El Paso Politics

People from the Northeast really hate that I make fun of just how much of shit show their city council races always are, but they never cease to be a desmadre.  Only in the Northeast can you have an incumbent city rep run for reelection despite still facing a DV charge in court, have a pro-life former Republican who compared Trump to Reagan, and ... the Shawn Nixon Show.  Seriously Shawn Nixon's campaign couldn't be more of a joke if he had a zoo of tigers and a beef with Carol Baskins. He kinda already has the blonde mullet.  Nixon has now apparently topped $300k in hot checks for his campaign - which miraculously doesn't appear to include any charges for mail delivery! Can you imagine how much mail you could drop on an opponent with a $300k budget? Well, it actually does get weirder. I haven't seen a bigger and more ridiculous mental breakdown and implosion since I ran into K-Aaron Paz had his full-on Kaaron BBQ meltdown at Carolina.  Nixon apparently pulled a Mela...

Pretty much everyone in political circles has known that City Reps Cassandra Hernandez and Alexsandra Annello were Aaron Montes' main sources for stories while he covered city council. In fact, they are most of the local media's main sources on stories regarding city hall.  Leaking information that is damaging to the city, according to sources on council, was the reason that City Rep Hernandez was kicked of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. A seat on the MPO is usually something that is pretty sought-after by members of council.  Montes has always been tight with Hernandez and there have been repeated rumors that Rep Hernandez's husband-to-be - Jeremy Jordan - is consulting on Montes' campaign.  The rumors got so loud, I asked him about them directly. He read the message, but he hasn't answered.  That was weeks ago.   I'm gonna take his non response as a yes, because if Jordan wasn't consulting on his campaign, Montes likely would've indicated so r...

Theres been a group of mostly Republican white parents on the westside that organized on Facebook to push EPISD into sending kids back into classrooms. They pretty much corner trustees and hammer them about giving their families the "option" to return to class.  They did so and predictably cases went up. Students have caught it, a staff member at Coronado High School, and I hear a couple of other schools as well that have it and EPISD canceled sports with other school districts. All because some Karen's wanted to have the "option" to return and parents across El Paso wanna see mijo and mija place because its their senior year, etc.  But the biggest problem with that situation is that EPISD hasn't given TEACHERS the option about returning to in-classroom education.  You realize that the push for returning to class and probably sports as well is eventually going to lead to someone dying because of the virus, right?  Seriously how selfish is it to be okay with ...

 Two candidates have been kicked off the November ballot.  Kaleb Warnock and America Luna.  These are the candidates.  So lets set the record straight about something...Kaleb Warnock did not "withdraw" from the campaign. That implies he had a choice.  He didn't.  He was kicked off the ballot?  Why? Well at first I thought it was because he wasn't registered to vote because I couldn't find voter history for him. But it turns out it is also because he and Luna didn't meet eligibility requirements, according to City Officials I spoke to on Wednesday.  He was running in District 4. He claimed he was gonna win by a landslide but he was likely gonna come in last place to a guy who went to a forum just before he started his shift at Footlocker.  Seriously, I don't know how Warnock thought he was gonna win, much less win by a "landslide". But that is what Warnock bragged about.  America Luna I left her alone because honestly...I felt bad for her...

The El Paso Republican Party is in a state of chaos following an emergency meeting of the Republican Party County Executive Committee earlier this week. Sources that attended the meeting said that the GOP chair threatened to call the police on their own congressional candidate.  Lol, I know right? Get comfy, go grab your favorite beverage because its Story Time with Tio Jaime... I frequently have chronicled the fights and altercations of the El Paso Democratic Party over the years, so its only fair to do the same with the GOP. Plus, things are quite over on the Democratic side these days since there is now a chair that isn't funneling party money to her own spouse like the last one.  The emergency meeting of precinct chairs was called by embattled GOP Chair Rick Seeberger because of a contribution that was made to the Republican Party's Congressional Sacrificial Lamb, Irene Armendariz-Jackson.  Here are the details I have been able to sort out based on conversations with ...

Sometimes I genuinely feel bad about writing a blog post - sometimes I relish in it.  But most of the time, I figure you make your bed, you lie in it.  This is one of those times.  District 4 candidate Wesley Lawrence put on a pretty impressive performance last night at the Eastside Democrats forum, where he sounded like he knew what he was talking about in terms of policy.  Polished, poised, and persuasive.  After the forum I was checking the various candidates' social media platforms to see what that the individual candidates said of their performance. When I did, I came across something that has always been sort of in the back of my mind for quite some time.  On Sunday I saw someone post celebrating the closure of Hilltop Clinic, a place that performed pregnancy termination, among many other services like birth control. I only saw the post because a Facebook friend liked the post.  That Facebook friend was City Council Candidate for District 4, Wesl...

