Musical Chairs

Its stupid that this is even a topic, but it is and I must therefore chime in.

First things first. Lets stop pretending that there is anyone at fault here but City Rep Lily Limon. Country/pop music star Taylor Swift has become famous for writing songs about ex-boyfriends who have done her wrong. Well after a few songs like that, maybe the problem isn't with the ex-boyfriends...

That is the same situation here with city council. After multiple members of city council have asked to move, maybe the problem isn't with those members of council...

Seriously, what (in this case who) is the common denominator? 

As a Chicano from the barrio, I'm sorta pre-programed to root for people like Limon. An educated strong Latina woman. I happen to be a product of a strong Latina woman. Hell Limon had Little Joe in her campaign commercials! I should be her biggest cheerleader.

But instead, I find myself embarrassed by her conduct. She's an educator for God's sake. She doesn't know how to keep quiet while someone else is speaking? I'm pretty sure there's some former Limon students floating around that probably had their parents called when they did the same thing Limon does to her colleagues in class.

Way to set the example.

We've all seen the loud, brash, abrasive, do-what-I-want-or-I'll-throw-a-tantrum act before. It doesn't end well.

Don't get me wrong, I'll tell it like it is. If Limon were out there leading some great Chicano cause, advocating for the poor and disenfranchised, raising hell to protect the little guy/gal, I'd be cutting her a whole lotta slack. 

God knows I've done it in the past. 

I've looked the other way on the politics of personality before if I thought the leader was doing the right thing. You know the saying, no one likes to watch sausage being made.

But lets be real. Limon doesn't fight for those things. 

She fights for crappy lights that makes Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look like a blinged-out rap video with strippers iced-out, and ridiculously fat raises for her staff. 

So bottom line is Limon acts up and the white ladies (City Reps Niland and Lily) are uncomfortable and asked to be moved. 

Representative Ordaz isn't white and seems to be able to tolerate Limon pretty well. Although that might be because Ordaz has a super-hyper and annoying dog that doesn't know how to behave either so she probably has a high threshold.

Seriously, that effing dog bit me in the junk on more than one occasion. I hate that dog.

I honestly expected a whole lot more from the Honey Badger. I don't get how Niland can take on big power companies but can't handle Limon. Niland needs to go get her seat back. Give Limon a little taste of her own medicine.

You know how we handle someone in the barrio who fouls a lot when we play basketball? We foul them back harder. You gotta make your own calls anyway.

So sit right next to her and emulate her behavior. What is she gonna do? Run and complain to Mayor Leeser about the very behavior she started?

I assure you, nothing will drive her more crazy than having to sit between Ordaz and the Honey Badger.

Or she could always ask Ordaz to bring Jack to the meeting. That'll teach her. Jack is the dog by the way.

Seating at City Council Doesn't Matter Anyway

All of this is really a stupid conversation anyway. There's nothing in the charter that says where the kids have to sit in class. They conduct electronic voting anyway. They all vote at once. Its not sequential public voting like it is at the county.

At the city everyone votes and once everyone votes privately, the results are then shown to the public.

If you want to talk stupid seating arrangements, look at the County. From left to right the seating is as follows, Precinct 3, Precinct 1, County Judge, Precinct 2, Precinct 4. But when they vote its Precinct 3, then Precinct 1, then Precinct 2, then Precinct 4, and then the County Judge.

No one knows why it is set up that way either. 

I asked that question about a year and a half ago. Sequential voting means a little more political gamesmanship because you can see how people vote on an issue before your turn to vote comes up. 

I'm glad to see with all the pressing issues facing this community like domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, disease prevention, economic development, and the provision of services that we are focusing on important stuff like where the white ladies on council sit and the freeway decorations at Airway.

To borrow a phrase from The Juice, Keep El Paso Backward...