El Paso Politics

You ever see one of those Facebook posts from a politician where you have to stop, tilt your head like a confused perro, and say, “…uh, what the hell does THAT mean?” Well, that was me today when State Rep. Claudia Ordaz posted a self-congratulatory, full-on Beyoncé–level humblebrag about having the “highest enactment rate.” Gurrl, what? I’ve heard politicians brag about all kinds of things - attendance awards, being “recognized” for something they sponsored but didn’t write, even being invited to speak at events they weren’t invited to (ay,ay, El Paso politicians). But the “highest enactment rate”? That one was new. So like any self-respecting vato trying to make sense of political algebra, I went digging. Turns out “enactment rate” just means the percentage of bills you wrote that got signed into law. Okay cool, sounds impressive… until you look at the actual number of bills each rep wrote. And, mi gente… Let me tell you… This is where the joke writes itself. Claudia,...

Art Fierro made a last ditch effort to remove Claudia Ordaz Perez from the ballot by suing the local El Paso County Democratic Party. That meant that the local party - already cash strapped from the fact that we've basically had no fundraisers other than some enchilada sales and a car show, had to pony up the money to hire an attorney.  Art Fierro either knew this was just a political Hail Mary and did it anyway, or he's the least informed state rep on planet earth. The guy actually sits on the ELECTIONS COMMITTEE in the state house. You'd think he'd know the rules!!! The 8th Court of Appeals ruled against Art Fierro's frivolous lawsuit on Friday night. You likely won't hear an update from Martin Paredes about this lawsuit - and I'll explain why later.  Here's another fun little nugget for ya - there is a pretty high likelihood that YOU the tax payer are ultimately going to have to foot the bill for Fierro's folly. You see when the complainant loses ...