El Paso Politics

Before I get started, I have been warned by several people (Republican and Democrat alike) that I should tread lightly when writing about Republican candidate Rick Seeberger because he is "litigious". I get that a lot. People threaten to sue me all the time and I view it like I view any street fight - if you could, you would and you damn sure wouldn't talk about it, you'd just do it. So Rick Seeberger doesn't scare me. I appreciate your concern but I took a look at what he has filed in the past and it was pretty laughable. Also, since he's a candidate for public office now its a lot harder for him to sue someone that writes a political post about a candidate for office, so good luck with that buddy. Okay, now that we have that out of the way lets talk about what I've found out about Seeberger. He's taking on County Judge Veronica Escobar in the general election in November for El Paso's 16th Congressional District. Despite the fact that he isn'...

I ran across this story on my newsfeed about El Paso ranking among the least educated cities in America. It was a story form KFOX. The other day I ran across this story from the Houston Chronicle . showing the highest paid superintendents in Texas. While we rank amongst the least educated communities, EPISD's superintendent is enjoying his spot at the 7th highest paid superintendent in Texas. Now there is a lot of talk about how much accountability there needs to be on teachers. There is a lot of talk and focus on how students perform on standardized testing. All under the premise that we need to focus on performance and accountability because after all, we should be good stewards of tax payer dollars right? So if you don't see that there is a fundamental problem with an equation that ranks El Paso among the least educated communities and the superintendent of our largest ISD making almost $400 grand after salary and perks, then there is something wrong with you. I believe you...

It really didn't click to me how messed up Mayor Margo's move to kick Rick Bonart was until the White House banned a reporter from CNN yesterday. Trump has made silencing dissenters all the latest rage - which is bad for Democracy. Look, the Mayor has the authority to replace folks if he wants to. That is perfectly within his rights as the Mayor of the City of El Paso. But the reality is that it was, for lack of a better expression, a dick move. First of all Bonart's term wasn't up and there is no real sense of urgency to remove him, other than the fact that he's going against what the mayor wants. Second, he replaces Bonart with Rick Cabrera? Look I like Rick, and he's pretty decent at pick-up basketball, by why on earth would the Mayor risk the optics of appointing someone that works for a company that purchased a company Margo used to own and his son still works for? And Rick...come on vato, you've been around news long enough to know that you'll be s...

Take note of this word.  I love a good story. So gather 'round kids while Tio Jaime tells you a great story. Everybody comfortable? Cool. This is a story your ol' Tio Jaime came across on the inter webs. If you want to read it, just click this link to a story in the Los Angeles Times . Now kids, this is an old story - from 1985. But the latest chapters in the saga were just a couple years go. Here we go. Once upon a time in a far off magical land called California, lived a bunch of young students. These kids went to a school called Eshelman Avenue Elementary School. Their parents had formed a PTA and wanted to do a fundraiser for the kiddos. So some of the parents walked their first graders around their neighborhood selling holiday-themed items like chocolate Santa's and Christmas ornaments. They did pretty well too, racking up about $17 grand in sales. That was supposed to net the PTA about $8,000 in profit - just in time for the holidays. But the company didn't come t...

I saw this billboard a while back and I honestly just laughed aloud for a few reasons. First, I've said this before so you already know what I think about this but billboards are a waste of money. Its like the worlds largest yard sign. But thats not what cracked me up the most. What cracks me up the most is the top of the sign - "What do you have to lose?" If you recall, that is the same line that Trump used on "the blacks" when he was trying to convince the African American community to support him. This comes across as a white guy asking "the browns" the same thing Trump asked the African American community. And we all see how well that worked out, amirite? So if you do what his sign says, Think First - it makes his line even more funny! You want us to think first vato? I got three words for ya. Tore Knee Yo Seeberger is your garden variety Trump supporting Republican. Interestingly though, I caught him during some of the debates during the primary ...

Families in Socorro that live near Coker Road can breath a little easier thanks to a few items passed last Thursday night by the Socorro City Council. Councilman At-Large Rene Rodriguez put an item on the agenda to instruct city staff to explore the use of the area for a dual-use pond and park space. That move would mean that the city can acquire the land via eminent domain, meaning that the home owners would at least get fair market value for their homes. Under an effort supported by City Rep Ralph Duran and Mayor Elia Garcia, the homeowners would not have received any compensation and their homes would have been taken via a nuisance ordinance. Ultimately the measure to direct staff to come up with a public base plan by Rep Rodriguez passed with a 4-0 vote. In other developments, Mayor Elia Garcia was removed as the city's representative on the MPO and council voted in favor of replacing her with City Representative Rene Rodriguez by a 4-1 vote, with Rep Duran voting to keep the m...

Max Grossman is about the most entertaining thing in El Paso politics this side of the rumor of David Saucedo running for the Texas legislature against Lina Ortega. Yeah, that is actually going around - I've heard it from three different places and as much as I'd love for that guy to run for something again for sheer entertainment value, I doubt he actually does it. He's not a Democrat and no one would buy it if he tried to switch parties. And he can't win as a Republican - though he can't win as a Democrat either. Anyhow, back to Max Grossman. He has become El Paso's version of Donald Trump and he wallows in it. Think about it, he's loud, obnoxious, rude, arrogant as all hell, can't stand not being the center of attention, and has a very casual relationship with the truth. Seriously all he's missing is a porn star beefing with him and a Twitter account. But he makes up for the lack of a Twitter account for his middle-of-the-night rants in crazy town...