3.15.2005

This week our friends on Council reluctantly supported some final steps toward a City Manager form of government, Sid tells you a tale of woe, and hopefully, Cushing’s ugly past will come back to haunt him.

 

Read on.

 

Jailing the Wrong Guy!

This week, Ric Schecter, a community activist and candidate for City Council in District 1, placed the following item on the public portion of the agenda:

 

4. West Texas and Southern New Mexico Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announces the MDA Lockup 2005. [Richard Schecter]

 

Ric Schecter was standing beside Gina Ortega, Coordinator for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and Katherine Bourne, District Director for the MDA, as they discussed the program and their “lockup” fundraiser.  Schecter, who I think is a great El Pasoan, someone who always speaks up and attends Council meetings, and someone I generally (though not always) agree with, was wearing a black and white striped shirt and cap.  He looked a little like Gene Wilder out of “Stir Crazy”!

 

Bourne explained how the fundraiser works:  The volunteer “jailbirds” must raise $1,200 in bail money in order to get out.  The money will go to paying for camp for two children with Muscular Dystrophy. 

 

Representative Robert Cushing, a man who really should be in jail, asked, “Is he gonna be required to come up with $1,200 before you let him go?”

 

Schecter told Council that he would be willing to stay in jail longer if people were willing to contribute more to the MDA.  “I’m not sure how Council feels,” he said, adding that he suspected they’d like to keep him in jail and not spring him out of it.

 

One of the men on Council (I couldn’t tell who it was) mumbled “two months!” and Schecter playfully acknowledged he’d miss the May 7th election if he were to stay in that long.

 

John Cook, playing along, asked “What would it cost for a gag?  Just kidding, Ric,” and Presi asked, “Can we use our discretionary funds?”

 

All this jesting and jail banter got me pretty darned excited…I drifted into my regular fantasy…the one about certain Councilors (Cushing, Cobos, Lozano, Wardy) wearing the same costume but behind some real bars…that’s one fantasy a certain preoccupied columnist has over and over again!

                     

What’s Wrong With those Minutes?

Once Council got on with real business, it was time for the consent agenda.  This week it wasn’t Vivian Rojas who postponed the February 17th minutes…

 

5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: [Municipal Clerk, Richarda Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127] Approval of Minutes for Regular City Council Meeting of March 8, 2005 and Special City Council Meeting of February 17, 2005 (Joint Meeting with Las Cruces City Council).  Special City Council Meeting Minutes of February 17, 2005 POSTPONED FROM 03/08/05 AND 03/01/05 (Attachment) Minutes for Special City Council Meeting held on February 17, 2005

 

It was Anthony Cobos!  Hmmmm…what could be up with those minutes, I wonder?

 

Bowling for Board Appointments

This week, Representative Robert Cushing, doing his sworn duty to uphold the power and control of city government by the Bowling family, added another one of those Bowling Boys to a Board:

 

13B. Greg Bowling to the Building Board of Appeals as a Homebuilder registered with the Texas Residential Construction Commission by Representative Robert A. Cushing, Jr., District 2. (Attachment) [Representative Robert A. Cushing, Jr., (915) 541-4996]

 

The item passed on the consent agenda…Cushing sure is a loyal Bowling family servant!

 

Bowling for Annexation

When I first saw the following board appointment, I had no plans to discuss it in my notes.  However, an email from a loyal reader made me change my mind:

 

12A. Ray Mancera to the City Plan Commission by Representative Jose Alexandro Lozano, District 3.  (Attachment) [Representative Jose Alexandro Lozano, (915) 541-4515]

 

The City Plan Commission is a powerful volunteer board at the City.  The CPC, as it is known by many, gives recommendations to Council and makes decisions on development plans.  The appointment was approved on the consent agenda.

 

My reader informed me that on Wednesday, the day after this appointment was approved, Mr. Mancera and Mr. Lozano were lunching at a popular Kern Place restaurant with none other than Nick Bombach, who works for Tropicana Homes (the Bowling boys’ business).  Mr. Mancera (now a City Plan Commissioner) and Representative Lozano (a current embarrassment on Council) were there discussing annexation.  Don’t forget that the Bowling family stands to make quite a bundle if the annexation of new east-side land takes place. 

 

Wardy has already promised that he will begin the annexation process as soon as he is re-elected.  What will that mean for taxpayers?  It will mean a continued erosion of Central El Paso and significant tax increases for all of us because of the millions of dollars it takes to fund more personnel in police and fire, more schools and libraries, and definitely more water. 

 

But hey, Lozano and Wardy aren’t concerned about us…not as long as they can help their friends the Bowlings get richer!  Community needs are number two to helping the Bowlings make more money.

 

Shine Some of that Over Here!                   

