9.28.2004
Much to my dismay, Lisa
Elizondo was not present at Council today.
That was totally un-excellent.
But maybe poor Lisa needed a mental health day; after all, avoiding
legal questions all day long can be pretty stressful. Nevertheless, somehow, Council carried on without their legal
eagle.
Welcome to Shakedown Street!
Before the meeting got in
full swing, Wardy wanted to take the following item first:
10. Appointment of Joyce A. Wilson as City Manager,
effective September 28, 2004. (Attachment) [Mayor Joe Wardy, (915) 541-4145]
Before Council voted, local
comedian Robert Cushing asked, “Didn’t we delete this?” After everyone forgot to laugh, Council
unanimously and enthusiastically approved her appointment.
Wardy said, “Joyce, welcome
to El Paso, and we look forward to what I call the ‘shakedown’ period.”
Wow. “Shakedown period?”
I’ve double checked and my
notes were correct. Wardy actually
referred to the “shakedown” period.”
Hellooo? District Attorney’s
White Collar Crime Unit? FBI? Anyone out there? Did the mayor just admit in an open meeting to participating in
shakedowns? Actually, it would make
sense because, with all due respect to the Grateful Dead, there’s plenty
shakin’ on our shakedown street, eh, Joe?
On the other hand, our
linguistically challenged mayor may have meant to say “shakeout,” which refers
to the period in which firms in an industry fail or consolidate as the industry
matures. I don’t know how exactly this
relates to Wilson’s coming on board—maybe Wardy was intimating that heads are
going to roll. It’s hard to tell with
our sometimes inscrutable mayor.
Anyway, Wardy continued and
said, “I look forward to a long and great relationship with this mayor and
Council.”
“I’m looking forward to it
as well, thank you very much, it’s good to be here,” Wilson responded.
Wet ‘n’ Wild
Back again for more
discussion was the issue of Cushing’s “water conveyance channels” committee and
Ric Schecter’s insistence that the public be a part of it:
3. Discussion
and Action on revising the August 31, 2004, Resolution establishing a six
person ad hoc committee on (what is commonly referred to as) Arroyo
Preservation. (Suggested changes for discussion
and action are attached.) (Attachment) [Richard
Schecter]
26D. Discussion and action on a resolution replacing
the resolution approved by City Council on August 31, 2004, which created an ad
hoc committee charged with investigating, defining, and assessing impact of
geologically occurring contours on and around the Franklin Mountains that could
serve as water conveyance and/or runoff channels and recommending an appropriate
ordinance regarding same. Such
replacement resolution shall add two members from Recognized Neighborhood
Associations, amend quorum requirements from three to four, clarify and confirm
that the committee is charged with reviewing ordinances and statutes applicable
to other southwestern cities, and reset the time allowed for completion of the
assigned task to 90 days from the date of enactment. (Attachment) [Planning,
Research and Development, Fred Lopez, (915) 541-4925]
If you recall last week’s
discussion, Ric Schecter, a local activist, pushed for a more inclusive “water
conveyance” (in fronterizo-speak, “arroyo”) committee but Cobos et al.
successfully delayed any ruling on it and were able to postpone it for a week.
Well, it was back this week
and before there was any discussion on either item, Cushing announced that he
wanted to take 26D with 3. Schecter
said he wanted a ruling from the parliamentarian because he didn’t believe 26D
was properly posted in order to reconsider rescinding the resolution (the one
that allowed for the “water conveyance” committee to be stacked with
developers).
Wardy told Schecter that “We
don’t have a parliamentarian; I’m the presiding officer…and it’s properly
posted.”
Representative Cook
corrected Wardy and said, “Actually, the parliamentarian is the City Attorney’s
Office.”
A perplexed Wardy, who
didn’t seem to understand either Schecter or Cook’s point said, “Okay, but I’m
the presiding officer.”
We got that, Joe.