"Let them eat cake..." a phrase attributed to Marie Antionette - spouse of King Louie XVI of France. It was a commentary on decadence and the disconnect between the wealthy ruling class of France and your everyday commoner.  And the El Paso GOP apparently is trying to take the crown.  In probably the most douchey, tone-deaf political fundraiser in the history of El Paso, El Paso Republican Party Chairman Rick Seeberger appears to have set up a fundraiser that was a semi-formal wine tasting for Bethany Hatch, the next Republic sacrificial lamb for the Senate seat that is being left vacant by State Senator Jose Rodriguez.  Average El Pasoans are still standing (parking) in long lines to get basics from food banks during the Pandemic, but Seeberger and Hatch have the most tone-deaf fundraiser I have ever seen.  While so many people are hurting during the pandemic, this is their fundraiser idea.... Its the ultimate sign of "let them eat cake".  El Pasoans are hurtin...

City Representative Sam Morgan has been a pretty consistent Democratic voter going back to at least 2008. In 2006 he voted Republican.  Let me qualify that statement really quick. He's always voted in Democratic Primaries - in November general elections its impossible to say how anyone voted.  That is why his current attendance at GOP events has left me scratching my head. Morgan has been at a lot of campaign events for Republican challenger to Congresswoman Escobar, Irene Armendariz Jackson. That has been going on for quite some time, but even as recently as a fundraiser this weekend.  At first I thought it was just some kind of personal friendship and thats why he was attending. I have Republican friends that I'm cool with too.  Obviously its a different calculation when you are an elected official, seeking re-election and in a largely Democratic town like El Paso, even if you are running in a non-partisan race. Or maybe its just that he doesn't like Congresswoman ...

Not sure why this isn't the lead story on most news broadcasts in a city that is 85% Latino, but a white elected official blatantly pitting two communities of color against one another in a candidate forum has caused a candidate to demand a "public apology from incumbent Alexsandra Annello for racist comments".  The comments were made during a recent exchange between the candidates during a campaign forum in which Annello took issue with the fact that Gutierrez mentions the fact that she's the only Latina candidate in the race. Annello who is white and from the east coast, spoke about how we live in a community where "Latina candidates are put over other candidates." I wrote about this in detail and included video footage of Annello's comments and demeanor here .  El Paso has a proud tradition of Latinas in leadership positions from water boards and school districts, all the way up to Congresswoman Escobar.  Interestingly (and indefensibly) Annello frame...

I got my first look at the mayoral candidates Monday night during a meeting with the Eastside Democrats. After watching the conversation it is clear to me that the six candidates can be grouped in three different tiers.  Actually there are two sets of three tiers. I know, thats complicated but bear with me. First let me lay out the candidates by "type".  Before I go on, every single person that is running seems to be a really nice person. But that honestly has absolutely nothing to do with who will make a good mayor. Also, and this needs to be said because people forget it way too often...the mayoral position isn't all that important in terms of city politics. What matters most is who has the majority on council. You have the majority, the mayor is completely irrelevant. If you don't understand that, you should take a local civics class.  Hands down the biggest takeaway from the Eastside Dems mayoral forum is the fact that despite the fact that former Mayor Oscar Lees...

City Rep Alexsandra Annello made some controversial and racially charged statements about Latinas on a recent online candidate forum with Black El Paso Voices. This is gonna be a long one, but its worth it because its enlightening to know where our elected officials, especially the white ones, stand on issues of race. So, walk with me… The exchange came near the end of the forum when the candidates were given an opportunity to ask one another a question. Incumbent Annello faces her former staffer and long-time city employee Judy Gutierrez and another candidate who was not present.  For the sake of really understanding what transpired, I’m gonna break down the video into bite-size portions for some analysis. Click here to watch the entire forum . If you want to watch that specific exchange, you can just jump to around 49:20 of the video.  Annello prefaces her question by saying that Gutierrez is “using literature thats directly pointed at” Annello saying Gutierrez is “the only ...

Okay, Shawn Nixon has inspired me to pay more attention to the municipal elections because once I heard this latest desmadre, I knew it was time to focus on the city council races.  I've handled him with kid gloves previously because, well despite what many of you think, Ol' LionStar does in fact, have a heart. I felt sorry for the vato if I'm being honest.  But at some point, there's no room for feeling sorry for a guy. I don't know what made him think he'd be a viable candidate for City Council but the guy has told some real whoppers. From what I know, his campaign experience is limited to running VAN for Marlene Gonzalez's campaign and he's BFF's to her sister, Mayte Gonzalez.  Mayte is apparently trying to distance herself from him now, though I don't know how thats possible. Here's a couple pics of Nixon...one with Marlene Gonzalez... Oh wait...lets zoom in a little closer... Anywho...this guy has told a lot of stories that are just flat...