Getting Ugly on the Westside

How did they cram all that douchedom into one pic?

It shouldn't surprise anyone that a race involving Carlos Sierra is getting ugly - but its getting pretty ugly in the two EPISD Trustee races on the westside. And I don't know that I've ever seen school board races get this bad before.

This is getting so ugly that it would make campaigns in the lower valley blush.

First, Carlos Sierra had a survey run last night at homes on the westside for Mickey Loweree. He and his partner is douchedom, David Saucedo, dropped mail this weekend for Mickey Loweree.

Sierra is running the survey because he wants to know if he should go negative against Daniel Call, Mickey Loweree's opponent. The poll is going to tell him that Loweree is in big trouble. So Sierra is going to go negative against Call.

So expect to see that happen in the next 7-10 days.

And while I'm on the topic...

Why in the waste-of-money-hell does anyone hire David Saucedo to do anything other than make a copy of keys (Wal-Mart has a machine that does it) or show them how to apply just a little too much of LA Looks gel in their hair?

Seriously, how does a guy who lost to Dee Margo in a town as raza as El Paso have the balls to pretend he's a "political consultant"? He's never won a race.

Ever.

Come on, the guy's consulting firm's name sounds like a cheap knock-off brand of canned stew/chili/Dollar General dog food like El Wolfo.

All due respect to Dollar General....

What has Saucedo demonstrated that he's good at? He's they guy that had that douchey-ass commercial where he was allegedly a boxer (Maya could knock his ass out) and then is in an interview with KTSM about how a non-profit he bragged about running but was really a desmadre, and the interview was going so bad that his campaign team tried to save his ass by calling in a time out.

Seriously, a fucking time out.

It was comedy gold.

I'll never forget it.

It was the only time in the history of desmadres in El Paso, that I ever saw a candidate try to get out of a disastrous interview by calling a time out. Saucedo has been bragging about his work with Loweree in some tweets we exchanged and it reminded me of that.

What would you pay him to consult on? How to screw up a news story? How to dig a hole deeper? How to live in a town that is 85% raza and still lose to the most unpopular white Republican this side of Lou Dobbs? How to overcharge people for substandard services and a complete lack of knowledge of politics?

How to make Drake look like Fred Astaire?

Anywho, back to Daniel Call.

Call is a freaking boy scout. I think the worst thing the guy has ever done is drink diet soda while watching a PG-13 movie with a curse word in it once when his parents weren't home, or maybe didn't rewind the video before returning it to Blockbuster.

Sierra's candidate has a lot of dirt in her closet, so maybe he doesn't want to open that door because good Lord, who knows what's gonna come spilling out. Especially when there is an unanswered allegation floating around that Loweree allegedly doesn't have teaching experience or a degree.

Allegedly.

But frankly, that is NOTHING compared to the stuff that former EPISD Trustee Dan Wever and his tag team partner Xavier Miranda has been saying about Franklin area trustee candidate Freddy Klayel-Avalos.

Wever and Miranda are hard core supporters of Gary Berglund. There is no evidence that Mr. Berglund is aware of what Wever and Miranda are doing and there's no evidence that it has his blessing.

I also don't know that he's doing anything to stop it.

But at any rate, Wever most especially has been on a crusade against Klayel-Avalos. I don't know why - maybe its Freddy's perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect family image - the Tom Brady factor if you will, that bothers Wever. Or maybe Wever just sees Klayel-Avalos as a barrier to having a school board member he can influence. I don't know, but it got out of hand really quickly.

And now its kinda weird.

And racist.

And sexist.

Let me back up - Wever and Miranda, using the El Paso Speaks Blog that Miranda authors, have been trying to push the narrative that Klayel-Avalos is some sort of second coming of Trent Hatch. As you know allegations have been made, and Hatch appears to be not willing to address them, that he lived in the Coronado feeder pattern the entire time he was representing the Franklin area on the school board.

Wever is trying to say that Klayel-Avalos who has two homes in District 6, is somehow the same.

He sent me an email leveling that allegation so I looked into it. It all has the feel of some weird conspiracy theory that near as I can tell is based primarily on the fact that Klayel-Avalos listed a business office as the place to send mail.

Bottom line is that Klayel-Avalos has a home in District 6. He has family living in that home now, but he and his wife moved out in anticipation of purchasing another home, a larger one, last August. The home deal didn't go through so they are house hunting. The current address is in District 6.

Klayel-Avalos went to Franklin schools from elementary through high school. By his own admission, Wever acknowledges that both addresses are in District 6. So Klayel-Avalos is 100% compliant with the residency requirements to run for office in EPISD. The idea that Wever, who doesn't live in District 6 is trying to paint a guy who grew up in District 6 is a little strange.

But here is where shit gets weird with Wever.

He went on some weird rant about Freddy's wife. I guess the fact that she doesn't use his last name bothers him, but its 2019 buddy, a lot of women don't take their husband's last name.

In his email, he made it a point to mention that Freddy's wife has children from another man. I told you, weird huh? Who the hell cares that she has kids from someone else? Why is Wever so set on attacking Klayel-Avalos that he'd bring his wife and kids into it?

And what exactly is his point? Freddy is a good dad to kids that aren't biologically his? Thats a bad thing?

If you don't believe me, here's a quote from the email: "He had a girlfriend business partner named Michelle McTague ... with her 2 sons by another guy."

Now mind you, Dan Wever is an older white guy, but he apparently has very strong feelings about Freddy's ethnicity. I know, its 2019 and we are still talking about this. 

Again, from his email:

"On the form to apply for a seat it states: If using a nickname as part of your name to appear on the ballot, you are also signing and swearing to the following statement: I further swear that my nickname does not constitute s a slogan nor does it indicate a political, economic, social, or religious view or affiliation.  If you think that Freddie Khlayel-Avalos does not violate this rule, well,  I guess you are from the "its our turn now" group.  This group by their actions and political selections validate every day that what happened to them in the past with discrimination etc..." 

Wait, what? 

Did he really just say that? 

Oh yes...it gets worse...

"...The one thing I do still pride myself on is that my word or oath is still sacred with me.  I do not see how Freddie could swear to the entries on this form with a straight face.  I know people that have know him for years and never even knew he was half Hispanic much less Khlayel-Avalos."

So welcome to 2019 where white people are mad at Beto because they think he's trying to be Mexican and Wever is mad at Klayel-Avalos because he's not Mexican enough...for a white guy. 

This is kind of the Beto thing in reverse. Freddy is Latino, so is his wife even though she has an anglo last name and blonde hair. I don't know why this matters to anyone, much less a guy who doesn't live or vote in that district. 

I saw a video online of Freddy doing an interview in Spanish and sent it to Wever and asked him if Freddy was Mexican enough for him now that he's seen the video. I know, I'm a smart ass. 

I normally don't give a damn about the westside. You all know how I feel about the westside. But Wever's determination to get at Freddy is super interesting to me. And yes, I really hate the racial angle and the attack on the wife and kids.

But sadly, Wever didn't stop there.

He sent an email to trustees and several other folks - including me. In it he goes on a rant where he tries to conflate education code with election code, which have nothing to do with one another. He tried to get the Trustees to find a way to kick off Klayel-Avalos.

I checked with the district and the SOS office. Klayel-Avalos met all the requirements to be on the ballot. The only way he can be kicked off the ballot is by a court order.

If Mr. Wever is so intent on getting Klayel-Avalos kicked off the ballot, why doesn't he just file suit in court? That just seems like a very easy way to make his case?

Personally I'm more interested in finding out why he is so intent on not letting the voters decide who represents them.

Seems like El Paso deserves better.