Schecter began by explaining
what the purpose of the committee was, which was to technically define what
arroyos really are (because, I guess, fools like you and I can’t seem to
distinguish between an arroyo and the Rio Grande. Thank goodness for Robert Cushing!). Just moments into his presentation, Wardy interrupted him and
said, “You know, we were here ‘till four o’clock last week…let’s not do the
work of committee here at City Council…I’m not qualified to discuss what those
things [water conveyance channels/arroyos] are.” What are you qualified, to do, Joe? Cut ribbons and hand out Amigo Man pencils at conventions?
Schecter replied, saying,
“With all due respect, part of the issue here is the charge of the committee
and what they are to do…there are no definitions about what the committee is
supposed to do.”
Wardy relented and said,
“Well, let’s keep it brief.”
I’m Gonna Wash Those Neighbors Right Outta My Hair!
Cushing, who was using his
pinky to point at Schecter, asked if Schecter liked the new proposal which adds
two neighborhood individuals to the committee.
Before Schecter responded,
Cobos, who was abrasive and rude to Schecter last week, couldn’t have been
nicer this time around. “Thanks for being here with us this morning,” he kindly
said and also asked him if he supports adding two neighbors to the committee.
Schecter said he supports
adding the neighborhood folks to it, but said the new resolution doesn’t make
sense. The two neighborhood representatives
have to be specialists: One is required
to be a biologist/ecologist and the other a hydrologist and both are to be
chosen by the mayor. His concern was
that these technical people also have to be members of the neighborhood
associations, and although they might be, there needs to be a neighborhood
activist as well.
Cushing, whose deepest
darkest fantasies include coming back in another life as a high-fallutin’, gum
chewin’, spittin’-into-Sprite cans legal eagle, reprimanded Schecter and said,
As
I’ve noticed in you, Mr. Schecter, you do have a definite penchant for, you
know, moving forward with an argument which really has no basis in fact, reason
or law, and as you’ve come here, your position has evolved. Okay?
And it’s continuing to evolve and really, we can’t really get a grasp
for what your position really is because in the several times you’ve been here,
it continues to change. And what we
have before us right now is a very strong technical committee. I know myself that they met yesterday. I met with several of the members of
it. They are making tremendous progress
as of one meeting, and so, you know, as I told you last week when you were here
as far as the issue of no public participation, whatever they come forward with
will go through the entire public process at the Planning Commission and also
here at City Council.
Right. And Cushing’s arguments always have a basis
in “fact, reason or law” (imagined or not).
Before Schecter could
respond, Cobos thanked him again (very nicely indeed) and said he believed that
there are technical people in the neighborhood associations, but he should also
remember that the meetings are open to the public. He said, “I wanna point out that this Council is extremely
progressive in developing this natural occurrence ordinance…wash ordinance or
whatever we wanna call it.”
And you know, folks, that
made me wonder. What else should be
included in the “water conveyance” research?
Well…my shower head conveys water…my watering hose conveys water…heck, I’ve
even joined the 21st century and bought a fridge that now conveys
water. I think you’re old buddy Sid
needs to be on that committee because there’s so much water being conveyed all
around us that I’m afraid this new-fangled committee might miss a few things!
City Council:
Where “Progressive” Means “Progressively Bad”
Austin said she thought it
would be a good idea to have technical neighborhood association folks on the
committee. She suggested some language
changes (adding the word “preferably” before the biologist/hydrologist), but
our in-house lawyer/linguist/literary-theorist-in-his-own-mind, Bob Cushing,
didn’t want to accept the word “preferably.”
John Cook was the only
representative who voiced concerns about limiting the neighborhood participation
to experts.
In the end, Austin’s
amendment to add the word “preferably” failed 5-2 with only Austin and Rojas
supporting it.
Schecter then suggested that
there be two committees: a technical committee to define arroyors and a second,
follow-up committee to decide how the arroyors would/would not be
developed. Seems like an excellent
suggestion (I want to be on the “technical” committee…gotta make sure my water
conveyance concerns are conveyed!)
Wardy said that would be
moving too fast! He said he didn’t want
to create a “legal nightmare” and would prefer taking “baby steps.” (Progressive, indeed, Mr. Cobos! Progressing towards what, is the question.)
