Eastside Endorsements Editorial - Sour Apples

I'm a member of the Eastside Democrats and as you know I am a devout Democrat. So I get irritated with wanna be's.

Some of us actually work for the Party all the time, not just when we are running for office. That is why I am particularly irritated with Mike Cervantes. 

He started off his speech with a line about comparing "apples to apples". It sounded a whole lot more like sour apples. 

He stated his speech off by saying that he wants to compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges. He proceeded to say that she is a politician and he is a judicial candidate. This is where I started to get irritated. Guess what Mr. Cervantes, this is Texas. I know you have a lot of experience in Colorado, but in Texas...we elect judges. 

That makes all of you politicians. Like it or not, its exactly what you are. Please tell me you understand this basic concept if you are wanting to actually sit on a bench in this state.

But I took issue with more stuff he said. Contreras also said something about "not someone who conveniently shows up every once in a while at the courthouse."

That really irritated me. Let me explain why.

I'm sick of the fact that Anna Perez is getting a bum rap from Democratic organizations in town. You people should be ashamed of yourself. You'd rather look past the fact that someone is a good Democrat that contributes to the success of the party over petty factionalism.

And sour grapes...apples...whatever.

The point I'm making is that of all people on the ballot right now that should be talking about conveniently showing up every once in a while, its Contreras. 

Hey Contreras, I'm a Democrat all year long and every year. Not just if I was running for something. So lets compare apples to apples. Commissioner Perez has been a member of several organizations within the El Paso Democratic Party. And not just when she's running for something. 

Contreras...look in the mirror and tell me you can say the same thing. If you can, that vato in the mirror is lying to you because I've never seen you at a single damn Democratic Party event when you weren't running for something. 

Not one. 

What was that line about someone "who conveniently shows up every once in a while"? 

Perez is around at Party events when she's not running for office. Contreras is not. Period, point blank. Perez is one of the few Democratic elected officials that is supportive of the Party all the time. The rest float in and out depending on the election schedule. 

In the interest of disclosure, I've put up signs for Commissioner Perez. I've poll sat for her too. In fact, the last signs my father ever put up for a candidate were for Commissioner Perez. I did so because unlike most of you, I research candidates and felt she was the best one for the job. (Although she was running against Sarinana, so it was a clear choice.)

I get especially irritated at other people I consider "good Democrats" that are always hating on her. The perception among people, and some has-beens who think they know what the hell they are talking about when they are actually wrapped up in their own personal insane asylum of conspiracy theories they call a brain, run around saying she's a "Shapleighite". 

She's not. 

Her mentor, from what I can tell is Senator Jose Rodriguez. You know him right? The most popular Democrat in the County.

She cut her teeth working for Rodriquez, not Shapleigh. And what drives me more insane is the fact that of all the "progressives" out there, she is the ONLY one that is a regular and habitual part of the Democratic Party in town OTHER THAN Jose Rodriguez. 

You'd think Democratic clubs in town would appreciate the fact that someone is party of the Party even when they aren't running for something. 

So yes, I find the whole thing very irritating. Especially when it comes to endorsement time. If you haven't figured out what happens, let me lay it out for you. Candidates will buy a bunch of memberships in a club in order to flood the membership with their supporters to that they can win the endorsement. Perez doesn't do that. 

I especially took issue with the fact that Contreras implies that Perez will make decisions not on the law but "someone who will take into consideration your political affiliation." For someone who says he will make decisions based on facts and the law, I sure hope he has something to back that statement up with.

If he doesn't he runs the risk of sounding like just another...wait for it...politician. 

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And now on to the County Commissioner Precinct 3 Race rant.

Its not really a rant, but more of an observation about what Chente said. Vince Perez spoke before Chente and as usual he went on offense. Quintanilla was force to go on the defensive and spent most of his time defending against what Vince Perez said during his speech. Perez went on the offensive about the pensions Quintanilla is receiving and the fact that the salary of a county commissioner is significantly higher than that of a State Rep. 

But two things stood out from Chente's remarks. One was the fact that he questioned why Vince Perez would take a paycut to leave Washington to come work in El Paso for less money. I think Chente meant that as a criticism, but its actually something people actually find quite appealing about Vince Perez. In fact, in Perez's remarks he actually said something about politicians being in it for the money. 

Chente's remarks actually make Vince look good. Chente himself made the point that Vince Perez is going to make less money than he was before in Washington if he is elected.

The other thing I found interesting was the fact that Chente mentioned that he only gets paid $600 per month for his work at the Texas legislature. While that is an accurate portrayal of what the state pays, it doesn't accurately reflect what they get in campaign contributions that they can use for all manner of things while they are in office. 

If I read his campaign finance reports properly, it looks like Chente spent more than $50,000 in food alone from campaign contributions. 

Most of that money comes from lobbyists.