Also passed on the consent agenda was the following item (which was part of the additions to the agenda):

 

1.  Resolution that the City Attorney be authorized to sign a Professional Services Letter of Engagement by and between the City of El Paso and Paul A. Braden and/or his firm to provide professional legal services in connection with City of El Paso general bond matters. [City Attorney's Office, Lisa A. Elizondo, (915) 541-4550] (Attachment)

 

Hmmm…even more outside legal work.

 

Speaking of outside legal work, Representative John Cook recently asked for information regarding the names of all the outside law firms/lawyers paid by the City for legal services, the dollar amounts the firms in question have been paid, and the billable hours and billable hour rates for those firms.

 

Basically, Cook wanted to know from Lisa Elizondo just how much of our tax money she has spent on outside legal work. 

 

After Cook placed his request, he was informed by Jimbo with the Jumbo salary (a/k/a Jabba, a/k/a “El Superstar”) that the information would cost him $636.  Can you believe it?!  Jimbo wants to charge a sitting City Representative for information that he should have handed over!  Sorry Jimbo, but as a lowly elected official, Mr. Cook only makes around $17,000 annually compared to your $165,000 salary or Lisa Elizondo’s $155,000 salary.

 

Cook responded to Martinez’s absurd bill by saying that he would instead work through his City Representative (himself!) to get the answers.  Mr. Cook has placed the item on next week’s agenda (March 22, 2005).  I can’t wait!  It’s like waiting for Christmas!

 

But poor “El Superstar.”  Maybe I’m too hard on him.  Maybe Jimbo with the Jumbo salary hasn’t been reading The El Paso Times; they have been trumpeting day after day that it’s “Sunshine Week!” (a week celebrating open records). 

 

Irony Alert!™

As soon as the Times began writing about “Sunshine Week” and the importance of exposing information to the public, my Irony Alert!™ meter went ballistic. (Since then I’ve had to repair it…maybe I’ll send “El Superstar” the bill…it was about $636!).

 

The Times has told us that we—private citizens—need to keep fighting for our right to know:

 

We in the media can investigate, report, take legal action and use Freedom of Information laws to pursue open government.  But you, the public, must also fight for open government.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005503130308

 

I guess what the Times forgot to mention in their preachy editorial is that they in the media aren’t at all interested in taking the initiative to “investigate, report or use Freedom of Information laws to pursue open government” when it comes to City Hall—our most immediate form of government.

 

They’re perfectly content to allow cronyism and corruption to run rampant in the 10th floor of City Hall.  In fact, I daresay that the editorial board of our only daily print newspaper would deny that there’s any cronyism or corruption at all in local government.  I can hear them now.  “Hey, we golf with Wardy at the country club!  We go to luncheons with Cobos and Cushing!  They can’t be corrupt.  Besides, we’ve consistently ignored calls to expose this alleged corruption and we’ve repeatedly endorsed all these guys and if they’re corrupt that would mean we’re complicit in their corruption.  And that can’t be.  And, by the way, did you know it’s Sunshine Week?”

 

Maybe Mr. Cook should challenge the Times to try to get the information he’s looking for from Lisa Elizondo.  Never mind…when it comes to the Times, it’s always “Dark Ages Week!”

 

Special, Uh, Meeting for a, Uh, Special Guy!

In the middle of the City Council meeting, the Council adjourned the regular meeting in order to convene a “Special Council Meeting” called for by Representative Alexandro Lozano; he placed the following item on the “special meeting” agenda (why it wasn’t simply on the additions is beyond me):

 

Discussion and action to consider and to express the City's discontent with the proposed site of the Animal Emergency Center's crematorium at 1220 Airway, as well as to voice objections to a proposed incinerator permit to be issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to operate at such location, and to draft a resolution voicing all pertinent concerns regarding public health and safety issues if such a facility is allowed to operate that affect public, homes, and businesses; and to direct the City Attorney's Office to research the issue of creating a moratorium on the issuance of any city permits on the disposal and cremation of animals within the city limits.

 

As soon as the special, uh, item, uh, was read into the record, uh, Lozano, uh, spoke:

 

“Of course, you know, uh, last Thursday I found out that, uh, by the Health Department that, uh, the applicant, uh, instead of just having a, uh, animal clinic, he was gonna include a crematory.  And obviously, uh, we do allow, you know, crematories on most of the, uh, the zoning areas, uh, but with a special permission or a special permit.  Uh, but basically, it’s, uh, it’s for ranch and farms so I need to know more about this, uh, and if so, I, you know, would like to see the CPC, you know, study the, uh, circumstances, the closeness to restaurants and, and public buildings within the, uh, adjacent to this location.”