Cushing made a motion to
approve the ordinance as is and expressed complete confidence in “our
neighborhood mayor” to “do the right thing.”
Matt Watson told Council
that the committee had been given ordinance-making authority so the committee,
which is stacked with builders, can create an ordinance (for Council approval)
that would allow for development in arroyos.
John Cook said he didn’t
think that the builders were interested in building inside of arroyos and
believed that they were more interested in using arroyos as natural drainage
areas for nearby developments.
Stuart Mitchell from the
Arroyo Mountain Neighborhood Association spoke to Council (mental note: send Mitchell memo about organizational name
change to “Water Conveyance Natural Large Protruding Rock and Other Materials
Structure Neighborhood Association”).
Mitchell said that, contrary to Representative Cook’s belief, builders
and developers do indeed want to build in arroyos and cited the Resler Arroyo
debate.
Charlie Wakeem, President of
the Coronado Neighborhood Association, said if this committee was created to
study the technical aspects of arroyos, then it should be made up of technical
experts; just as builders are not experts in arroyos, neither are the
neighborhood folks. He recommended the
committee simply be made up of experts and that Council should follow Schecter’s
recommendations to create a second committee that deals with use of arroyos.
Michael Bray from the
Association of Realtors suggested that a real estate representative be placed
on the committee as well because they don’t have “a horse in the race” but he
thought they could offer balance.
Schecter said there was
confusion about whether this committee would be charged with drafting an
ordinance or not; the original resolution did not include that charge; the
revised resolution (today’s) did, and he again asked for two separate
committees: one for technical folks and
one for interested parties (neighbors and developers). Clearly he was concerned about the fact that
this developer-stacked committee was suddenly given the power to create an
ordinance (that’s serious business, folks).
Despite Cushing’s claim to
the contrary, Schecter’s argument was indeed based on fact, reason AND
law: the developers had most definitely
been given ordinance-creating power, according to Matt Watson the Assistant City
Attorney. The always
etiquette-challenged Cushing, who was smacking his gum while speaking, still
disagreed with Schecter.
Cobos made a motion to amend
the resolution to modify the makeup of the board to make it two builders and
one real estate agent instead of three builders.
Deputy City Attorney Terry
Cullen-Garney, who was sitting in for Lisa Elizondo, wanted to know who would
choose the members; Cobos said the mayor would, but the recommendation would
come from the association of realtors.
The motion to accept the
amendment passed unanimously.
Although Austin approved the
amendment, she did not support the resolution.
Okay neighbors, you’d better go get your technical degrees before this
committee makes any of its recommendations!
Passed on Consent…
7M. That the
City Council approve a Letter of Engagement between the City of El Paso and
Norman J. Gordon, Attorney at Law, Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi & Galatzan, A
Professional Corporation, to consult with the City on all aspects relating to
the matter of the PETITION OF EL PASO ELECTRIC COMPANY TO RECONCILE FUEL COSTS,
PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION DOCKET NO. 30143, SOAH DOCKET NO. 473-05-0013. (Attachment) [Financial and Administrative
Services, William Chapman, (915) 541-4011]
A Replacement for Alejandrina
Item 9 passed on the consent
agenda without discussion, but item 11 was taken off consent and placed on the
regular agenda:
9. Request for provisional appointment(s) in
accordance with Article VI, Section 6.6-2, of the Civil Service Charter
Provisions: Arts & Culture Director
(1) (Attachment) [Quality of Life
Services, Deborah G. Hamlyn, (915) 541-4643]
11. Appointment of Betty Jaraba as Interim Arts &
Culture Director (provisional), effective October 4, 2004. (Attachment) [Quality of Life
Services, Deborah G. Hamlyn, (915) 541-4643]
Betty Jaraba, who will (on
an interim basis) be replacing Alejandrina Drew as the Arts & Culture
Director, was asked to approach the podium so that Council could vote
separately on her item. The appointment
was approved unanimously, and when she approached Council (to receive her 8
handshakes) Lozano yelped out, “I love your name!”
