El Paso Politics

Alright, let’s not bury the lede, because this one deserves to be slapped across your face like that dumb tortilla challenge. This is the follow-up to yesterday’s post about county discretionary spending, and there was   one commissioner   I intentionally saved for today because - frankly - I took the time to double check the records because I just couldn't wrap my head around what I saw.  County Commissioner   Jackie Butler , Precinct 1. Eastside / Montana Vista. Unincorporated areas with real, visible needs. According to county records, each commissioner gets about   $10,000   in discretionary funds. That’s money meant for   the public good -   the kind of flexible funding elected officials can use to address neighborhood issues that don’t always make it into the big budget. So imagine my curiosity when I saw that Commissioner Butler spent  $6,000  of that money. Sixty percent. Órale, pues. Let’s play the guessing game. Where did the f...

El Pasoans love two things more than green chile on everything: 1. complaining about taxes, and 2. complaining about what taxes don’t buy us. We complain that streets are trash. Then we complain when streets are under construction. We complain parks are dusty wastelands with one sad tree and a broken swing. Then we complain when the County fixes them. At this point, complaining is our real regional industry. If bitching were taxable, we’d have world-class infrastructure by now. But here’s the thing most folks don’t know: elected officials have a little cheat code in the budget called discretionary funding. Cue the dramatic music. Discretionary funds are exactly what they sound like. A set amount of money baked into the City and County budgets that the elected official for a district or precinct can spend as they see fit for their constituents. No bake sales. No GoFundMe. No “we’ll study it for three years.” They can use it for: • park improvements • street...

Well… here we are. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar will not face a challenger in the Democratic Primary. And actually, her opponent wasn't kicked off the ballot, he technically  never made it on to the ballot. And before anyone starts yelling “machine!” or “establishment!” into the void, let’s talk about what actually happened…because this wasn’t some backroom smoke-filled room situation. Okay, not smoke anymore...vape pen clouds.   This was math.  Boring, unforgiving, election-law math. Arturo Andujo, a first-time candidate and young progressive activist, tried to qualify for the ballot by petition. On the filing deadline, he turned in 558 signatures. Respect where it’s due - that’s not nothing. Gathering signatures is annoying, time-consuming, and thankless work. Anyone who has ever done it knows that by the end of it, you hate clipboards, humans, and democracy just a little bit. But elections are not about vibes. They’re about qualified signatures. Once the pet...

I swear, one day I’m gonna start charging a  royalty  for every time I say “I told you so.” At this point, it’s practically my brand. I should put it on merch. Stickers. A hat. Maybe some chanclas with  I-TOLD-U-SO  written across the soles so every step I take leaves the message behind like a political smoke signal. Because guess what? I told you so. Filing deadline hits, and BOOM - suddenly every candidate who swore they were “still thinking about it” or “just praying on it” is now sprinting into Democratic Party Headquarters like it’s the last 10 minutes of the Walmart Black Friday sale.  And here’s the best part: All the folks who were desperately hoping no one would file against them… guess what? Someone filed against them. Now they’re out here acting STUNNED -   stunned  -  that they actually have to, you know…   campaign . Block walking? Phone banking? Talking to voters? Raising money? Now they’re doing the political equivalent of tryi...

Look, I’ve woken up to some weird days. I've woken up thanking the Virgen I was still alive overseas. I've woken up some mornings  on my homeboy Capo's couch, also overseas , wondering where I was at. I've woken up in a strange place wondering how I was gonna leave her place without waking anyone up and doing the walk of shame. I’ve woken up to election chaos, ethical dumpster fires, and more than one elected official calling me to ask, “Hey bro, does this look illegal to you?” But I never - not once - woke up thinking, “You know what would be real chill today? Accidentally running for Democratic Party Chairman.” And yet, here we are. Full disclosure - I never want to be elected to anything, ever. I have zero  aspiration to be an elected official other than a precinct chair.  But it’s 5:26 p.m. on filing deadline day (yesterday). I’m heading toward Democratic Party HQ for what I lovingly call “the final 30 minutes of widespread panic,” when I get a call about a movi...