BOR: - El Paso

José Rodríguez: A Win for El Paso

Michael Hurta — Sun, 05 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine has been a successful enterprise in El Paso for years, but it there has always been another step to be taken. Senator José Rodríguez worked to make this happen with Senate Bill 120.

With his bill now passed by both the Texas Senate and the Texas House, Senator Rodríguez is declaring a victory for El Paso and its entire legislative delegation at the capitol.

Find out why below the fold.

El Paso was one of the most prosperous cities in the Southwest for about half its existence, from its founding with the railroads in the 1880s until the middle of the 20th Century.
But as we entered the 21st Century, El Paso was not keeping up with its Southwestern peers.
Political, civic and business leaders began a discussion about how to reverse the decline. One of the outcomes was the concept of building a medical center that would serve the border's unique population, improving access to health care while generating economic activity.
Central to the idea was a full medical school.
With Texas Tech as partners, and with a massive community effort and years of working through the Legislature, that came to fruition in July, 2009, when 40 students chosen from more than 2,500 applications from top schools in Texas and the nation formed the charter class of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.
The next step was the transformation to a standalone university.
That finally happened last week, when the Texas House passed S.B. 120. The bill, which establishes the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso as a standalone university within the Texas Tech University System, was the top legislative priority for the El Paso delegation this legislative session.
It represented the culmination of two decades of hard work and close collaboration by our community and the Texas Tech University System. Establishing an independent health sciences university is a key element of the El Paso region's educational, health care, and economic development strategies.
In plain language, the bill establishes TTUHSC at El Paso as an independent health sciences university with its own president and administration, schools with degree-granting authority, and greater local engagement in key hiring and funding decisions.
The move takes on greater significance given its role in regional priorities. It will continue to promote access to health care, attract more doctors and other health care professionals, and spur economic development through its key role in the Medical Center of the Americas.
As an independent health sciences university, TTUHSC at El Paso will be able to focus on research priorities such as diseases that affect Latinos and border populations. In addition, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, which will graduate its first class of doctors in May, and its companion, the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing, will reduce the regional shortage of health care professionals and provide quality health care in a medically underserved area.
This drew support from Lubbock -- in March 2012, the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents voted to initiate the process of establishing a freestanding health sciences university with degree granting authority in El Paso. The new university will join Texas Tech University, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, and Angelo State University as the fourth component of the Texas Tech University System.
It also drew support from others in the state. It passed the Senate 30-1 and the House 141-3.
This support came in part because this investment doesn't only build El Paso -- it adds value to the region and to the state -- and in part because El Paso stepped up, from significant private donations to the community itself voting to build a Children's Hospital that will complement the medical school and the Medical Center of the Americas.
We don't often get to celebrate clear, huge victories in the Texas Legislature. This week, unambiguously, the Legislature stepped up and did the right thing, and delivered a win to El Paso and to the state.

Senator José Rodríguez represents Texas Senate District 29, which includes the counties of El Paso, Hudspeth, Culberson, Jeff Davis and Presidio. He represents both urban and rural, and more than 350 miles of Texas-Mexico border. Senator Rodríguez was elected in 2010, and is a member of the Criminal Justice, Veterans Affairs and Military Installations, and Government Organization committees, as well as serving as Vice Chairman of the Jurisprudence Committee.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott Denies Benefits for Same Sex Couples in Austin

Edward Garris — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:54:37 GMT

April can be the cruelest month. In a defeat for civil rights and home rule in Texas, Texas Attorney Greg Abbott scaled back rights for same-sex couples in cities such as Austin, Pflugerville, El Paso, Fort Worth, and others.

In November, State Senator Dan Patrick sent a request for an official opinion to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, asking this question:

"Does Art. 1, §32 of the Texas Constitution that defines marriage as one man and one woman and prohibits government recognition of any legal status identical or similar to marriage preclude political subdivisions of Texas from providing so-called domestic partnership benefits to their employees?"

Today, in a six-page opinion , Greg Abbott struck down advances in civil liberties for same sex couples in Texas, and answered Patrick's letter stating that it does.