I thought his statement and
his accompanying chuckling was pretty sophomoric until I saw that he and
Cushing began whispering back and forth to one another and giggling like
schoolgirls. The sophomoric had
deteriorated into the absurd.
I had to think for a minute
about why Lozano would say that to Betty Jaraba. Then I remembered a meeting not too long ago when Lozano claimed
he knew Betty Flores “very personally.”
At that point, I stopped myself from drawing any conclusions that could
make me lose my breakfast.
Household Hazardous Waste and Other Comedic Problems
For the sixth time, Council
has rejected the bids for the Household Hazard Waste Collection:
18. BEST
VALUE PROCUREMENT:
This contract shall be awarded to the bidder who
provides the best value to the City.
The City may consider price and other relevant criteria listed in the
request for bids.
Solicitation
No.: 2004-247 Household Hazardous Waste Disposal Services (ReBid)
Award to: Rinchem
Company, Inc. Chaparral, NM
Item (s): All
(option included)
Amount: $200,000.00
(estimate yearly)
Department: Solid
Waste Management
Funds available: 34010296-40403-502204
Funding source: Outside
Contracts
Total award: $400,000.00
(estimated)
District (s): All
Solid Waste Management and Purchasing recommend
awards as indicated as this vendor has provided the Best Value Bid Procurement
meeting specifications.
This is a twenty-four (24) month contract with the
option to extend the term of this contract for two (2) additional years. (Attachment) [Purchasing
Department, Ray Heredia, (915) 541-4316]
Cook moved to reject all
bids because of what he called “holes” in the proposal (could those be the same
holes that Lozano expressed such dislike for last week?).
Austin asked that the
problems that seem to plague this bid be clarified before the meetings so that
all Council members could understand what the issues are.
Lawyer/Laughmeister-in-his-own-mind
Robert Cushing yelled out, “Get it right the next time!” I believe he was trying to joke with the
Director of Solid Waste Management, Ellen Smyth.
“I’d be happy to fix it this
time,” she shyly replied.
Pleased with his comic
prowess, Cushing chuckled and said, “Well you didn’t break it so you can’t fix
it!” Speaking of breaks, we’ve gotta
get this guy a gig on Leno or Letterman.
That really could be his big break.
Bob, you’re deep comedic talent is going to take you far, and I hope
it’s soon. Break a leg!
Austin cautioned against the
constant rejecting of bids because everybody’s prices get exposed.
The bids were rejected
unanimously anyway.
More Jumbo Jacks for Jabba
Because Jimbo/Jabba just
can’t go a week without getting paid by you, the local taxpayer, Wardy & Co
is doing their level best to find ways to fleece you to benefit Jabba:
7R. That the
Mayor be authorized to sign a Contract between the CITY OF EL PASO and JIM
MARTINEZ, for consulting services during the transition period for the new City
Manager, at a weekly rate of $2,956.73.
The term of the contract shall be from the period of September 28, 2004
through October 5, 2004 with the City's option to extend for one-week if
needed. (Attachment) [Mayor's Office,
Adrian Ocegueda, (915) 541-4145]
Since John Cook was the
representative who asked that this item be taken off the consent agenda for
separate discussion, he explained that “We selected Ms. Wilson because of the
qualifications she showed…and I would point out that when it came to training
Mr. Martinez, I believe Ms. Adauto played a role in that; I don’t believe Ms.
Wilson needs to be trained, and I’m going to object to that.”
Rojas, who would clearly
support Cook’s opposition, asked “Is that a motion?” An angry Wardy said, “You’re not recognized Ms. Rojas; I’m gonna
speak.” Don’t’ forget, Viv, he’s the presiding
ringmaster, er, officer.
Wardy said, “The only point
I’m gonna bring up here Mr. Cook, you come from the private sector [as did you,
Mr. Mayor]…you don’t understand the complexity of the CAO’s duties or the
mayor’s duties, so if he doesn’t get to do it, then I get to do it…I’m fully
ready to step forward, but we owe it to Ms. Wilson to have an orderly
transition for a week or two…it’s rather parochial.”
