San Eli Scandal: From Fake Bids to Real Consequences

If you want the clean, detailed, journalistic version of what went down at the San Elizario special meeting Monday night, go read the El Paso Matters piece. They do a great job breaking down the who, what, when, and where. But if you came here for the why, the ay dios mío, and the what the hell were they thinking? - then buckle up, because we’re diving into the mess the San Eli mayor seems to have cooked up.

So here’s the short version: there’s alleged forgery, fake bids, breached emails, and a possible abuse of authority, all happening in one of the smallest cities in El Paso County. Apparently, San Eli wanted to get spicy and add a little Watergate to their chile con queso.

Let’s start with the facts that make your eyebrows do that one-arched “what the hell?” thing.

Documents and testimony suggest that someone - possibly with the mayor’s knowledge - faked proposals from three local marketing firms for a city contract. You know what’s gacho about it all? None of the companies say they had any idea their name was even being used. They didn’t submit anything, didn’t sign off on anything, and definitely didn’t pixelate their own logo onto some bootleg proposal.

Now, why fake proposals in the first place?

Oh, that’s where things get wild. The mayor allegedly declared a fake emergency so he could cancel the city’s existing marketing contract. The big “emergency”? That the former mayor still had access to the city’s social media page. Because, you know, nothing says “crisis” like an ex-mayor posting memes on Facebook.

Instead of doing the normal thing - like resetting a password - this “emergency” opened the door to a alleged no-bid contract that just happened to land with the mayor’s friend. You can’t make this up.

Meanwhile, the mayor’s allies have been running around on social media, crying “witch hunt” and calling anyone who questions him “power hungry.” But here’s the thing: the so-called power-hungry mayor pro tem was actually following legal advice to protect the city after the mayor allegedly shared his city email credentials with the same former employee accused of fabricating bids. Yeah. That’s like giving your Netflix password to your ex who still owes you money, except this time it’s city government and possibly a crime.

The mayor’s defenders have been out here saying, “It’s all about process.” But when you’re allegedly breaking process left and right, “process” starts sounding like a punchline. You can’t demand due process while you’re skipping over procurement law like it’s hopscotch.

Boy do they look stupid right now. For a group of people who love to claim everyone is on the take (which they conveniently never have any proof of, its just shit they say) - their continued support of the mayor even after all this shit came out, makes you wonder if they are guilty of what they accuse everyone else of. 

Now, here’s the real danger - this isn’t just small-town chisme anymore. There are potentially criminal acts here. Falsifying documents, unauthorized use of credentials, misuse of funds - those aren’t “oopsies,” they’re the kind of things that get you a free stay in the county’s most secure housing facility.

The next question investigators are sure to ask:

Was the former employee doing all this on her own, or was she following orders? Because if this was coordinated, that means someone in authority might’ve told her to do it - and that’s when this whole situation goes from embarrassing to indictable.

The mayor’s got a fiduciary duty to his community - meaning he’s supposed to protect the people’s money and trust, not play Fast & Furious: City Hall Drift Edition. If even half of what’s being alleged turns out to be true, he didn’t just drop the ball - he punted it straight into the Rio Grande.

San Elizario deserves better than this circus. A city with proud working-class roots, real history, and endless potential shouldn’t be turned into a political novela. Yet here we are — and this episode’s called Major Mayoral Mishapps.

And let’s be real - this ain’t over. With law enforcement reportedly looking into the situation, we might soon find out who’s been pulling the strings, who’s been lying, and who’s going to be pulling community service hours.

Stay tuned, raza - because if this is San Elizario’s version of “good governance,” then someone better call Univision, ‘cause it’s about to get dramatic.