Patrick had been upset that insurance benefits were offered to members of same-sex couples in Travis County, the City of Austin, Pflugerville ISD, El Paso, Fort Worth, the City of San Antonio, and El Paso County.

Abbott's letter first argues that Section 32 - the section in question - applies to Texas cities, counties, and school districts (no word yet on municipal utility districts or MUDs). It then asks whether these political subdivisions have created or recognized a legal status, and, if so, whether that legal status is identical or similar to marriage.

Abbott's letter answers "yes" to both questions, at the end stating that Section 32 "prohibits political subdivisions from creating a legal status of domestic partnership and recognizing that status by offering public benefits based upon it," but not before cautioning that the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming rulings on DOMA and Prop 8 might make this very letter unenforceable.

Did Dee Margo Pay Off Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez to Support Him Over Joe Moody?

Katherine Haenschen — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:30:00 GMT

Something's rotten in the legislative districts of El Paso.

Back in the fall, in the battle for HD-78, Democratic state representatives Naomi Gonzalez (HD-76) and Marisa Marquez (HD-77) endorsed Republican incumbent Dee Margo over Democratic challenger and previous officeholder Joe Moody.

That wasn't smart politics and it wasn't responsive to the needs of their constituents -- any Democrat is going to be more responsive to the needs of El Paso residents than a Republican, and Joe Moody is an exemplary public servant dedicated to making life better for all Texans.

As part of the endorsement, Gonzalez and Marquez appeared in at least three direct mailers supporting Margo. One is seen at right (click to open in new window). Turns out their opinion evidently didn't sway a lot of voters, as Moody was returned to office with 53.82% of the vote, ousting Margo.

Now, thanks to their January 15th semiannual reports, it is clear that Gonzalez and Marquez each took a $2500 donation from Margo's personal account, just days before the mailer went to print.

They also received another $2500 each from Margo's personal account after he lost. That's a total of $10,000 from Margo's personal bank account to the two Democrats.

Did Dee Margo give Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez $5,000 each to endorse him? Or are they actually just bought and paid for by Republican mega-donors?

See the details below the jump and decide for yourself.
Now, I'm not directly claiming that Dee Margo paid off Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez to endorse him and appear on three of his mailers. (The history of the two "Democrats" is shady enough that they may have gone along with an effort to hurt their own party and constituents.) I just want to put the evidence out there and let people decide for themselves.

First, let's consider the timeline for the mailers.

9.24.12 -- The first piece of mail in which Gonzalez and Marquez endorse Margo hits mailboxes.
9.20.12 -- Mail piece with Gonzalez and Marquez is printed and mailed*
9.20.12 -- Margo donates $2500 to Naomi Gonzalez from personal account
9.19.12 -- Margo donates $2500 to Marisa Marquez from personal account

* My estimate is based on backing out two days from the first mailer's "hit" date for our fine friends at the postal service and two days to print and ship.

Now, let's consider the TEC reporting timeline.

TEC Reports

Margo had a contested race, so he had to file semiannual TEC reports on July 15 and January 15, as well as a 30-Day report on October 9 and a 8-Day report on October 29. The "Amigos for Dee Margo" also filed a series of special telegram reports.

Neither Gonzalez nor Marquez had any opponent in 2012, so they only had to file semi-annual reports. Their most recent fundraising report came out on January 15, which detailed contributions and expenditures from July 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

Both Gonzalez and Marquez received $5,000 from Margo's personal bank account, not his campaign (or "Amigos of Dee Margo"), since contributions to either Democrat do not appear on their reports, and the contributions are listed as coming from Dee himself, not a campaign account.

While Dee Margo had to report all transfers of money in and out of his campaign account, he was under no such rules pertaining to his personal bank account. Since neither Gonzalez nor Marquez had November 2012 opponents, they would not be required to report any donations between July 1 and December 31 until January 15, 2013 -- over two months after the election was over. Dee Margo's donations were a secret until this month's TEC filing.

And why did Margo give them money in the first place?! Neither of them had a general election opponent. They were unopposed on the ballot, guaranteed to win. Why would a Republican bother giving two Democrats such hefty donations?

Why would Gonzalez and Marquez do such a thing?