Let me attempt, once again
with apologies to Bob Cushing, to translate this example of Wardyspeak. Joe, assuming you actually know what the
word “parochial” means, I take it you were conceding that having Jabba train
the highly experienced and confident Ms. Wilson exhibits a certain degree of
“provincialism” or “narrowness.” I
think I can see that. And I also see
that you don’t want to burden yourself with helping Joyce Wilson run the City
for a week. Of course. That would take you away from all those
ribbon cuttings. Your dedication to the
city takes my breath away, Mr. Mayor.
Cook responded and said that
he indeed understands the “complexities” of the City (he should’ve reminded
Wardy that he has far more experience being an elected official than Wardy
does), but the point is that Wilson is qualified to do it, and added that
there’s plenty of support staff to assist her.
Lozano agreed with Cook and
said, “With the kind of money we’re paying him, if I was in his shoes, I’d be
more than happy to donate my time to train Ms. Wilson.”
Rojas said she also agreed
with Cook and said “the department heads still on board can advise and update
Ms. Wilson…I don’t see that there’s a need.”
I expect very little from
the majority of Council members, so I don’t know why I continue to hope Susan
Austin will actually do the right thing every now and again. I was disappointed again with this item. Austin, of course, disagreed with Cook,
Rojas and Lozano. She called their
concerns “nitpicking” and “reactionary.”
She also pointed out that Council approved a month-long transition in
the budget, and said it’s about “transition” not “training.”
Cushing wanted to know from
Wilson if she felt she needed the transition time with Jabba and Wilson said
she could use it, but would do without it if Council so wished. She added that Jabba needed some time to
“finish up things he’s working on.”
Wilson said that she had yet to meet with Jabba and needed to do so.
Jim Martinez’s bad day (almost)
During this entire
discussion Martinez looked none too happy.
He sat trying to look busy, staring at his computer with a grimace on
his face.
At that moment, Martinez
reminded me of Corky St. Claire, the flamboyant star and producer/director/choreographer in the
brilliant film “Waiting for Guffman.”
Corky went before the Blaine City Council, asking for many thousands of
dollars for his play, “Red, White and Blaine.”
(His request exceeded the town’s entire budget.) When the Council members laughed at his
request and called it unrealistic, he emotionally said to them,
So
what I'm understanding here, correct me if I'm wrong, is that you're not giving
me any money so now I'm left basically with nothing. I'm left with zero. What
can I do with zero, y'know, what can...I-I can't do anything with it. This is
my life here, we're talking about we're not talking about something else, we're
talking about my life, y'know and it's forcing me to do something I don't want
to do. To leave to go out and just leave and go home and say make a clean cut
here and say 'no way, corky. You're not
putting up with these people and I'll tell why I can't put up with you people
because you're bastard-people! That's what you are! You're just bastard people
and I'm goin' home and I'm gonna I'm gonna bite my pillow. It's what I'm gonna
do.
I could’ve sworn I heard Jabba mumble “bastard people!” under his
breath.
Jabba’s Top Ten List
Or maybe Jabba was just
focusing on his list…his top ten list of things to do in his last two weeks on
the tenth floor. As I sat waiting for
the Council to move onto the next issue, I decided to create my own “Jabba’s
Top Ten List of Things To Do Before I’m Relegated to Helping City Departments.”
And the number one item on
Jabba’s To Do List…Drumroll please . . . .
The Devil’s Advocate, Part II
Cobos quickly came to
Jabba’s defense and, incredibly, claimed that “Mr. Martinez has a great deal of
institutional knowledge.” Ha! That statement nearly broke the “Irony Alert!”
meter I carry with me to meetings.
First of all, since when does this mayor and Council respect
institutional knowledge? (If one thing
characterizes the Wardy administration—besides rampant cronyism—it’s their
all-out assault on institutional knowledge—to better enable them to commit acts
of . . . cronyism.) Secondly, Jabba
hardly has any “institutional knowledge” to speak of. He came to the City last year with absolutely no municipal
experience!