 

In response to, uh, Lozano’s, uh, statement, Alan Shubert, Director of Building Permits & Inspections, said the City has only permitted an animal clinic/emergency animal hospital, not a crematorium or an incinerator.  “Nothing has been submitted to us at this point in time,” he said, adding that the City hasn’t even received a request for permitting a crematorium yet.  He said that they would first have to go to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for an air permit first.

 

Shubert also explained that there is nothing in the building codes that would prevent the owner from putting in an incinerator, but if he wanted to operate it, he would need a special permit, which would come before Council.

 

“So you’re telling me that, uh, uh, regardless of the public, uh, concerns, uh, if he applies for a permit, uh, he’d be eligible to get a permit on that location?” asked Lozano.

 

Shubert explained—again—that the owner would need a special permit and would have to go through that process, but that legally, nothing would prevent him from getting that permit.

 

Was This the Kind of Guy the Ojays Had in Mind?*

*“Back Stabbers”

Dr. Jorge Magaña, City County Health Unit Director, also spoke.  His appearance at Council to speak on this issue was ironic.  Why, you ask?  Well, have you wondered why, given his position as chief advocate of public health in our community, Dr. Magaña has been conspicuously silent on the lead contamination issue regarding ASARCO?  Now, if you know your El Paso history, you know the answer to this question.  Dr. Magaña, you see, just happens to be the same individual who, as a pediatrician many years ago, facilitated ASARCO’s continued pollution of our community by recommending (along with other physicians) the end of lead testing of children in El Paso (http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=1766

 

In yet another Irony Alert!™ moment, Dr. Malinche, I mean Dr. Magaña, expressed his deep concern about the crematorium.

 

Magaña said that the only incinerator in town is one that burns drugs, but this one would burn biological products.  “I’d like to go on record that the Health Department is concerned about this issue.”

 

“Concerned or opposed?” asked Wardy.

 

“Well, at this stage, as a health authority, I am opposed,” he said.

 

So Magaña, as a “health authority,” is concerned about cremating departed pets like dogs and cats, but he isn’t concerned about lead and arsenic in our children?  No wonder the powers that be in Austin don’t take us seriously when we have the likes of Magaña as “leaders.”

 

Representative John Cook pointed out that the crematoriums operate at temperatures of 1200 degrees, and said that because there are two chambers, he wasn’t clear on what harmful gases would escape that would cause such deep concern in Magaña.

 

Magaña listed potential gases that might be emitted, but added, “We don’t know too much about biological products.”  (I wanted to pass a note to Magaña to let him know that, I too, am afraid of whatever harmful gasses might be emitted…from Representative Cushing!  Maybe he can help us point out the problems with that, too!)

 

Magaña said he’d support a crematorium, but only if it were outside the City limits.

 

Cook said that it didn’t really sound like Magaña knew all the facts and asked him to do some research on the issue.  I hope the quality of the good doctor’s research on this issue exceeds that of his research on lead contamination in children.

 

Do You See What I See?*

*OR The Anti-Business Guys, Lozano, Cobos and Ortega, Strike Again

Jesus Reynoso from the Health Unit explained that neighbors complain about the incinerators currently used by the feds to burn up their confiscated drugs.  

 

“That’s why I’m saying that we should put a moratorium against this company having in this location a crematorium,” said Lozano.

 

Cobos, as if on cue, began to gush about his partner in cronyism and said, “I want to commend Representative Lozano for bringing this to our attention,” bragging that “There was a rendering plant in District 3 defeated by Representative Lozano.”  That’s right…and Lozano, Cobos, Cushing, Wardy, et al. supported “defeating” that rendering plant but supported awarding a no-bid exclusive franchise to Luther Jones’s client for disposing of fats, oil and grease (FOG).  Again, my friends, you gotta pay to play with these guys! 

 

Cobos added a final warning by saying, “This is very concerning!”

 

Lisa Hayes, Assistant City Attorney, said that if the applicant meets the guidelines, the TCEQ will give them a permit; there are other steps involved and she explained the various permits the applicant would have to get.

 

Pete Copeless, the applicant in question, said that he regretted that this process had been derailed before the public comment period or the public process even began.  I wanted to pass him a note to tell him “That’s how these guys do it in these parts, Mr. Copeless…they are not friendly to small businesses unless those businesses have paid their tribute.”

 

Copeless said that he didn’t feel comfortable sending his clients’ animals to the landfill and wanted to provide this service—which would treat the pets with dignity—to the pet owners who come to his hospital.  He corrected some of the misinformation proffered by Dr. Magaña, and proposed sending someone to a similar facility currently operating in Fort Worth so they could see just how clean and harmless the facility is.  He asked for a “rational decision based on facts.”  (At this point, I would have passed him another note, “My friend, that’s asking for way too much from this Council!”) 