I can understand folks wanting to make an argument that with a Republican majority, El Paso might be better off with one Republican speaking up for the county and city's needs in this legislative session. But given the spectacularly lackluster legislative efforts of Dee Margo, that argument doesn't hold water. He was barely capable of the legislative equivalent of renaming post offices, and campaigned on supporting the sonogram law and allegedly increasing funding to education after the legislature cut $5 billion from Texas public schools.

Meanwhile, in the 2009 session, Joe Moody passed actual legislation to prevent gang violence, provide property tax relief to disabled veterans, and fund domestic violence centers across Texas. He was honored as "Freshman of the Year" by two non-partisan groups, including the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. This line of errant reasoning simply doesn't make sense.

Follow the money from Republican donors to Gonzalez and Marquez.

Gonzalez is basically in the house because Texans for Lawsuit Reform wanted to unseat former Representative Norma Chavez, and funded Gonzalez's campaign. To date, Gonzalez has taken $336,065 in her career from TLR. TLR is no friend to Democrats. Marquez, meanwhile, has taken almost $80,000 in her career from TLR. The group is her most significant donor.

The rest of Gonzalez's and Marquez's money comes heavily from Republican mega-donors who were also significant supporters of Dee Margo and Amigos of Dee Margo, not to mention our current statewide Republican officeholders.

"Dee" Margo (all-time)
TLR PAC: $209K (1st)
Woody Hunt: $200K (2nd)
Paul Foster: $168K (3rd)
Frederick Francis: $12,500 (28th)

Amigos of Dee Margo (all-time)
Paul Foster: $27,047 (2nd)
Woody Hunt: $25,000 (3rd)
TLR PAC: $15,000 (6th)
Frederick Francis: $5,000 (7th)

Marisa Marquez (all-time)
TLR PAC: $79,644 (1st)
Woody Hunt: $13,500 (3rd)
Paul Foster: $11,500 (4th)
Frederick Frances: $6,000 (8th)

Naomi Gonzalez (all-time)
TLR PAC: $336,065 (1st)
Woody Hunt: $6,500 (4th)
Frederick Francis: $4,500 (5th)

Who are these donors? What's the big deal? Well, basically Gonzalez and Marquez get their money almost entirely from Republican mega-donors, the same folks funneling money into Dee Margo and "Amigos of Dee Margo," and statewide Republican candidates.

Woody Hunt has given over $190K to Texans for Rick Perry, $150K to Associated Republicans of Texas, $100K to David Dewhurst, and substantial sums to Friends of Susan Combs and other statewide Republican efforts. L. Frederick "Rick" Frances is a Perry appointee to the Texas Tech Board of Regents who has given heavily to Texans for Rick Perry ($50K), David Dewhurst ($22K), and Texans for Joe Straus ($15K). Paul Foster is also a Perry appointee -- to the UT System Board of Regents -- and El Paso's only billionaire. He has given over $400K to Texans for Rick Perry, $168K to Dee Margo, $126K to David Dewhurst, $117K to Texans for Greg Abbott, and $77K to Friends of Susan Combs. The Texas Tribune reports that Hunt and Foster were instrumental in rallying business community support for Dee Margo in his 2010 Republican primary against Jay Kleberg.

Watch Gonzalez and Marquez this legislative session and see where their loyalty really resides.

These two Democrats endorsed a Republican and take primarily Republican money. Thankfully Margo lost, so clearly the endorsements of Gonzalez and Marquez weren't game changers. And El Paso residents are lucky to have Representatives Joe Moody and Mary Gonzalez working hard for their needs every day.

Now, it all comes down to how they vote this session in the legislature. If Naomi Gonzalez and Marisa Marquez hold the Democratic line, especially on issues such as the budget, education, women's health, and healthcare, then maybe this can just be chalked up to one bad episode of really poor decision making. They would be wise to redeem themselves and work hard next cycle.

If, on the other hand, Gonzalez and Marquez repeatedly vote against Democratic priorities or undermine or weaken our efforts as a minority, then it's time to look for new candidates who will give the people of these districts what they want and deserve -- actual Democratic representation, in the Legislature and in the campaign seasons that precede them.

