can bite in to their leads and more time where they can make a mistake along the way. To a degree, we are all losers. The tone of this election cycle is ugly, even by El Paso standards. Trust me, it ain't gonna get nicer along the way. Its going to get even worse, so in that sense we all lose. The candidates that haven't been able to raise money are going to be in even more pain because of the election move. It means it will take more money to get their message out to voters. But lets talk about some specific candidates in terms of who is hurt and who benefits from the election date change. We'll start with the Congressional race: Congressman Reyes : Hurt - it gives his main opponent...

Here is video of an interview I conducted with State Rep Pete Gallego who was in town as part of a campaign swing in his bid to unseat Francisco "Quico" Canseco.

We've all done it before. Lost our keys, lost our phone, lost the remote control, in the case of some people...lost their mind... But in another blow to public confidence in our officials, the geniuses at the City, I'm not sure which one yet, seem to have misplaced an entire freakin' park. A park in Rep Holguin's district has been the subject of a debate between Rep Holguin and the City Park Department. Apparently they seem to think the park at the corner of the I-10 and Zaragoza (you know the one where they have a carnival set-up every once in a while?) is not a park. Rep Holguin pointed out that the City had been maintaining it to some degree. Watch the video on the city channel. Hilarious. Only in El Paso can an entire park be lost...

Within minutes of one another today, Congressman Reyes and Beto O'Rourke sent emails to supporters requesting their support at the next debate, set for tomorrow. The debate will be at the Double Tree hotel downtown. It may be the last, if not one of the last times the two major candidates meet head to head. The fact that those two campaigns have the technological resources to do a rapid invitation to a list of voters is is yet another reason why this is essentially a two-horse race.

Ya know, before the decision handed down by the 8th Court of Appeals, the central players in the recall movement wouldn't shut up. They were everywhere. A running camera and an open mic where their best friends. Now, they are no where to be found. Theresa Caballero, who is in the middle of a campaign for a judicial position, and who has run basically on the argument that she is a champion for justice, is no where to be found. Interestingly during her comments to the El Paso Young Stonewall Democrats endorsement meeting Caballero talked about how she has been "fighting for gays, fighting for blacks, fighting for Mexicans, fighting for women, fighting for whites..." and even went so far as to distance herself from Pastor Brown's views on homosexuality. But its in her effort to distance herself from Brown's comments that I find most interesting. They start at around 3:50 mark of the video below. She specifically said that she didn't want the views of some of the ...

The Paso Del Norte Tejano Democrats, who only recently came in to compliance with Texas Campaign Finance codes relating to political fundraising and spending, will be holding their endorsement meeting tonight. Tejano Democrats will hold the meeting in secret, with no one being allowed to be in the room at the time of the meeting unless they are duly credentialed after 6:00pm. There is no indication as to why they are so secretive about their endorsement meeting this year. Normally they have been open to the public, but under the Blanche Darley leadership the meeting is now behind close doors. Typically there is a fair amount of horse-trading and arguing going on at these meetings. Tejano Democrats are the only organization in town that does not have a transparent endorsement process and the only organization that holds their endorsement behind closed doors. Tejano Democrats are also the only organization that actually has to have law enforcement at their meetings to keep order. They wi...

The 8th Court of Appeals has effectively ended the recall effort in a decision today. According to a piece in the El Paso Times, the 8th Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Mayor Cook. The El Paso Times says that the Court ruled that the El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values violated the law in the collection of the signatures. That leads to a question of whether or not there will be any consequences against the El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values organization. So the petitions get thrown out because they were, according to the Courts' ruling, collected improperly. There will be no recall as a result. In order for one to take place, the El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values would have to start all over and collect signatures in accordance with the law. And now, the whining about the 8th Court of Appeals being involved in a wide-spread conspiracy to "take away the voice of the people" starts in 3....2....1....

The Reyes Super Bowl ad is reportedly going to be aired on Premio Lo Nuestro. Morris Pittle - head creative guy for the Reyes campaign, said that "This is the first time in a local election that Spanish-language advertising will truly play a meaningful role in communicating with voters." The ad is supposed to be identical to the one that ran during the Super Bowl with the exception of the end, where the Congressman would give the approval blurb in Spanish.

I know its too early to call a race, mostly because the filing deadline hasn't closed, but I doubt that two of the constable running for office are going to have any trouble getting elected. In fact, next to the Sheriff and Joe Moody, I think they are probably two of the most-popular Democrats in town. I'm speaking of Constable Hector Bernal (Central) and Constable Robert White (Westside). Bernal had a fundraiser on the same day as former Chief of Police Carlos Leon had his campaign announcement. Bernal easily had 3, maybe 4 times the amount of attendees. For a CONSTABLE! Robert White is the longest-serving Constable is racking up the endorsements. I think he's pulled all of them so far. They both have opponents, but I've never heard of either of their opponents and they don't have a presence within the Democratic Party. Bernal and White are perfect examples of how it pays to have a presence with voters between elections. Unless a big name or an experienced campaign...