 

Presi Ortega said he’d choose to believe Magaña over Copeless and said that although he “supports small business,” he wouldn’t support this one.

 

A hopeless Copeless said that he would withdraw his application and wouldn’t open up a crematorium for pet owners after all.  Lozano, Cobos and Presi seemed quite pleased once he said that.

 

“Just to, uh, you know,” began Lozano, “Seeing and hearing what I hear, I still wanna put a resolution, just to, uh, you know, just to send the message we’re opposing.”

 

Presi seconded that motion.

 

I didn’t see or hear Lisa Elizondo pipe in to explain to Lozano that his motion was not encompassed by the language of the agenda item.  The agenda item said nothing about a resolution, and there was no resolution posted in the backup.  Once again, either through ignorance or favoritism, Lisa E. allowed one of the cronymeisters on Council to run roughshod over the rules.  (But let an opponent of Cowardy deviate one iota from the scope of an agenda item and Lisa E will be all over them.)

 

What I did see and hear was yet another small businessman being shut down by the so-called “pro-business” council.

 

Real attorney Lisa Hayes recommended that because the time for public comment hasn’t even begun, they should give the applicant the opportunity to either withdraw his application or to allow the public and the City to comment to the TCEQ.

 

“Do as it may,” said Lozano (huh?).  “And, uh, you know, we wanna be informed, so is that your recommendation?  I consider it very strongly, we wanna be informed…will you put it on your hands, ma’am?”  Ouch.  That sounds like it would hurt, Al.

 

She responded in the affirmative.

 

No action was taken and the special Council meeting was adjourned.

 

To Honor or Not to Honor the Voters’ Decision, That Is the Question

Cobos asked that the items 24A through 24F be moved to the end of the agenda, and his request was honored.  The ordinances, as I mentioned two weeks ago, will help streamline City Council meetings and will give the City Manager the tools she needs in order to make our government run smoothly and efficiently.

 

The first ordinance was as follows:

 

24A. An Ordinance amending Title 3 (Revenue and Finance), Chapter 3.04 (Property Taxes), to amend Sections 3.04.050 (Delinquent Taxes-Installment Payments-Nonlitigated Delinquencies) and 3.04.060 (Delinquent Taxes-Installment Payments-Litigated Delinquencies) to provide that the Installment Agreements shall be entered into and signed by the Tax Assessor/Collector and the City Manager.  (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

Cushing wanted to know if all of these ordinance changes were absolutely necessary and Elizondo said that item 24E was the only one required.  She said that her office was supporting passage of item 24A, but from a legal perspective, she said, none of these were “required.”

 

Item 24A was a result of a change in state legislation that called for the Tax Assessor Collector (instead of Council) to enter into tax installment agreements with taxpayers.

 

Austin made an amendment to include the City Manager as part of that process if applicable, and the item passed as amended

 

The next item didn’t pass:

 

24B. An Ordinance repealing Ordinance No. 15893, granting the authority to the City Manager or the Department Head to enter into and sign certain Personal, Professional, Independent and Volunteer Service Contracts on behalf of the City and to create a new Ordinance on the same subject. (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

Cushing wanted to move item 24B to a Legislative Review Committee of the whole because he said, as the City Attorney had informed them, it was not required, and also because of “contradictions to the charter” (as if these guys have ever cared about the Charter!).  He called language in the ordinance “quite troubling.”  His motion was quickly seconded by Lozano.

 

City Manager Joyce Wilson said, “Mr. Mayor, for the record, could we explain what this ordinance does before we actually move it?  Because this ordinance was passed by Council in September as one of the few actions Council took to begin to delegate certain activities to the City Manager after September 1.  And if I’m not mistaken, what we were trying to do here was just clarify some things in the language and address voluntary agreements that weren’t specifically referenced, and so maybe if we explain that that might be helpful.”

 

Teflon Bob?

Cushing, who did not want to give the City Manager an opportunity to explain the item, said that he was concerned that there wouldn’t be any “parameters.”  You know, the late John Gotti, the former head of the Gambino crime family, was terribly fond of the word “parameters.”  He frequently complained that the young wiseguys (like Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, who ratted him out to the feds), had no “parameters.”  The more I think about it, Robert Cushing reminds me a lot of John Gotti.  Of course, he doesn’t have an ounce of Gotti’s style, but his inflated language, the way he bullies people who oppose him at Council, and his interesting approach to conflict resolution (see the end of these notes for more on this subject) really bring the Teflon Don to mind.

 

Anyway, back to Cushing’s efforts to undermine our City Manager.  Cushing claimed that he had received “numerous phone calls” from employees who had concerns.  Wilson said she meets with employees regularly and no one had brought up the issues Cushing had said they were concerned about.