15,000 El Paso Students Can Now Apply For Deferred Deportation

Ben Sherman — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:28:34 GMT

Starting Wednesday, the offices of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, or USCIS, will begin receiving applications from young undocumented immigrants. In June, President Obama announced that undocumented immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16, currently under 30, who have been living in the United States continuously for five years and have never committed a crime, can apply for the program.

The Washington D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center estimates 1.3 million immediate and future potential beneficiaries in the country. In IPC's estimate, 226,700 live in Texas. That makes Texas the state with the second most beneficiaries, behind California.

Fifteen thousand of the qualified applicants living in the El Paso area will be able to apply for the deferred deportation program this week.

In June, President Obama said this of his decision:

Now, these are young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they're friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag. They are Americans in their heart, in their minds, in every single way but one: on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents, sometimes even as infants, and often have no idea that they're undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver's license or a college scholarship.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you've done everything right your entire life, studied hard, worked hard, maybe even graduated at the top of your class, only to suddenly face the threat of deportation to a country that you know nothing about, with a language that you may not even speak.

Iliana Holguin, executive director of the Catholic Church's El Paso Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, said the program was an important step but also an incomplete one.

I think it's definitely a step in the right direction and will provide tremendous benefits for young people who can't pursue a job right now, but unfortunately it's not a solution to the root of the problem. We need to have a way for these people to have lawful permanent resident status.

Burnt Orange Report Endorsements: CD-16: Silvestre Reyes

Burnt Orange Report — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Silvestre Reyes has capably represented his El Paso constituents, and is deserving of another term in Congress.

Reyes is a solid Democratic vote and a dedicated representative who has delivered for his district, including securing substantial funding for border security. He also brought home $1 billion in federal stimulus funds to the district, providing for projects at Fort Bliss, the El Paso Housing Authority, and Sun Metro, among others. He is a staunch advocate for Vietnam veterans as a ranking member of the Veterans Affairs committee.

Challenger Beto O'Rourke caught our attention, and while we are excited to see a young Democrat making a bid for office, we do not believe that he has articulated a meaningful reason to change representatives. We also have qualms about O'Rourke's support of Republican Jay Kleberg in 2010, when Kleberg was running in the Republican primary against Dee Margo, after which the winner would challenge Democrat Joe Moody in the general election. Had Kleberg won, O'Rourke would have been supporting someone actively campaigning to unseat a Democratic legislator.

This will be a close race owing to changes to the 16th during the redistricting process. That's one reason why both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have endorsed Reyes for re-election. We join them in urging voters to support Silvestre Reyes in CD-16.

Endorsements are made based on a weighted consensus of the staff, which guides the type and tone of endorsement. Members of the Burnt Orange Report staff employed by campaigns abstain from voting on those races.

More Like No Bridge To Somewhere: Your Weekly Environmental Roundup For Texas And Beyond

Adam Schwitters — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:51:27 GMT

An EPA Administrator is ‘crucified.’ An election in El Paso might hang on a bridge. Spills, fines, and lawsuits abound. The future might not be so bleak after all. All that, and more, in this week’s environmental roundup for Texas, the nation, and beyond!