Cobos, whose pronouncements
generally relate to the truth as well as oil does with water, also claimed that
Pat Adauto did not train Jabba. Au
contraire, mon frere! In fact, it’s
common knowledge among City staff members that Martinez depended heavily on
Adauto’s work ethic, institutional knowledge and leadership (because he had
none, none and none). Cobos was either
being dishonest or is clueless. I wish
someone had asked him who he thought was in charge while Jabba was moonlighting
for Carl Green. The City sure didn’t
run itself. The person who took over
was Adauto.
Lozano reminded Council that
there are four Deputy City Managers who would still be at City Hall and asked
Martinez to instead donate his time.
(With the money he’s making, he could afford it.) Wardy complained and said he didn’t think
that request was appropriate.
Mayor Joe “Let Them Eat Pink
Slips!” Wardy even warned everyone that Jabba would be unemployed for two weeks
if Council refused to approve the consulting contract with him! Horror of horrors! What would Jabba be forced to do? Skip the hors d’oeuvres at Café Central? The mind shudders at the thought. If only our mayor worried this much about
all other 6,200 employees.
You know, folks, after each
Council meeting I walk away believing, “This is it”…this Mayor and Council’s
hypocrisy and commitment to cronyism has reached its tipping point. But week after week I’m proven wrong.
I hoped someone would ask
Wardy if Charlie McNabb, the previous CAO with 25 years of municipal
experience, had been offered the same kind of consulting contract for three
grand a week to train or “transition” Jabba?
Had former City Attorney
Rita Rodriguez, another city veteran with two decades of municipal experience,
been paid the big buckaroos to train Lisa Elizondo? (Okay, okay, I know that last one is a pretty absurd question…clearly,
Elizondo had zero training…she maybe even had UN-training.)
Will Laura Gordon be brought
back and paid thousands of dollars to “transition” Jimbo from Darth to Jabba?
The answer, of course, is
no.
In fact, this simply doesn’t
happen. Exiting employees are not paid
extra money to help train their successors.
Not in the private sector, Mr. Mayor, and certainly not in the public
sector. Or do you think I’m being too
“parochial,” Mr. Joe?
The only person who has the
privilege of being paid to “transition” anyone is Jabba, because for him, all
rules are broken.
Because Joyce Wilson, the
new City Manager, said she needed Jabba during the transition, Lisa Turner said
she supported the hire (I almost cried, dear reader, when she told Council to
“go at it!”).
The question that remains in my mind is, if Wilson actually came on board last week (this is according to an article in the El Paso Times http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040928-173944.shtml), and if Jabba has known since February that his time as Darth would come to an end in the fall, why didn’t he prepare sooner to wrap up his CAO work? (Heck, he could’ve made those caped rounds on all ten floors last week.) And why didn’t Wilson make time to be briefed and “transitioned” by him all weekend and all day Monday?
I’ll tell you why. Because Wardy & Co. didn’t want Jabba to
suffer a loss of $6,000 over two weeks.
When it comes to 10th floor staff, the sky’s the limit. Anyone below the 10th floor, of
course, is subject to “belt tightening” and “fat trimming” and is threatened
with pink slips.
But enough of my parochial
concerns.
Jabba’s Legacy
Folks, for months,
Representative John Cook asked hotshot interim CAO Jim Martinez to get the
following item on the agenda:
27A. Discussion and action on a Resolution that City
Council hereby requires that all budget transfers requiring Council approval
that are over $500,000.00 and all contracts, bids, request for proposals or
request for qualifications awards that are over $500,000.00, be placed on the
regular agenda of the City Council Meeting Agenda. (Attachment) [Purchasing, Byron
E. Johnson, (915) 541-4313]
It’s finally done now that
Jimbo has left the 10th floor of Wardyland. The motion passed unanimously.
From Sid’s Mailbag
Because this week’s meeting
was so short, I decided to add a “From Sid’s Mailbag” section this week. I received dozens of emails from my readers
and some folks even sent me copies of their correspondence with Mayor and
Council.
Let’s have a look-see, shall
we?
