Campaign Signs Raise Possible Ethics Issue
So I've been poking around in Socorro lately and I noticed some signs on Horizon Blvd just south of North Loop. As you can see in this picture, the area the signs are on belongs to a supporter of Chente Quintanilla who is running for County Commissioner in Precinct 3 against Vince Perez.
The two are in a run-off election to replace former County Commissioner Willie Gandara. Gandara will be pleading guilty to drug charges in federal court the day before Election Day for the run-off, according to reports in the El Paso Times.
So the property belongs to a prominent businessman in Socorro named Pilo. He owns the business adjacent to the property as well and even has a mannequin holding a sign supportive of Quintanilla. Interestingly the mannequin appears to be wearing a Halloween mask that is supposed to be President Obama.
The problem with the signs aren't the ones from the campaign. Those appear to be completely in-line with campaign sign rules.
But these signs, not so much:
These signs are in violation of the rules for a multitude of reasons. First, they don't say what office Quintanilla is running for. Second, they don't have a legal disclaimer. It also raises questions about who paid for the signs and where the expenditure would be reported.
Another interesting development and potential violation of the rules is the fact that the signs appear to be printed on the back of signs that once belonged to ... wait for it ... Dora Oaxaca.
Actually I don't need to use the word appear. I inspected the signs closely, they are printed on the back of Oaxaca signs.
This by itself doesn't indicate a collaboration between Oaxaca and Quintanilla, its entirely possible that this is the act of an over-zealous supporter. One who decided to go to the trouble and expense to get signs professionally made and printed.
At any rate, Quintanilla should be careful about ethical questions. As you can see, Perez has already sent out a mailer to voters about the fact that when asked if Quintanilla felt it was ethical to raffle away $20 bills to potential voters he replied "Yes".
The last thing Quintanilla needs at this point is more ethical questions raised during this campaign.
The two are in a run-off election to replace former County Commissioner Willie Gandara. Gandara will be pleading guilty to drug charges in federal court the day before Election Day for the run-off, according to reports in the El Paso Times.
So the property belongs to a prominent businessman in Socorro named Pilo. He owns the business adjacent to the property as well and even has a mannequin holding a sign supportive of Quintanilla. Interestingly the mannequin appears to be wearing a Halloween mask that is supposed to be President Obama.
The problem with the signs aren't the ones from the campaign. Those appear to be completely in-line with campaign sign rules.
But these signs, not so much:
These signs are in violation of the rules for a multitude of reasons. First, they don't say what office Quintanilla is running for. Second, they don't have a legal disclaimer. It also raises questions about who paid for the signs and where the expenditure would be reported.
Another interesting development and potential violation of the rules is the fact that the signs appear to be printed on the back of signs that once belonged to ... wait for it ... Dora Oaxaca.
Actually I don't need to use the word appear. I inspected the signs closely, they are printed on the back of Oaxaca signs.
This by itself doesn't indicate a collaboration between Oaxaca and Quintanilla, its entirely possible that this is the act of an over-zealous supporter. One who decided to go to the trouble and expense to get signs professionally made and printed.
At any rate, Quintanilla should be careful about ethical questions. As you can see, Perez has already sent out a mailer to voters about the fact that when asked if Quintanilla felt it was ethical to raffle away $20 bills to potential voters he replied "Yes".
The last thing Quintanilla needs at this point is more ethical questions raised during this campaign.
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