El Paso Politics

Fictional Image Not Meant to depict any actual person. Well damn. When the Catholic Diocese of El Paso - yes, that Diocese, the one whose whole brand is forgiveness, patience, and eternal salvation - has to go to court and say, “Nah, this judge needs to step aside,” you know something is deeply, spiritually, judicially wrong. And just so we’re clear: this is now the second time I warned this community about a judge. And just like last time, people rolled their eyes, clutched their pearls, whispered “why is he being so divisive,” and waited for the facts to magically disappear. Spoiler alert: The facts did not disappear. Turns out I was right, again. Yesterday’s reporting confirms something I wrote last week - that El Paso District Judge Marlene Gonzalez is facing recusal efforts because of how she treats the most vulnerable people imaginable: unaccompanied immigrant children.  Children.  Alone.  Facing a system they don’t understand, in a language they may no...

On today’s episode of “The Audacity of These People,” the El Paso Water Utility - through the Public Service Board - decided the best possible moment to jack up water rates by more than 12% was the exact same day thousands of Northeast El Pasoans are still boiling water like it’s 1897. You can’t drink it. You can’t cook with it. Schools are scrambling. Businesses are bleeding.  But hey - shut up and pay more. Because… reasons. And just in case anyone thought they could ask questions about this mess before getting hit with the higher bill, surprise! A woman at the public meeting dared to demand answers and was promptly introduced to three full-sized police officers who piled on her like she was public enemy number one. The video shows her small, unarmed, and very much not resisting - unless asking inconvenient questions now qualifies as violent extremism. Now, to be fair - because accuracy matters - the mayor was there, and he was one of only two votes against the rate hike. Gold...

El Paso Family Court Judge Marlene Gonzalez is facing a formal effort to remove her from cases involving unaccompanied immigrant children, following allegations of what attorneys describe as a “pattern and practice of cruelty” toward some of the most vulnerable individuals appearing in her courtroom. The motion to recuse, filed by attorneys funded through Estrella del Paso, a ministry of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, asks that Judge Gonzalez be disqualified from all pending and future cases involving unaccompanied noncitizen minors. The document can be found at this link .  “Since she took office on January 1, 2021, Judge Marlene Gonzalez has engaged in a pattern and practice of cruelty towards unaccompanied noncitizen children who appear before her court,” the filing states, adding that the conduct “has escalated over the years.” According to the motion, Judge Gonzalez has repeatedly shamed minors in court, including accusing children of having “abandoned” their parents - ...

Before we begin, let me repeat my annual public-service announcement, the one I give every election season like a Tía warning you not to trust gas station ceviche: Endorsements almost never matter. The only time they matter is when they come with: • Money (and by money I mean more than $500, not “here’s gas money, good luck mijo”) • Labor (real labor—doors knocked, phones called, repeatedly, not one Saturday cameo) • Advertising (for you, not a group photo where you’re buried between six other names and an organization chair nobody remembers) Other than that, endorsements are political Pokémon cards. Cute. Collectible. Utterly useless in a general election. They exist mostly to make first-time candidates feel like they unlocked a side quest: ✨ Achievement Unlocked: Local Club Endorsement ✨ Anywho—back to the regularly scheduled dragging. ⸻ Ay Monica Terán… Monica Terán is running for her old job again and keeps saying “the proof is in the pudding.” Oka...