Setting the Record Straight on Holguins & Dem Funds

Not too long ago on the El Paso Times Facebook Live interview of candidates for Precinct 3, El Paso Democratic Party Chairwoman and Precinct 3 candidate Iliana Holguin was asked about money from the El Paso County Democratic Party that was paid out to her spouse, former El Paso City Rep Eddie Holguin.

Chairwoman Holguin responded by thanking the reporter for the question because she wanted to "set the record straight" about the issue because there was "a lot of misinformation" circulating about the situation.

No there wasn't.

No matter how she tries to explain it, the facts are that under Chairwoman Holguin's watch, thousands of dollars from the El Paso County Democratic Party funds were given to her family's political consulting firm.

That is a fact. Its a fact in its entirety. Its not a half-truth. Its not innuendo. Its not a chisme.

It is a 100% verifiable fact and Iliana tried to make it seem like it never happened.

Oh it happened alright - here's a few screenshots of the finance reports from the El Paso County Democratic Party. They very clearly show that under Iliana Holguin's tenure as Chair of the El Paso County Democratic Party, that Democratic Party funds were given to their family's political consulting firm.

It very clearly happened.

Look how far you had to scroll down through screenshots to ever get to this sentence.

Now Iliana says the expenditures were for printing and other expenses and that the money ultimately wasn't going to their family business but instead going to vendors.

Then why not pay the vendors directly? Is she saying that the ONLY way to pay for those expenses were through her family consulting firm? If it was really for vendors there is NO REASON her family consulting firm would need to be a pass-through.

In fact, you'd think she'd take every precaution to avoid the appearance of a conflict.

Yeah, that is outright bullshit.

A good leader would realize that the optics of the situation alone, warrant erring on the side of caution and NOT using your own family's firm to provide the service / materials unless it was something you were donating to the party. But very clearly, it was not a donation.

At the very LEAST - this shows a lapse in ethics - at a minimum.

But lets really examine this a little more since Iliana is trying to sweep this all under the rug. The mailers...who were they for?

The Democratic candidates on the ballot that were facing Republicans. One of them was a JP race.

But the other one? Well that was for then candidate Carl Robinson.

Carl Robinson was a client of her family's consulting firm.

Carl Robinson then turned around and appointed Holguin to the UMC Board.

These are facts. This isn't misinformation. These aren't half-truths. These aren't rumors or innuendo.

They are cold, hard - inconvenient facts.

And no other El Paso County Democratic Party Chair has ever given Democratic Party funds to their family members. That has simply never happened before.

Not even under the worst of Democratic Party Chairs. And I assure you, we've had some bad ones.

Lets not act like this shit is normal.

It isn't.