El Paso Politics

Yet another of Pastor Brown's followers, Zulema Lazarin, appears to be in peril and could quite possibly lose her spot on the ballot. Lazarin is taking on City Rep Eddie Holguin. It appears that Lazarin has added to her ever-growing list of political missteps in her bid to become City Rep. First she intended to run in District 5, until she found out she doesn't actually live in that district. Then she filed papers that said she didn't intend to raise more than $500. I wrote about that apparent error and she quickly corrected her mistake. From The Lion Star Blog by Jaime Abeytia Well, the third time isn't a charm because she no longer has time to fix her error. If you look at her application , the first thing that has to be filled out is the name of the city in which the candidate is pursuing office. Lazarin filled in the name GENERAL, which indicated she was running in General, Texas. I did a search and it appears that there is no such place in the state of Texas. Altho...

Oh yeah, it could happen. Two brothers may end up facing one another in one of the city council races. I'll explain more later tonight after the filing deadline. But fun stuff like this only happens in El Paso!

Ernesto Villanueva is a candidate for District 8, but hasn’t filed the last bit of paperwork. Villanueva is actually collecting signatures for the race. If he does not have enough valid signatures, he will not be allowed on the ballot. Villanueva may end up just paying the fee to get on the ballot.

Here's a picture of Rep Holguin and his daughter this morning as he filed the paperwork for his candidacy. If you read my piece from last night I had a feeling that the delay might have been a little gamesmanship on his party. Judging by the fact that his daughter is weaing a campaign shirt leads me to believe I was right. The shirt says "Re-elect my Daddy, Eddie Holguin, Jr." Holguin was accompanied by friends and family including his wife and children, his parents, grandmother, and longtime friend, Benny Casillas.

Deadline days are always the most fun because you get to hear about the surprises. I guarantee there will be some surprises today. There are several things I am watching for today, but I won't write about them until after the filing deadline passes. If I comment on it now, it might change some outcomes and I don't want to do that. Watch for the pieces to be published shortly after the filing deadline. FYI, the city's website is updated several times during the day for people that file papers, so check it periodically and you will see updates. You can find it by clicking this link .

Politicos around town have been wondering all week long why Holguin hasn't filed for re-election. "Shit or get off the pot" as I mentioned previously. The El Paso Inc had a piece written about the fact that Holguin hasn't filed re-election papers yet despite having an opponent. From The Lion Star Blog by Jaime Abeytia I have inquired with Holguin several times over the last week as to why he hadn't filed yet and he was undecided. He's a young guy and has young children. Young children want their dad around. The pull of family life is a strong factor, just ask any elected official. You spend a lot of time taking care of other people's problems and your family has to deal with your absence. Plus you have to put up with a lot of people's crap, like the media, opponents, smart-ass know-it-all bloggers, and yes, pain in the ass constituents. Well, Holguin has finally decided to make it official tonight. He's going to run for re-election. Holguin has one...

For a short guy, Pastor Tom Brown is casting a rather large shadow on this year's city elections. I have been told by several candidates that Pastor Brown has been trying to interview all the candidates that filed to run in order to find out if any of them are to his liking. Some refused to meet with him, some met with him. Apparently Tom Brown, who unsuccessfully ran for city council himself about a decade ago, didn't find any of the candidates appealing so he decided to go out and get some for himself apparently. Pastor Tom Brown is now trying to penetrate the political process. I guess there's not enough power for him at the pulpit.  In District 1, Manny Hinojosa mentioned at the candidate forum something about his pastor/mentor calling him to action in the domestic partner benefits issue. Being part of the Traditional Family Values group along with Pastor Brown gave the controversial minister an up-close view of Hinojosa.  In District 5, Pastor Brown's wife is th...