Texas

Al Armendariz, the EPA’s Region 6 Administrator based in Dallas, was forced to resign after a video surfaced in which he likens his enforcement strategy to a Roman conquest, “they’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they crucified them.” Needless to say, those comments have not gone over well with members of congress or the oil and gas industry in Texas. Debbie Hastings, Executive VP of the Texas Oil & Gas Assoc, claims in a recent Op-Ed that Armendariz’s statement is part of a larger “federal undercurrent to undermine the oil and natural gas industry, which promotes our nation’s energy independence, provides millions of jobs and pays billions in taxes.” EnergyWire is convinced that the feud between the Texas energy industry and the EPA will continue despite the resignation.
The 16th Congressional District Democratic primary contest might hang on the construction of a new international bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. The incumbent, Silvestre Reyes, claims as many as 5,000 El Pasoans will be displaced by the bridge. There is a slight problem for Reyes. According to Roy Gilyard of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (which would be tasked with proposing the bridge in question), there is no current activity to build a new international bridge. Reyes’s Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, called the controversy “the worst kind of pandering. [Reyes] is using lies to create anxiety and play upon that to try to win votes.” O’Rourke has called for the construction of a new bridge, which, he believes, will increase international trade and keep El Paso competitive with other inland ports.
After last year’s wildfire season burned nearly 4 million acres in Texas, Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples announced the creation of the Texas Wildfire Prevention Task Force. The task force is a partnership between the Ag Commission, the Texas Forest Service, the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and researchers at Texas A&M. It seeks to identify high fire risk areas and eliminate the risk through preventative measures, like controlled burns, before wildfires occur.
Four Southeast Texas marine-based entities have filed suit against BP, alleging that the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill “has had detrimental effects on the Gulf’s marine and coastal environments and is to this day affecting business and their ability to generate revenue.” This follows last week’s $7.8 billion settlement in another suit against BP, and federal charges brought against a BP engineer for supposedly trying to cover up the extent of the spill.
Flint Hills Resources, a Kansas based refining and chemical company that is “wholly owned by Koch Industries,” was fined $46,450 by the TCEQ for incorrect valve settings which led to the release of 4,875.5 pounds of hazardous organic compounds into the air from its chemical plant in Port Arthur. At a different Flint Hills facility in Corpus Christi, a leak was reported in an orthoxylene unit last week which led to the plant’s shutdown. The extent of the leak remains unclear.
Port officials say there is no risk for an oil spill after a 750 tanker collided with a drilling rig on Wednesday off the coast of Port Aransas. There were also no reported injuries from the incident.
While Houston remains the worst city in the US, outside California, for ozone pollution, its air quality has improved significantly, according to the State Of The Air 2012 report from the American Lung Association.
Austin’s transit agency, CapMetro, added a cool new toy this week. It is a zero emissions hydrogen fueled bus that has previously operated in Columbia, South Carolina. A privately owned hydrogen fuel station will fuel the bus.

The Nation

The Sierra Club has filed suit against dated coal-fired power plants across Oklahoma. According to Whitney Pearson of the Sierra Club’s OK chapter, all coal plants in Oklahoma emit excess emissions, and the EPA needs to “end the free pass that large polluters currently have which allows them to emit unlimited amounts of pollution during certain phases of their operations. Because people need to breathe all the time, limits of the amount of pollution that polluters can emit need to apply all the time.”
Amory Lovins, an “energy theorist,” claims in this TED Talk that ending the US dependence on fossil fuels will actually be easier, and more cost effective than most of us realize. His central point is that once industry, individuals, academics, and the military start moving beyond coal and oil we won’t need federal regulations or acts of congress to help us along. He also believes that this movement will begin soon. I hope, one day, to share his optimism.

Beyond

A recent study shows that exposure to toxic chemicals can have risks over a much longer time frame than most of us realize. Bruce Blumberg, a biologist at UC-Irvine, says, “it’s not just ourselves that are at risk. We’re condemning our descendants to have increased risks, too.”
Greenland’s glaciers are still melting, but the rate of that meltdown is not increasing as fast as some climate scientists had predicted. Earlier doomsday scenarios had the sea level rising by as much as 6 meters (20 feet) by 2100. Now it looks, as if Greenland’s melting will only cause a 2 meter rise. The vast majority of the Earth’s population lives less than 100 meters above sea level, so any rise could have a profound effect on millions of people.

El Paso Shoot-Out Update: El Paso County Commissioner Arrested on Drug Charges

LionStar — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:17:26 GMT

El Paso County Commissioner and candidate for House District #75, Willie Gandara, Jr was arrested Wednesday night on drug-related charges.

Gandara was denied bail in his first court appearance in Federal Court on Thursday afternoon. Gandara will stay in the El Paso County Jail at least until next Tuesday when he is scheduled to appear in court again.

Gandara has not been available for public comment and there is no indication if he will continue his bid for HD 75 or if he will continue to serve as County Commissioner of El Paso's Precinct 3. Gandara's long-time assistant, Dora Oaxaca, is a candidate to replace him on Commissioner's Court along with State Representative Chente Quintanilla and former Press Secretary to Congressman Reyes, Vince Perez.

Oaxaca has indicated that she will stay in the race for County Commissioner Precinct 3.

