Fenenbock Included Superintendent in Campaign Discussion

Emails obtained recently show that Dori Fenenbock included EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera in correspondence that was directly related to campaign matters back in October of last year after Fenenbock resigned from EPISD. 

The emails were regarding questions that had surfaced around that time about the endorsement of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the unions that represents teachers in EPISD. AFT is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. 

Fenenbock started campaigning back in May of 2017. While Fenenbock frames it as an exploration of a campaign, once you reach a monetary threshold of $5,000 you become a candidate by FEC regulations. 

In June of 2017 she advocated for, and voted on, a controversial contract to Gafcon, which has come under scrutiny because of the $1,500-per-day consultant and allegations of bid rigging. That $1,500-per-day consultant is now a paid consultant for Dori Fenenbock’s campaign. 

The email was sent from a private email account of Fenenbock to Ross Moore of AFT and a couple of other officials with AFT. What is interesting is that the email is also cc’d to a few other AFT folks, two members of her campaign team, and EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera. 

This draws the immediate question of why Fenenbock would even cc Cabrera, whether a personal email address or an official one, in the first place. Incidentally, it was to his EPISD email address. 

Superintendent Cabrera has no role in AFT operations nor its leadership. So what are the possible reasons that the email was sent to Cabrera? Only one of two reasons that I can see - either it is confirmation that he was more involved in Fenenbock’s campaign that he has publicly admitted to so far, or it was an attempt to intimidate AFT leadership. 

Frankly, it comes off more like a veiled threat. 

And this is yet Fenenbock has the nerve to point fingers about who is politicizing the EPISD board?

Coupled with this news story recently of yet another allegation against Cabrera for campaigning on behalf of Fenenbock, this points to a very disturbing set of circumstances involving Fenenbock and Cabrera.