San Eli - Stay the Course

I've been fortunate enough to be a part of a lot of amazing things in this community and one of the things I am most glad I was a part of was the incorporation of El Paso County's oldest community, San Elizario.

Yeah, yeah, I know, this is the part where some of you roll your eyes and say, "there goes Abeytia talking about the valley again..."

San Elizario is set to have another municipal election this weekend and voters in Texas' oldest community / newest municipality have an important decision - stay the course with progress, or take a massive step backward.

Voters in San Elizario should stay the course and re-elect Mayor Maya Sanchez, Alderperson Becky Martinez-Juarez, and Alderperson George Almanzar.

The alternative is a dangerous and expensive step backward. First, let me give you some background.

Back in 2013 Socorro, under Norma Chavez's old buddies - the Gandara Clan, tried to annex San Elizario. I was in the office the day the call came in to Commissioner Perez's office from Road & Bridge telling us that Soco-loco wanted to annex San Eli.

Obviously it was a text book Gandara movida and it needed to be stopped. A group of brave community members in San Eli stepped up to stop the Gandaras.

It was mostly women.

The Sanchez family, Leti Miranda and her family, the Montes family, the Licon family, Ms Martinez-Juarez, Mr Almanzar, Paul Johnson, Rene Rodriguez and others, all good, humble working-class people that were willing to step up and stand against the most powerful political family in the valley to protect their community.

I know I left some other families out, which is unintentional, so I apologize. The point is, San Elizario as most of us know it, was going to cease to exist. And people in San Eli were going to start paying taxes to Socorro, which are pretty high.

So they were faced with either paying higher taxes to a corrupt neighbor that just wanted to use them for a Gandara wet-dream of a Socorro (really San Eli) port of entry, or pay a little more in taxes (less than Socorro) and be able to have self-determination.

This group of people were willing to put their time, effort, energy, brains, muscle, and will-power to stand up for their community despite long odds. They put in countless hours researching, organizing, and fundraising.

I lost track of how many enchilada plates I purchased. I sat in the audience when they went to the belly of the beast in Socorro to face the Gandara administration to protest the annexation. I was there the day they had a community meeting and searched for answers. Some people were there to just complain. Others were there to step up and do their part.

We sat in the audience during the court cases. We saw the hope in their eyes when the judge ordered a special election because the Gandara's unlawfully extended their terms in office.

We helped them organize in order to help good people in Socorro take on the Gandaras.

We helped them identify voters, knocked on doors, spoke to voters and collected signatures with them.

I was there the day they turned the signatures in to the County Judge to incorporate.

I had a ringside seat to the whole thing. I saw who talked a big game, I saw who was against incorporation from day one, and I saw who were the work horses.

People in San Elizario know the value of a good work horse.

And I mean that in the literal and figurative sense.

Have you ever went home with chile embedded in the bed of your fingernails for days from making enchiladas to raise money to pay lawyers to help save your town?

No, you haven't.

And you don't know anyone who has unless you're one of the few people that were part of that effort.

Mayor Maya Sanchez took the lead on that effort. I know, I took her phone calls when I worked for the Commissioner. My buddy Jose and I worked with that group very closely.

Hell, we helped draw the lines of the town.

Becky and George stepped up with Maya and others when the election to incorporate happened. They shepherded their community through incorporation. Then they stepped up again along with Leti and others to serve as the first city council in San Elizario.

That team has worked closely with Commissioner Perez, then-County Judge Escobar, and others at the County and the MPO to get San Elizario on its feet and get much needed infrastructure investments for the area.

They protected their community. They advocated for their community. They have planted the seeds for economic development, while maintaining the integrity of their agricultural identity, increased accessibility to park space, and made the community a safer place by investing in law enforcement.

For many, many years I have documented failed leadership in the valley. Its the kind of thing that will break your heart. People in the valley are genuinely good, hard-working people who just want to provide their families with a better life and have been plagued by leadership that has consistently let them down. But the valley, over the last 6-8 years has been experiencing a renaissance. Now, some of the strongest, most dedicated and reliable leaders in the County, come from the valley.

Mayor Sanchez and Alderpersons Martinez-Juarez and Almanzar are among those leaders.

They are facing opponents that are either involved in sweetheart contracts with San Eli School Board (the guy even voted for his own sweetheart deal - multiple times), a high school student at San Eli High School, or someone who worked actively against incorporation from day one.

San Eli is on a good path and voters should vote to keep their leadership and continue the progress.

¡Viva San Elizario!