 

Cook, who is one of the few members of Council who truly believes in supporting the City Manager, said he wanted to pass this today; Cobos said they had to be very careful and lauded employees, grandly pronouncing “we need to make sure their voice is heard in an appropriate manner.” Ha!  Since when did Cobos start caring about city employees?

 

The motion to postpone for 4 weeks passed and Council will have to schedule a Legislative Review Committee meeting during that time; the only no vote came from Cook.

 

Wardy informed Wilson before the discussion moved on that he doesn’t want her to delegate the signatory authority to the department heads.

 

Hands Off My Contracts!

The next item, in my view, goes to the heart of efficiency in city government:

 

24C. An Ordinance granting the authority to the City Manager to enter into and sign certain Contracts on behalf of the City and to sign certain documents; to authorize the City Manager to approve certain events and activities by the various departments of the City; to authorize the City Manager to issue certain types of refunds; to authorize the City Manager to make certain budget transfers; to authorize the City Manager to administratively handle matters previously addressed by resolutions of the City Council; and to set forth the delegation of administrative authority to the City Manager.  (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

These are items that routinely take up time and space on the Council agenda and because Cook, unlike Wardy, supports the shift to a City Manager, Cook quickly moved to approve 24C with Escobar seconding.

 

Cushing wanted to know (among other things) if this ordinance would limit Council’s power when it came to purchasing issues or architect and engineer selection; Elaine Hengen, the Assistant City Attorney explaining the items, said it would not.

 

The City Manager, explained Hengen, would have the ability to enter into contracts for goods and services under $50,000 and that this could include items that were put out to bid.

 

Cushing’s displeasure was obvious.

 

A-ha!  Here we go…the message rang out:  If anyone messes with this Council’s power to play with points and otherwise manipulate the procurement process, there will be hell to pay.  And because the City Manager would be granted power when it comes to City contracts under this ordinance, I knew that Cushing and Cobos would lead the fight to kill this or, at the very least, significantly water it down.

 

Predictably, Anthony Cobos expressed concern with the City Manager having so much power over City contracts.  Cobos is like jealous husband, an eager addict, a desperate housewife, if you will, when it comes to the exercise involving his bids and city contracts! 

 

Cobos wanted the number dropped to $25,000 so that Council would have more power over the bigger bids.  Of course.  Contracts are too important to be left to the professionals.  They must remain in the hands of the cronymeisters.

 

Hengen said that the $50,000 number came from staff after they had conducted research on what other cities are doing.

 

After Cobos had argued (for several minutes) that he wanted the number dropped to $25,000 so that Council could make the decisions on anything over that number, the City Manager gave in and told him if that’s what he wanted, that would be fine, but reminded him that number also came from a recommendation by their paid consultant over the summer.  Who cares what consultants recommend or what other cities do.  Rigging bids for contributors and allies is the bread and butter of the Wardy administration.

 

Cobos quickly jumped on Wilson’s concession and made a motion to lower the number to $25,000.  The revision was approved.

 

There was also quite a discussion about non-classified (contract) employees at the City.

 

The ordinance, with the amendment, was approved.  And the beat goes on.

 

The next item in the series struck a nerve (I still can’t tell why):

 

24D. An Ordinance relating to the process for submitting grant applications and accepting grant funding; and granting the authority to the City Manager and designee to sign and submit grant-related documents; and to repeal Section 10 of Ordinance No. 15791 relating to the placement of grant related items on the City Council Agenda and create new procedures. (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

Once it was read into the record, Escobar complained, “I can only imagine what issues this is going to bring up!”

 

Cushing quickly proved Escobar correct.  Cushing complained that the Public Service Board should be allowed to send in its own grant applications; Elaine Hengen explained why, but Wilson said that she had no problem eliminating that section.  Cushing quickly made a motion to delete item 6, which involved the PSB.

 

The ordinance was approved as amended.

 

What’s the Matter with Bob?

Cushing was—again—on edge for the next item:

 

24E. An Ordinance amending Ordinance 8064 (The Classification and Compensation Plan) to revise the procedures for amending certain portions of the job specifications; to revise the procedures for advancement within pay grade; to revise the procedures determining entry salary under the Executive Compensation Plan; to revise the process for authorizing the use of personally owned tools or vehicles; and to revise the procedures relating to special sick leave.  (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

He demanded to know why this ordinance hadn’t gone before the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and Hengen said that nothing in this ordinance is part of the CSC rules.

 

Elizondo said that many items had gone before the CSC that were never legally required to go to the CSC but were done in deference to the CSC.  She also explained that this is within the City Manager’s purview.

