Jesse Gandara's Little Hobby?

The Gandara family is the most well known family name in valley politics over the last twenty years. Mostly because so many of them have served in various public positions. But lets just be honest, they are also well known for the fact that one, two, three, four have been indicted or did time for offenses ranging from being on the take to drug trafficking.

Perhaps the most reviled, at least from what I can tell, of the Gandaras is Jesse Gandara, Jr. He apparently has been keeping himself busy, according to many in Socorro, by running a little facebook page while he is awaiting trial on the corruption charges he's facing. 

I have another background piece I'm going to do on Jesse soon so that you have all the background, but for now, lets start off with a family tree. I've done this before but I know not everyone keeps up with these things.

So there are four main Gandara's that everyone knows and since I've dealt with almost everyone on a personal level, I'll give you my own opinion of each of them. The patriarchs are Willie Sr and Jesse Sr. Well Guillermo and Jesus to be exact, but the Gandara's a big on nicknames. Willie Sr. and Jesse Sr. are brothers and they are brothers that mostly don't get alone. Their sons were their proteges, you guessed it Willie Jr. and Jesse Jr.

The other two Gandaras are less known and they are Gary Gandara and Anthony. Gary is perhaps the most politically savvy of the bunch. To be honest, I like the guy. Even after a couple of rough campaigns he's always the first to come over and shake hands. He's a guy I'd have a beer with sometime. He's a board member of SISD, as was his father, but for the most part keeps his head down and is basically non-controversial. He's loyal to his dad and brother. Say what you will about Papa Willie and Junior, but the loyalty Gary shows is what family is all about. Anthony is younger and honestly I forget who his dad is. He took on Willie Sr. for Mayor a few years back but Mayor Gandara found a way to throw him off the ballot. That used to be a pretty common tactic in Socorro. I saw him the other day with Jesse at city hall, but I later saw him in the parking lot speaking with another member of council so I have no opinion of him one way or another yet. 

Willie Sr was mayor of Socorro and the only elected official in the county to actually be recalled (fun little trivia there). He was also a long-time member of the Socorro Independent School Board. Gregarious, proud, and broad-shouldered man. Thick handed and the type that slaps on your back and calls everyone "mijo" when he meets them. Frankly, its hard not to like him. 

Jesse Sr was superintendent for school districts in California and thats where he got busted. In meeting him you'd never think he was a school superintendent. He has none of his brother's people skills. In fact, from the minute you meet the vato you find yourself looking at the time and wondering how soon you can leave. 

Willie Jr, well you all know him. He was a county commissioner when he was busted for drugs. You know the story, he was "The Godfather" who was pushing a lot of weight between El Paso and Chicago all while maintaining the imaging of a pillar of the community. He was his own narcocorrido. On a personal level, he was always very nice for whatever thats worth. 

Jesse Jr is, and this is purely anecdotal, the most universally reviled member of the Gandara family in the valley. I mean seriously, people can't stand that guy. Jesse was a member of the Socorro city council but wielded far more power and influence across the city of Socorro than any of his relatives that were mayor ever did. He understood tactics in a way that the other Gandaras just didn't get. So as a result he was able to accomplish more and have a much bigger footprint than the other Gandaras. And his footprint was money. According to people in Socorro, Jesse never met a public dollar he didn't love to spend. While his constituents frequently skipped a daily cup of coffee to make ends meet for their modest homes, ol' Jesse was a regular at Starbucks on Zaragoza and it was almost always on the tax-payer dime. Jesse spent money on parks and improvements to Socorro that the people could see. He knew that constituents never actually get to visually take account of money not spent and they aren't every happy anyway. But if he could spend their money on projects they could see, they would at least get the idea that someone was doing something for them. Then along came a project for driveways. I'll tell you more about that one later...

So Jesse faces trial this month. Since he was charged in two separate incidents, I'll be honest and tell you that I'm not exactly sure what he's going to trial for this month, if the cases are being heard together, or if they are being heard separately. Ill go into those particulars in a later piece. 

But lets talk about how Jesse has been keeping himself busy. First, let me start off by telling you that of all the Gandaras, Jesse is the one I know the most about. Mostly because I've dealt with him the most and probably more so because I know him as an adversary and in politics you must know your adversary well. Jesse likes attention and likes to have his opinion expressed. Hell, all elected officials are like that no matter how humble they try to come across. Jesse's gift is the inside pitch. He loves to corner his prey off and get them alone and make a pitch. Frankly, he's pretty good at it most of the time. His favorite thing to do, aside from taking someone to Starbucks on the taxpayer's dollar (which by the way, he never actually tells the other person. The other person usually thinks Jesse is paying for it out of his own pocket), is taking them on drives. He loves to pack a person or two up in a vehicle and he along with a yes man will go on these little night tours of Socorro where he will showcase whatever it is he's trying to work into his pitch. Then he goes in for the kill. Its text book Zig Zigler sales tactics. Give a shit-ton of one-side information, deal with any obstacles, and get a commitment before they leave. He has always believed that communication is his biggest strength.

We will all soon see how it will be his downfall very soon.

But what does a guy with all of that do once the voters booted his ass out of office and while he's sitting around waiting for trial. Well he used to blog. 

