Sexism Hits Probate Court Race

Pretty dramatic image huh?

I did it to make a point about how if you alter a perspective, anyone can look bad.

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, it really surprises me that a white male candidate would attack a woman of color on the campaign trail, but apparently Darron Powell isn't at all concerned.

Word around the courthouse was everything was just fine between Powell and the probate court judge Patricia Chew until Powell had a ruling against him that he didn't like. Then he chose to make it personal and filed to run against her.

Once he filed then things got ugly. He started gunning or her basically right out of the gate. Now I'm not one to be shy about a negative message. An issues-based negative message is an effective message.

But if all you're doing is throwing bombs, well eventually you're gonna lose a few fingers.

I found in my mailbox today, a piece from Powell. He has now resorted to going after Judge Chew's personal life.

Thats not a negative message, that is personal. And there is no place for personal assaults like that in El Paso politics. Can you be a male candidate and go negative against a woman? Sure, if you do it exactly right and get some help along the way, it can be done.

But that isn't negative, its ugly.

Powell has been trying to leverage several half-truths and allegations. I looked in to what he says and most of it comes up as nothing. But since the get-go he has been trying to target a staffer in a creepy way.

Now he's gone completely over the edge and called Judge Chew a home wrecker. And that is some sexist BS if I ever saw it. Why? Because male candidates are never judged by their sex life, lack of sex life, or exploits. That is something that is unique to women and its shameful that Powell raised the issue.

Who a judge sleeps with, or doesn't, is none of our business and entirely unrelated to the performance of their job. Powell could have continued to raise his message without having the need to include a personal attack of that nature. But he did so because this is personal to him.

The reality is we as a community need to reject tactics like that. As Jerome Tilghman says, politics doesn't shape our character, it reveals it. Powell doesn't just make a sharp policy critique, he makes an attack on personal life.

And he attacks people who aren't the candidate. That is when you know you are dealing with a flawed individual when they attack people are not the candidate. There is no reason, nor practical advantage to doing so, it just shows the flaws in their humanity.

For a guy who is allegedly facing a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty, he might want to stop throwing rocks inside that glass house he lives in.