 

Cobos said that it should have been taken to the CSC out of “courtesy.”  He asked that it be postponed for four weeks.

 

Yes, Mr. Cobos, let’s slow down the shift from strong-mayor to City Manager as much as possible.  That is part of your agenda, isn’t it?  These guys talk the talk—they brag in their campaign materials about supporting (even leading) the shift from strong-mayor to city manager, but when it comes time to walk the walk, they’re glued to their chairs (and, actually, doing everything in their power to undermine the City Manager).

 

Wilson responded and said, “Representative Cobos, I have no problem if you want to continue it, and if you want to put it on the Civil Service agenda to advise them of what is happening here, but if I’m not mistaken, this one ordinance is one that is specifically being put forward so that we’re conforming with the charter amendment.”

 

In other words, the citizens voted for it, the Charter has been changed, and that means you are required to follow the will of the voters, Mr. Cobos, despite your best efforts not to.

 

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

Cobos didn’t care about the charter amendment election (or the will of the voters) and made a motion to postpone this item and move it to a Legislative Review Committee meeting of the whole. 

 

It was a tie.

 

Voting to stall the implementation of the charter amendment were Cushing, Lozano, Rojas and Cobos.  Voting to move forward and honor the will of the voters were Austin, Cook, Ortega and Escobar.

 

Before Wardy could vote, Escobar warned him that this wouldn’t get done anytime soon because of all the items already on the Human Resources Legislative Review Committee’s agenda.  Then Wilson reminded him that the reason for bringing the item forward is because the City is not conforming to the Charter’s change to a city manager form of government.  Details, details.

 

Thankfully and surprisingly, Wardy voted “no” (but only after a very, very long pause…I’m sure it pained him to vote no, but he also must have concluded that if he didn’t move forward on this item, it would be an indisputable example of his lack of support for Wilson and the shift to city manager).

 

Once the postponement failed, Austin made a motion to approve, and it was approved unanimously.

 

After that item was passed, Council unanimously postponed the following item for four weeks:

 

24F. An Ordinance granting the authority to the City Manager or his or her designee to make provisional and temporary employee appointments in accordance with the El Paso City Charter. (Attachment) [City Manager, Joyce A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915) 541-4550]

 

When they wrapped up that business, they moved on to their executive session.

 

Good Cop/Bad Cop?

When Council slinked back out of executive session they took the following actions on the following items:

 

Council voted to reject the settlement demand on the following two cases:

 

26A. Jesus Luna vs. Gabriel Peralta, et al; Cause No. EP-04-CA-0455-PM in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.  (551.071) [City Attorney's Office, James A. Martinez, (915) 541-4550]

 

26B. Jaime Luevano vs. Gabriel Peralta et al; Cause No. EP-04-CA-0431-FM in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas  (551.071) [City Attorney's Office, James A. Martinez, (915) 541-4550]

 

These cases are related to the Courts of Inquiry filed last year.

 

And that, thankfully, was that.

 

Deceptive Mail Practices

In case you forgot to check your mailbox, Wardy’s latest campaign mailer went out this week.  It is pricey, tacky, and will make you want to take a shower once you’ve finished reading it.

 

But before you throw it out, I’d like you to consider the following.  He tries to associate himself with progressive leaders in this community (check out the picture of himself and Sen. Eliot Shapleigh when he tried to act as if he’s always been against re-opening ASARCO).  This would be laughable if it weren’t so offensive.  But the propaganda truly descends into the absurd when Wardy takes credit for the following items he had absolutely nothing to do with:

 

Ø      the Plaza Theatre, pushed by former Mayor Caballero;

 

Ø      the private Regional Economic Development Corporation formed without him and before he became mayor;

 

Ø      Dan Power’s efforts to create a city manager form of government;

 

Ø      and my personal favorite, the federal government’s decision to send more troops to Fort Bliss!  I guess that hotline direct to Donald Rumsfeld really comes in handy.

 

But my favorite part of the entire piece of drek was the hilarious picture of Bobby Bowling.  I loved it!  Sweet little Bobby…looking like an all-American monopolist and puppeteer…I suggest you save that photo, cut it out, and put it on your dart board…it’s going up on mine! (Then you can throw the rest of that expensive mailer into your recycling bin!)

 

Or how ‘bout this…cut out Bobby’s photo from the mailer, put it in your wallet, and when you affectionately show off pictures of your kids, pause, show folks Bobby’s picture and say, “And this…well…this is Bobby. [Whispering] Poor little rich boy!  He’s the one we don’t talk about…the monopolist who makes his living off of tax credit housing.”

 

Anyway, for those of you that don’t already know this, Martie Jobe wrote this drivel (as well as the text for Wardy’s first mailer and his 2003 mailers). 