Yes, thats right. Jesse Gandara used to run a blog that tried its best to look like an official city of Socorro site. Which was smart, until he started trying to get cute with video. He started using video to bully the opposition at meetings and set it all to music. Then he tried to do the same thing when he got in a public pissing match with Sheriff Richard Wiles over a couple of detectives. Also set to music.

He's probably been advised by his counsel to keep his pie hole shut, so thats why he isn't blogging. So what does he do next, well if you believe the word on the street in Socorro, he now runs a facebook page. The page only has 61 followers and if I gave the name of the page away it would double his audience (at least) and I'm not fond of doing his work for him. But I've monitored the page for close to a year. Its so obvious its Jesse that its almost painful to watch. 

But its also hilarious. Mostly because when people think they are anonymous they say things they really believe, but wouldn't say so in public. If thats the case, then it appears that Jesse isn't too fond of the gay community in my opinion. But hey, don't take my word for it, lets look at some screen shots.

Gandara hates the fact that Jesus Ruiz is the mayor and that Rene Rodriguez is the city's at -large representative. Those were his primary adversaries along with the late Chito Bowling who gave him a massive thumping and unceremoniously kicked Jesse out of office.  

Here's what the author of the page, that many in Socorro say is Jesse Gandara, has to say about Jesse Gandara's rivals. 

Yes he calls him Tutti Fruitti. Either the author is saying Mayor Ruiz is a big fan of Little Richard or he's making a remark about Mayor Ruiz sexuality. You'll note in the text several references to things like El Nuevo Pri and Los Stooges. I told you the Gandaras were big on nicknames...(also I don't recall the last time Pilo backed a winner in Socorro, although its interesting to note that the use of another political sign for a different political message is actually prohibited. Way to go Pilo.)

But wait, he doesn't stop there.

He did it again in another post. I guess he thinks people in Socorro are concerned as much about the Mayors sex life as the author of the page is. 

But the authors macho ego-trip doesn't stop there. On no, he's got candy for everybody. Check out this little gem.

As you can see here now the author resorts to referring to the Mayor as a she and implies that Gandara's other rival Rep Rene Rodriguez, is gay too. 

So what if Mayor Ruiz or Representative Rodriguez were gay? What would that have to do with anything? Sounds like a macho trip to me. 

But as a point of fact, last I heard Mayor Ruiz has a girlfriend and Representative Ruiz has a wife and a few kids. 

Now for months people have commented on the page, or complained to me that their comments weren't published or were quickly deleted, that Jesse Gandara is the author of the page. 

What I especially find interesting are the very pro-Gandara posts on the page. On several occasions the author of the page practically loses their mind over how the Gandara family name has been run through the mud. Well to the author of the page, whether it is Jesse or not, I'd say that the Gandara's did that themselves vato. Four of them have been indicted and three of the four have been convicted or admitted guilt. Thats not someone running their name through the mud, thats just simple math. 

Anywho...where was I? Oh yeah, the pro Gandara stuff. Here's a recent one that isn't doing Anthony any favors.

Well if that doesn't sound like a family member defending their family then I guess I just don't know what is. But the author doesn't stop there. Oh no, there's more...

Who ever is the author is not doing Anthony Gandara any favors.

But wait, there's more...remember when I told you the Gandara's are big on nicknames? We all know that Willie Jr is called "The Godfather", well the author of the blog apparently refers to Jesse Gandara by a pretty ominous nickname as well. He calls him, "El Teflon". Sounds a lot like the Teflon Don John Gotti.

Newsflash to the author of the page, the last thing the Gandaras need is more references to mafiosos. Although I must admit, I find calling them G-Unit mildly amusing.

Now getting back to the driveway entrances I mentioned earlier. I myself have been on one of those little night time rides with Jesse Gandara, thats how I know them so well. One of the things he pointed out was the drive-way issue. He was very proud to show off the drive-way project. I didn't get it at first but it eventually became clear to me later. First lets hear what the author of the page had so say about it.

What the author is alluding to is an accusation that was leveled against Jesse Gandara's counsel that only registered voters were getting driveways. The author of the page is correct, there are far more registered voters in District 4 than there are driveways. That is 100% accurate. 

But having actually block-walked a lot of turf in Socorro (and I mean a lot, way more than Jesse ever has), I can tell you that it eventually became easy to identify high-efficacy voters. You see block walking in Socorro is harder than a lot of other places because the addresses often don't make sense. They aren't sequential, a lot of homes don't have their address clearly marked, and they will just arbitrarily jump to another set of numbers in the middle of a street. 

So here's a tip for all you block walkers that get stuck walking turf in Soco-Loco. If you're having a hard time finding that targeted voter, just look for the new driveway entrance. I can't tell you how many times that was helpful in the last couple of elections we block walked that turf. I'm not giving you an opinion, I'm telling you what actually happened. 

But I saved the best for last. 

This little gem right here, if it wasn't written by Jesse Gandara himself, then its one hell of a coincidence. 

Only Jesse Gandara would actually take credit for that. The reality is this post is at least partially right. If Jesse and his council hadn't attempted to seize San Eli, then yes there would be no City of San Elizario now. 

But what the author doesn't get is the fact that Jesse Gandara was SO DESPISED by people that it was an easy sell. Think about it, when was the last time you saw 90% of people agree on ANYTHING? 

More on Jesse Gandra soon. 

The page in question will now likely see more traffic that it has ever seen so far. No pun intended.

Your welcome.