Here’s one that
a local family sent to the mayor and, I might add, his response to their concerns
borders on libel:
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 2:59 PM
To: mayor@elpasotexas.gov
Subject: Explanation needed
Mr. Joe Wardy, Mayor
City of El Paso
Mr. Wardy:
We need an explanation as to why the position of Trial Supervisor
needs to be created and filled. We are disturbed that our tax dollars are being
paid to individuals that do not deserve these highly inflated salaries. Why
isn't the City Attorney able to handle these duties? We think an explanation is
in order to the citizens of the city who foot the bill with their tax dollars.
We would appreciate you addressing our concern about this
position. Thank you.
-----Reply-----
In the last year the city has an abysmal record on litigation where we have had
to pay out your tax dollars. The attorneys that were responsible for our
poor efforts are no longer employed by the city. Lisa Elizondo, the city
attorney has streamlined this part of the office by suggesting that we hire one
high powered attorney instead of two or three mediocre attorneys. So instead of
spending $372,000 per year we spend $165,000. This action will save money and
not cost us more than we were spending before.I assure you that there are
people on the 10th floor of city hall that want to protect the status quo of
poor performance. I am trying to assure that our citizens get their money's
worth.
Thank you for your e-mail.
Joe Wardy
This is one to Alexandro
Lozano with his reponse:
-----Original
Message-----
Sent: Sunday, September 12, 2004 10:11 AM
To: district#3@elpasotexas.gov
Subject: Representative Lozano/Concern over employment hiring
The
Honorable Jose Alexandro Lozano
District
#3, City Representative
City
Hall Office, 2 Civic Center Plaza, 10th Floor
El
Paso, TX 79901
Dear
Representative Lozano:
The
purpose of my e-mail is to address a concern which recently came to my
attention. I just learned of a position being created within the City
Attorney's Office which was posted on the city's job website. This position is
titled: "Supervising Trial Attorney" with résumés sent to
the city attorney's office. I urge you to insist the city attorney's
office allow all qualified, competant individuals to apply for this job and
further urge you to oppose any sort of favoritism which
may intercede to allow this job to be handed to
any specific individual. I am displeased at the rampant favoritism
displayed by the current Mayor's administration and I do not want to see
any city job created just so an ally of the Mayor can have a comfortable
job paid for with taxpayer money. Please fight the good fight and if the city
must hire a Supervising Trial Attorney, please insist the position is open to
everyone and not just to one individual. Thank you for your attention to
my concern, I appreciate your efforts. Have a terrific week.
-----Reply-----
I
will do that!
Here’s another email to
Lozano from a District 3 constituent:
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2004 12:10 PM
To: District#3@elpasotexas.gov
Cc: District#1@elpasotexas.gov; District#2@elpasotexas.gov;
District#4@elpasotexas.gov; District#6@elpasotexas.gov;
District#7@elpasotexas.gov; District#8@elpasotexas.gov; mayor@elpasotexas.gov
Subject: Great Concern
Mr. Jose A. Lozano,
It is very disappointing to us to read in Saturday's El Paso Times
Borderland that you will support the appointment of Jim Martinez at a highly
inflated salary.
I recall a telephone conversation I had with you prior to you
being elected and you told me that you thought there were too many lawyers
working at City Hall. Why then are you in favor of adding this position? The
amount of money being paid for this position is plain RIDICULOUS. My neighbors
share my views because it is our tax dollars that are being paid out
to these individuals. Creating this position is also RIDICULOUS. If a position
has to be created, it should be properly advertised and the rules of the city
followed. All qualified persons should be able to apply and be considered for
the position. The advertising of the position should not be just a formality
when an individual has already been chosen to fill the created position. In
this case, Ms.Elizondo had the person (Jim Martinez) picked for the position.
So it makes me wonder how much consideration was given to the qualifications of
the other applicants. All of these backdoor deals are very unsettling for the
taxpayer when positions and deals are being made and paid out with our tax
dollars.
I urge you to consider your constituents...we, the taxpayers, and
vote NO to this appointment.
Reminder: You, Mr. Lozano, represent the citizens of District 3.