Gandara's opponents for the seat being vacated by State Representative Chente Quintanilla are Mary Gonzalez, Art Fierro, and Hector Enriquez.

HD-75 & Commish Precinct 3: Shoot-outs in Old El Paso

LionStar — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:50:03 GMT

By Jaime Abeytia

For the first time in many years, if ever, the two major local seats in El Paso's Mission Valley are taking center stage. In fact, if it wasn't for the race for the 16th Congressional District, the Mission Valley elections would be the only ones worth paying attention to in the El Paso area.

The race for State Representative for District 75 and the race for El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 3 both cover the Mission Valley area and feature crowded fields with a mix of familiar faces and political newbies.

House District 75 is currently represented by State Representative Innocente "Chente" Quintanilla, who is vacating his seat in order to run for El Paso County Commissioner in Precict 3. El Paso County Commissioner Court Precinct 3's current office-holder is Willie Gandara Jr, who is vacating his seat in order to run for House District 75.

There has been a long-time political feud between State Representative Quintanilla and County Commissioner Willie Gandara, Jr going back several years when Gardara took on Quintanilla for the State Representative seat prior to Gandara's election to the El Paso County Commissioner's Court. Early in the campaign season it appeared that Gandara and Quintanilla were going to do battle once again over a seat - this time Gandara's seat. But just prior to the first filing deadline back in December, Commissioner Gandara announced that he would be making a bid for the seat being vacated by Chente Quintanilla who had made his plans to vacate public knowledge much earlier in the election season.

Read about the candidates for HD-75 and El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 3 below the jump.
Once it was common knowledge that Quintanilla wasn't going to seek re-election, several other candidates stepped forward. The first to step forward was a business development guy for a local El Paso-area staffing firm, Hector Enriquez. Enriquez was a school board member for Socorro Independent School District back in the 1990's for a short time and his father was an elected official at some point as well. The next to step forward was El Paso Community College Board of Trustee, Art Fierro. Fierro sits on the board with Gracie Quintanilla, who is the spouse of the out-going Chente Quintanilla. Fierro's spouse is El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 1, Anna Perez. Perez is vacating her seat to run for a judicial post.

Right before the original filing deadline was the announcement of the last two candidates, Willie Gandara, Jr and Mary Gonzalez. Both announcements came with some level of controversy. Gandara's announcement came on the heels of blistering attack on his attendance record and questionable decisions as a County Commissioner by one of the candidates seeking the office of County Commissioner, Vince Perez. Perez is a former Press Secretary for Congressman Silvestre Reyes. Gandara's father, Willie Gandara, Sr. is the former Mayor of Socorro and is facing an indictment on charges related to public corruption. He was recalled shortly after the indictment.

Mary Gonzalez entered the race just before the filing deadline and the controversy surrounding Gonzalez was that she is an Austinite that moved back to El Paso to run for an open seat. Gonzalez, 28 has lived in Austin for the past 10 years pursuing higher education and is about 6 classes short of a PhD.

But Gonzalez has been the fiercest campaigner of the field of candidates. Her first political event was a meeting of Democrats on the complete opposite side of town from where she is running. She knew no one in the room. After some awkward first few steps, she quickly hit her stride and has really improved her profile within the Democratic Party in a very short period of time. With no children or other job to attend to, she has hit the ground running and is really the only candidate that has had a sustained and strategic voter-identification and block-walking plan. That might be because she is the only candidate that could afford to. She surprised the entire field by raising more money than all of her opponents, thanks in large part to a significant $20k contribution from the Austin-based Annie's List. They have supplied her with consultants and field personnel.

She's progressed so much in a short time it now appears that the race is hers to lose, despite the fact that a woman has never been elected to that seat before.

Hector Enriquez, the first candidate in the race, hasn't fared so well. He started by seeking the support of Austin-based lobbies like the Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) and others but nothing ever panned out. Enriquez then pitched a story to a local television station criticizing Gonzalez for receiving out-of-town money from Austin. Days later, Enriquez then hired an Austin-based team of consultants.