 

And in order to disguise Wardy’s lack of leadership and the glaring and clear ineffectiveness of a do-nothing administration, good ole’ Martie taps into the skills she learned in her 8th grade English class:  Just use a lot of words!  And she does…use a lot of words…really…a lot of them…some of them from former Mayor Ray Caballero …some of them from other people (including a City department head although there are civil service rules prohibiting that)…but most of them hers and most of them pretty pathetic. 

 

Martie and Luther, who must still be smarting about the fact that for two years they didn’t have control over the mayor’s office, even put a photograph of the former mayor in Wardy’s mailer!  Yes, indeed, these guys are still haunted by the ghost of an ethical past…frightened indeed of good government!

 

When you take a good look at what Martie…er…Wardy calls his accomplishments, they’re predictably pathetic.  For example, under his “economic development” section, Wardy sites the movement of troops into Fort Bliss, as well as an award received by the Fire Department. 

 

Well gollie, gee, my friends!  I didn’t realize that economic development includes the Fire Department winning an award.  I’d better call my old economics professor…he needs to rethink his economic theories.  I bet he never realized that a plaque could be an economic driver in a community!

 

But what I find most interesting is that nowhere in the mailer does Wardy talk about all the jobs he promised to create last time around, nor does he talk about an economic development plan.  That’s cuz there is none!

 

Nowhere in the mailer does Wardy talk about progressive projects that will move El Paso into the 21st century.  That’s cuz there are none!

 

So now you understand why Wardy…er…Martie Jobe had to use all that useless, excess language…she had so much space to fill with nothing to show for it!

 

Okay.  Enough of Wardy.  Onto our weekly awards!

 

And This Week’s Idiota of the Week Award Goes to…

Drumroll, please…Joe Muench of the El Paso Times!  [Applause!  Applause!  Bravo, Joe!]  Congratulations Muenchkin!

 

In case you missed it, Muench, who is part of Team Editorial (or Team Troglodyte as I affectionately call them) at the sorry-excuse-for-a-newspaper in our town, used his editorial space on our only English daily to complain about community political forums.  That’s right.  You heard me.  He essentially complained about democracy.

 

In his editorial, “Mayoral forums are just a big snore", the Muenchkin complains that “We should do away with mayoral forums.”  He later adds:

 
“These forums are boring. Five people's opinions are too many for one place. Cluck, cluck. It's a glut. And sometimes there are almost as many candidates as there are those who show up to listen.



And if an incumbent mayor does show, expect him to be in straight-line mode while letting the challengers crash and burn with their attacks on his administration.



For example, Wardy hasn't really screwed up. Possibly the major gray cloud over his head is that he ran on his ‘Neighborhoods First’ initiative and it appears his own neighbors, in his own ZIP Code, may lose their battle to save arroyos from developers.”

http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005503130318

 

First of all, Mr. Muench has confirmed my long-standing suspicion that this newspaper wants to limit and discourage civic involvement.  He does it by complaining about how many candidates he has to listen to.  Shouldn’t we encourage more people to run for office instead of complaining that there are too many, Muenchkin?  He also does it by telling the public that they are boring and should be eliminated.  Way to inspire people to get involved, Munchy!

 

My friends, how many newspapers that you know of would discourage civic involvement this way?

 

In a city where voter turnout is incredibly low, where we have the same people running for office over and over, and where cronyism has taken control of municipal government (and other governments), why in the world would the newspaper try to encourage people to sleep through an election?

 

I’ll tell you why…in a moment (see “Under Cover of the Night” later in my notes).

 

Back to Muench.  He’s also so far off the mark when he claims “Wardy hasn’t really screwed up” that it’s hard to believe that he and I (and you) live in the same city.

 

His newspaper has chosen to ignore the corruption (e.g., the bid rigging), the incompetence (e.g., the $7 million budgetary shortfall while some departments have overspent their budgets by $1 million under the Wardy/Martinez regime), the cronyism (e.g., Luther Jones, Martie Jobe, David Escobar, Bobby Bowling), the special interest favors (e.g., Albert Gamboa and Thermodyn), and the leadership void at City Hall.  But just because you ignore something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

 

But again, more on that next.

 

Under Cover of the Night

So, why, my friends, would the newspaper want to keep this community in the dark when there are so many issues to cover?

It’s because they are okay with the status quo and they want citizens to believe the same thing.  In a city with no economic competition, a stifled small business community, and no political opposition, the powers that be can maintain their tight control (and that includes the Times).  And believe me, the grip is there and it will—if we do nothing to stop it—suffocate the lot of us.

 

I’ll give you a prime example of a story that the Times has refused to cover (and add this one to the long list of things that this columnist has reported on week after painful week). 