Please listen to us. DO NOT approve this high salaried
position. If Mr. Martinez can command this high salary on the outside, then he
should consider an outside of City Hall position. Not one with our tax dollars.
Apparently,
either the Mayor or one of the City Representatives forwarded the email to Jim
Martinez because he replied to this constituent:
-----Reply-----
since i began working for the city, the number of lawyers in the city attorney's
office has declined from 22 to 17. the city's litigation was previously
handled by three attorneys with a combined salary over $285,000. the
consolidation of these positions into a single trial lawyer position actually
saves over $100,000. the city attorney informs me the increased salary
was intended to lure the applications of high-level trial lawyers capable of
handling the litigation that previously required three people to handle.
the truth is that sophisticated, experienced trial lawyers cost more than
$165,000 in the private sector. if we don't want to hire people like this
and go back to the prior arrangement, we'll need to hire three lawyers, not
just one, and we'll spend an additional $100,000 of tax dollars in the process.
my personal involvement aside, i genuinely think it's good
management. i'm extremely stingy with my tax dollars, but i simply can't
ignore a savings of over $100,000. if the city council disapproves my
appointment for some reason, i plan to help the city attorney recruit another
high-level, experienced trial lawyer from the private sector to fill the
position at the same salary.
respectfully,
jim martinez
8704 whitus
Martinez didn’t
just send this canned response to this particular constituent; he sent it to
more than one irate El Pasoan. One of
my readers didn’t take kindly to his canned response and here’s their
back-and-forth discussion:
-----Original
Message-----
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 11:00 AM
To: Martinez, Jim A.
Subject: RE: Hiring of Jim Martinez on Tuesday
Mr.
Martinez,
Nearly
ever public servant at the state, county and city level can earn more money
outside of public service and in the private sector. Since when did we
say that it's okay to pay ONE public servant what he would earn in the private
sector and ignore the thousands of others who have chosen public sector work?
In
my view, I'd rather have THREE experienced attorneys than ONE highly paid
attorney. Three people can handle a higher caseload than one person.
And
to be completely frank, most citizens (I'm speaking for me, my family and my
circle of influence) do not trust you. You lied to the council about how
long you'd represent Jobe, you never informed the public or the council about
the hush money, and God only knows what else you're up to.
Thanks
for your response.
"Martinez, Jim A." <MartinezJA@elpasotexas.gov>
wrote:
re the second paragraph, we simply disagree. i'd rather have
one superstar lawyer than three mediocre ones. whether i meet the
criteria for the former is for others to judge.
re jobe, i stopped representing it when i began to work for the
city. anything you hear to the contrary is false. in fact, with a
single exception, i stopped all legal representation of all my clients when i
joined the city. the exception is el paso energy company (it's an
affiliate of epng). i tried a case for it in houston in november of 2003,
and i took a two-week unpaid leave of absence from the city to do so. i
informed council about all of this.
we most definitely informed council when we settled the claims
asserted by two former employees. we sent written memos to each city
representative. that's precisely how they learned of the
settlement. the settlements were so small ($4,000-5,000 each) that they fell
within the amount of standing settlement authority that council has delegated
to the city attorney's office. that is, the settlement amounts were below
the amount that the council has said the city attorney's office should handle
on its own.
hope this helps.
-----Reply-----
Mr. Martinez,
So
I take it that because you are so vehemently defending this new position and
the outrageous salary you have been given by the mayor and the city
attorney you believe you are the "superstar" who deserves
it.
Why
on earth would Ms. Elizondo publish the listing for the job in the
newspaper? Aren't attorney listings done in professional journals or
something like that?
And
regarding Jobe, a local online newspaper published a link to the county
website this year and you were still listed as the attorney of record and
you were using City Hall as your business address. Why on earth would
your name still be on that and other cases if you were no longer a part of
them? Shortly after the newspapertree published the link to the county
site, the name was conveniently changed.
I
wonder why none of the City Representatives --including your big
supporters, Cobos and Escobar--didn't know about the settlements when the
newspaper contacted them. Guess every single rep missed your
"memo."
Hope
this helps.
Well,
that’s it for this week, dear reader.
Until next week.