Art Fierro was an early front-runner because he had a base of support within the district, he had the ability to raise money, has successfully managed campaigns, and he works at a printing firm, so signs, mailers, and push-cards would've been an easy thing to manage for his campaign. He's also very well liked by people, which goes a long way in a race like HD 75. But since Fierro's campaign announcement in December, he really hasn't had a meaningful campaign activity. There has been such a lack of activity from his campaign that there has been growing talk about whether or not he was going to stay in the race or drop out. When contacted about the talk of dropping out, it was clear that Fierro's concerned about the redistricting process and how it would impact his candidacy. Fierro has always lived in Quintanilla's district, but would have to move a few miles in to the district if the current maps stand. "I am monitoring the redistricting process and once the process is finalized by the San Antonio Courts, I will evaluate my options at that time," Fierro stated.

Willie Gandara, Jr has also only had sporadic campaign activity since his announcement as well. He did hold a pachanga event on New Year's Day for his campaign. That is an event normally held by Chente Quintanilla and the fact that Gandara held his own pachanga event at the location normally held by Quintanilla caused a bit of a stir. Quintanilla still held his pachanga event and even upgraded facilities. Quintanilla's event had about three times the amount of attendees than that of the Gandara event. He sent some of his staff and family members to hang out in front of the location where Willie Gandara was holding his event to "make sure no one was confused." Eventually Socorro Police were called to settle the situation and have the Quintanilla people removed from the property.

Quintanilla's event is normally highlighted by a bike give-away to kids in attendance. Attendees are given a ticket when they enter the facility, in this case a local night club, and it is for the door prize event. However this year in addition to bikes being given to children, the grand prize give-away was a plasma television. At one point in the event, one candidate in attendance didn't bring a bike to give-away but instead gave out $100 in cash. Chente Quintanilla also gave out cash as a prize.

Following recent rumors that Gandara would drop out of the race for HD 75, Gandara campaign signs started popping up all over the place within the district. The rumor first sprang up in a new article written by a local publication a couple of weeks ago. Despite the fact that they are running for two different offices, they appear to maintain their rivalry. The possible reason is the fact that they both have one close political operative in common, Dora Oaxaca. She is an assistant to Willie Gandara, Jr at Commissioner's Court and shortly after Gandara made it known he was going to pursue the HD 75 seat, Oaxaca threw her hat in the ring to run for Gandara's vacated seat. Oaxaca previously worked for Chente Quintanilla in Austin. In fact, she is the one who came up with Quintanilla's now-famous campaign tag line, "Chente Por La Gente".

Oaxaca normally runs Willie Gandara's campaigns so she may be running both campaigns -- hers and Gandara's -- simultaneously. Oaxaca is known in the area primarily through her work with Gandara and Quintanilla. She will likely have a significant amount of campaign contributions come from the Gandara family and Willie Gandara Jr, her boss, introduced her at her campaign kick-off event. Oaxaca's campaign may suffer from close association to Gandara's especially given the fact that the election date is now tentatively scheduled for the end of May. Willie Gandara Sr. goes to court for the first time on the indictment in April, which is before the election. Oaxaca was questioned early in the campaign about being a full-time staffer at the Courthouse and running a campaign and she stated that she was going to use all of her vacation time and maintain her employment. Oaxaca has previously stated that she was going to be very vigilant about not campaigning on County time.

In her bid to replace her current boss, Oaxaca finds herself facing her former boss, Chente Quintanilla. Quintanilla actually had a negative cash-flow in the last campaign report, spending more than he took in. He may be learning that unlike state rep races where lobbyists line up to throw money at a candidate, fundraising for a local race is much more difficult, especially in an area that has a high level of poverty. Quintanilla recently started walking the district, but his campaign sings look almost identical to the one he had when he ran for state representative. Clearly Quintanilla is relying on name ID.

Another major candidate in the race for El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 3 is Vince Perez. Perez was Congressman Reyes' former Press Secretary and grabbed the attention of everyone when he ended up being the top money-raiser in the first release of campaign finance reports. Perez started the campaign in September with a press conference at the El Paso County Courthouse, criticizing Gandara's attendance record and questionable decisions. Gandara, and now Oaxaca's critique of Perez has been geared toward the fact that he's not very fluent in Spanish.

