El Paso Politics

Alyssa Perez did an interview with KTSM yesterday about the fact that the Council of Judges asked the County Attorney to give them an opinion on a potential conflict of interest with candidate for the 210th District Court Alyssa Perez. The seat is currently held by her uncle, Judge Gonzalo Garcia. So here is the situation, Perez represents CLEAT, which is the law enforcement union. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm a union guy myself and I can tell you Perez has always done a great job and has good reputation acting in that capacity as far as I know. Never heard a single criticism about her as the union lawyer and if I ran a union, she'd be the one I'd hire to represent my members. She's also a part-time fill-in jail magistrate. Honestly, I don't know anything about whether she's doing a good job or a bad job at that. She's a fill-in, so how much harm could she possibly do. You usually hear about the bad ones, so since I haven't heard anyt...

Tejano Democrats are meeting at their NEW location tonight, so spread the word. 6pm at Carnitas Queretaro on the Eastside, 9077 Gateway West. Its NOT at Taco Real anymore, so tell your friends before they end up going to the old location. Also, the Hawkins exit is closed so traffic in the area is cray-cray right about that time, so give yourself a little more time to get there. Luckily for some of you, being able to say the name of the restaurant isn't a requirement to get in. I wrote this in case you didn't get all the emails and text messages Eddie Holguin sent out reminding people its at a new location. And mark my words, someone will go to the wrong place and be mad and say they didn't know.

Its been a REALLY long time since I've done a poll here on The LionStar Blog. So I think its high time that we did another one. So on the left column, just above my twitter feed, you can weigh-in and take the poll about who you are voting for in the congressional race. A few things before you vote: This isn't remotely scientific, nor is it meant to be. Like Fox News, its for entertainment purposes only. The candidates are listed in the order in which they will appear on the ballot. Has nothing to do with anything else but how they show up on the ballot. Next Monday is the deadline to register to vote, so I made that the last day of the poll. Have fun.

Embattled Judge Luis Aguilar, who is on the ballot but has asked for voters to not vote for him, has three opponents. Here is a look at two of the three the night they appeared at the Eastside Democrats Forum. I have other video of the candidates and I'll post that when I get a chance.

For the life of me I can't understand why anyone supports Mike Herrera, but its even more mind-boggling now. There was apparently another big problem discussed at the Council of Judges meeting last Thursday and that is the absence of Judge Mike Herrera. Word around the courthouse is that Herrera isn't handling anything that looks like a complicated family law case, and some allege because he's spending more time campaigning than working. Apparently there is a budget that is set for a visiting judge to hear cases. Sources indicate that several members of the Council of Judges are really upset that the vast majority of that budget is being depleted by Judge Herrera's absence. One of the judges even questioned why Herrera wasn't even at the Council of Judges meeting to explain the depletion of funds. This is why you should pay attention to the judicial races. If you look at Alyssa Perez and Judge Mike Herrera, they are text book examples of the fact that the more you l...

Sources at the County indicate that in a meeting of the Council of Judges yesterday the judges decided to ask County Attorney Joanne Bernal for a legal opinion regarding fill-in magistrate Judge Alyssa Perez. At issue is whether there is a conflict for Perez to serve as a magistrate, represent law enforcement personnel as the staff attorney for CLEAT, and take appointments as council to indigent defendants. The sources also indicate that Perez will not be assigned until the issue is resolved with the County Attorney's office. The sources were unclear whether that means that Perez won't be a magistrate or represent defendants as a court-appointed attorney until such time as the County Attorney has rendered a decision. However another source familiar with the situation says, "The issue will likely mean they err on the side of caution in situations like this and its likely that Perez will not be able to fulfill either role until the County Attorney comes back with a legal opi...

A pro-Fenenbock PAC run by the notorious and controversial GOP political operative Carlos Sierra has ties to the Republican Party. Keep El Paso Honest is the PAC behind an anti-Escobar ad that looks like a really, really, bad South Park Episode. Documents I have obtained show a direct link between the Keep El Paso Honest PAC and the National Republican Congressional Committee. For context, read this recent article in the El Paso Times about Carlos Sierra's connection to the PAC called Keep El Paso Honest. Carlos Sierra is a Republican and works for Republican candidates, at least until his past comes to light. But he's pretty much lock-step with the Trump Republican establishment. And the documents I obtained illustrate Sierra's PAC's connection to the NRCC. This first screen shot shows the contract for the media buy for the commercials from the Keep El Paso Honest PAC. As you can see in the document, it shows Keep El Paso Honest Also listed on the document is Del Ciel...