 

If the Times won’t tell you about it, your friend Sid will.

 

Once upon a time, there was a small group of wealthy and elite El Pasoans who got their way no matter what the cost was to the community.  And they got their way because there were people in positions of influence who were not independent and who would faithfully follow orders.  In other words, they were happy to do the bidding of this small group of wealthy and elite El Pasoans.

 

The community and the media have been witnesses to some of them in action at City Hall.  Martie Jobe, Luther Jones, Bobby Bowling and David Escobar are examples of this Crony Crew.

 

But there was another group…the kind that goes to Austin to lobby for a bill that would hurt El Paso children, and the kind who would threaten people with severe community punishment (like…killing medical school funding) (http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005503120320).  This group’s primary goal was furthering their self-interest and certainly not the community’s interests.

 

One day, our local Hispanic Chamber of Commerce decided to be a voice for this community, for small business and for families.  They decided to take a stand on public school finance.  Remember, fixing the broken system of public school finance is crucial to El Paso.  Without first-rate education, El Paso kids will continue to flee the city, and we will continue to try to look for ways to reverse that trend.

 

The Hispanic Chamber originally voted unanimously to support a state income tax, which, as I have said in previous columns, is the smart answer to our school funding issues and something that nearly every other state in the U.S. uses.  Once this group of cowboys found out that the Hispanic Chamber agreed with most other states, they were fightin’ mad!  That’s right!  How dare the leaders at the Hispanic Chamber look out for our kids and our future!  How dare the leaders at the Hispanic Chamber think for themselves, show some leadership, and do the right thing!

 

No, no, can’t have that!

 

So what did these cowboys do?  I’ve been told that they called to threaten the chamber with near-bankruptcy…they promised to pull their funding unless the chamber reversed their vote.

 

And what happened?  The chamber reversed their vote. 

 

And the newspaper, our only source of community-wide, detailed information, the entity in our community that should be seeking the truth instead of running from the truth, knew about this and did nothing.  That’s right.  Our paper did nothing.

 

And I wish I could say this was a fairy tale.  But it ain’t.  So what was that you were saying about “Sunshine Week?”

 

I can’t help but recall those haunting lyrics from one of my favorite U2 songs. 

 

I have held the hand of a devil

It was warm in the night

I was cold as a stone

 

Were those cowboy hands warm, Mr. Flores? 

 

A Dangerous Man or Gotti Strikes Again

And finally, my friends, an even sadder story.

 

I always knew Robert Cushing was a bully…I’ve long talked about it in my column.  I always suspected he probably is a bully in real life, but I never imagined him to be as violent as he truly is.

 

In case you missed the latest edition of Newspapertree, you must read the brief section about a civil judgment filed against Cushing (http://www.newspapertree.com/view_article.sstg?c=f65d2cf6a6164fa1&mc=cee7100862f3420f).

 

Robert Cushing and another man viciously attacked a woman.  Here’s what the public record shows that Cushing and his friend did:

 

On February 13, 1975, at approximately 9 P.M. in a parking lot at 6746 Edgemere in El Paso County, Texas, the said Defendants without cause or provocation, willfully and maliciously attacked the Plaintiff. As a result of Defendants’ attack, Plaintiff sustained the following injuries: The loss of teeth, injuries to head from having hair torn from scalp, injuries to head from being struck by the Defendants, cuts to the knees from being dragged along the pavement and injuries to the back from being kicked in the back.

 

Cushing, the coward that he is, defaulted in this lawsuit, which means he didn’t answer the charges.  According to court documents, as of 1998, Cushing had yet to pay the $50,000 judgment entered against him.  The woman, who was severely beaten and then hospitalized because of Cushing’s horrific attack, is still waiting for him to pay what the court ordered him to pay.

 

Gee, folks, and all this while, Mr. Cushing refuses to collect his City salary and portrays himself as a magnanimous and generous City representative.

 

And gee, folks, for those of us who have wondered why Cushing doesn’t own the house he lives in, we now have an answer.

 

Because he doesn’t want to pay for his crime.

 

But the question of the day is, will the mainstream media and the newspaper pick up this story?  It is too ugly, too important and too vital to understanding the character of an individual who has time and time again allowed the likes of Luther Jones and David Escobar and Bobby Bowling to do what they will with our taxpayer dollars.  If the press won’t cover the corruption, they damn well better cover this attack.

 

And again, my friends, we can see why this is such an incredibly important election.  Will we take our community back?  Will we vote for ethical people, people with integrity, or will we support unscrupulous officials, thereby enabling an elite few to continue to control our city and our destiny?

 

It’s up to you.  What will you do to make sure they don’t win again?

 

Until next week.

 

Comments or questions: shmaven@yahoo.com

 

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