The other candidate in the race is Rudy Loya, who is a small businessman down in the area. His base of support has been in a small town, San Elizario, within the district. Loya's campaign hasn't appeared to really catch fire yet but it may be because of the fact that the other candidates are more well-known or are more well-funded than Loya.

The bottom line is that both the race for HD 75 and for El Paso County Commissioner Precinct 3 are not only in a similar area, but almost mirror one another. They both have a mixture of new faces and familiar ones. They both feature some controversial figures and they both of the capacity to turn in to mud-sling festivals that could become the stuff of legend.

The little town of San Elizario, Texas has seen shoot-outs since the days when Billy the Kid rode through the streets. Looks like the shoot-outs still live on...

Congressman Silvestre Reyes Releases Statement Opposing #SOPA

Ben Sherman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:55:01 GMT

El Paso's congressman has it right. Here's his statement:

REYES STATEMENT ON THE STOP ONLINE PIRACY ACT
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) today released the following statement regarding his position on the Stop Online Piracy Act, SOPA:
"The Internet is a powerful tool that has changed the way we communicate. As with every powerful tool, it has the potential for good and bad. As your federal representative, I will continue to work to ensure that our community has both access to the Internet and the security tools needed to safeguard our communities, especially children, from inappropriate and unsuitable material.
"Any legislation that aims to curtail online piracy and enhance security must take a balanced and fine-tuned approach. The current version of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act, does not take a balanced approach. For that reason, I cannot support SOPA and will oppose it in its current form."

Texans should remember that Texas Republican Congressman Lamar Smith is the primary supporter of SOPA. He's fighting tooth and nail to protect big business and end Internet freedom. We must prevent this atrocious bill (and Texas embarrassment) from becoming law.

All #SOPA Coverage on BOR:

El Paso Recall Election: Exorcists vs. City Council

Emily Cadik — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 23:30:00 GMT

Now that the November elections are over, it's time to check in on some upcoming ballot initiatives around the state, including one led by a homophobic "family values" group in El Paso.

Last year, as part of their annual budget and in a victory for equality, the El Paso City Council extended health benefits to same sex and unmarried domestic partners of city employees. Outraged that their government was rewarding fornicators and homosexuals, a group called El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values spearheaded a successful referendum to make sure that health benefits are only awarded to straight, heterosexual couples in wedded bliss. It passed with 55% of the vote.

Believing the voters had gone too far, the City Council voted by a majority to overturn the referendum and restore the benefits to gay and unmarried partners. And now they're fighting for their jobs.

El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values is trying to get three city officials instrumental in overturning the referendum (and whose terms were not already expiring) - Mayor John Cook and Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega - recalled in a special election. And they have enough signatures to do it.

But the plot thickens. Though rounding up enough signatures for a recall election wasn't too difficult, there's now a major lawsuit involved. The El Paso Mayor is suing El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values for using churches illegally for recruiting and distributing petitions. The case may even be headed for the Supreme Court, with implications that could be much broader.

El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values is led by Tom Brown, a prominent El Paso exorcist. (Every city has one, right?) Whereas most Religious Right wing-nuts stick to the usual arguments about protecting the sanctity of marriage, etc., Brown took it a step farther by claiming he was actually advocating for civil rights by protecting the "sanctity" of people's votes, which the city officials "stole" when they restored rights to gay couples.

So there may be a special recall election in the spring. But first there's a hearing about whether the petitions for the recall can be used at all. It started in October, and though it should have been fairly straightforward, several witnesses pleaded the Fifth rather than declare which church they belong to, and Tom Brown wouldn't show up to court despite a subpoena. So the hearing is still ongoing, and there is no resolution yet as to whether or when the election will be held. We'll update you as we find out more!

Timeline:

2009 - City council approves a budget that expands health benefits to same-sex and unmarried domestic partners of city employees
November 2010 - El Paso voters, led by El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values, pass a referendum preventing city employees from sharing benefits with domestic partners
June 2011 - City Council rejects the referendum and restores benefits to domestic partners; El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values begins recall petition
September 2011 - El Pasoans for Traditional Family Values submits required petitions for a recall election on city employees
October 2011 - Hearing begins on whether petitions can be used; ongoing
Spring 2012 (tentative) - Potential recall election (if petitions deemed valid)