4.12.2005
This week, it’s a Jackson
Browne marathon! The cronymeisters
circle the wagons around Bob the Bully Boy Cushing; the bid rigging continues
unabated; and Sid does a double shout-out to the FBI and the Times.
Come to think of it, instead of a shout out, I may just need to walk
over to the local FBI office and literally shout at them. It was another very long meeting, my friends…nearly six
hours long, so let me warn you: These
are veeery long notes.
There’s
lots to discuss, so let’s get going.
Buying the Elder Vote
After the proclamations were
read, it was time for the public agenda items.
However, Cobos quickly asked that item 24B be moved forward.
Usually, folks, items placed
on the public portion of the agenda go first; then, the revisions are made to
the agenda, and if something is to be moved forward, the request is made during
the revisions section. Not this
time. It was clear that Cobos wanted to
postpone an item placed on the agenda by a group of brave women.
I suspect two reasons for
this. First, Cobos was trying to give
his buddy in cronyism Bob the Bully Boy Cushing a legislative victory to offset
the public criticism he was about to endure.
Second, Cobos was punishing the women who had come before Council to
call the Bully Boy to account. What a
classy guy.
The motion to move the item
up was approved unanimously, and the pandering to elderly voters began in
earnest:
24B. An Ordinance amending Title 3 (Revenue and
Finance) of the El Paso Municipal Code, Chapter 3.04 (Property Taxes) by
amending Section 3.04.040 (Exemption - Residence Homestead) to increase the Ad
Valorem Property Tax Exemption for individuals who qualify under the current
Code. [Representative Robert A.
Cushing, Jr., (915) 541-4996] [Attachment]
My friends, when this item
first came before Council in 2003, Alexandro Lozano lobbied hard for a tax
freeze, and the Mayor and Council said that it would mean a huge loss of
revenue and that it would be best to wait and see what happens with public
school finance issues at the state level, as that would dictate what tax relief
would be offered, if any.
Cushing, who desperately
needs to regain ground with voters after the revelations of his extreme
violence and deadbeat behavior, began the speechifying. Crediting himself, Cobos and Lozano, Cushing
said that the trio had evaluated this as an economic development issue. He said the number one focus is “improving
our relationship with the military.” He
also said that they determined that expanding the tax exemption (which was last
updated in 1980) from $15,000 to $30,000 was the proper way to go before a tax
freeze.
Cobos thanked Cushing and said
that Council needed to help seniors who are on fixed incomes.
Then it was Lozano’s
turn. “And, of course, you know, uh, it
was one of our main concerns, you know,” said Lozano, “When we came to office,
uh, about a tax relief or a tax freeze for the elderly, and uh, like, uh, both,
uh, Councilmen has said since 1980s, we’ve done something like this, and I
know, uh, we as Council and the mayor, I know we have a big task in finding the
funding necessary of what we might lose, but at the same time we have to be
more creative, and this is very important for us to pass and to make sure, you
know, that we facilitate, uh, you know, this exemption to the seniors.”
“A big task in finding the
funding?“ I’d say so! “Be creative?” Wow. That’s the
understatement of the year.
Running On Empty*
*Running on - running
blind
Running on - running into the sun
But I’m running behind
Indeed. My friends, this whole issue is about as
irresponsible as you get. Here you have
a Mayor and Council who are all running for re-election. We have a budget that has a projected $7
million shortfall for next year, so we’re running short on funds. We have a City with most of its departments
understaffed, many with frozen vacancies.
Our municipal government is running on empty and these guys are not just
perfectly content to throw fiscal responsibility to the winds to buy senior
votes, they’re practically drooling at the prospect (there’s that Pavlovian
response again…money in exchange for votes).
Did Cushing, Lozano or Cobos
(the architects of this exercise in
pandering) offer Council a plan for how the City would make up for the loss of
revenue? Did the other Council members
demand to see such a plan from this troika before voting? I’ll let you guess the answers to those
questions.
Cushing said that “a lot of
the people are disabled” and couldn’t work if they wanted to, and joked about
how the only thing that has gone down in price is television sets and laughed
(as usual, he was the only one laughing).
William Studer, Deputy City
Manager for Financial Services, said that other major cities like San Antonio,
Dallas and Austin have exemptions for the elderly that are way above what El
Paso has. The difference between El
Paso and those cities, of course, is that they have a much larger tax base, so
they can afford exemptions that are proportionate to their tax base. San Antonio’s tax base is over twice that of
El Paso’s ($41 billion versus $18 billion).
That $23 billion difference is very significant. (At least to anyone who isn’t drowning in
his own bad deeds and desperately seeking votes.)
Studer explained that of the
112,000 parcels in the city that are residential, a third are owned by elderly
and disabled people. This exemption would cost us $4 million a year, he
reported, and said that over the next ten years the impact of this decision
would mean a loss of over $40 million to our revenues.
Representative John Cook
asked a very appropriate question.
Since this would affect the 2006 budget, he asked City Manager Joyce
Wilson if it wouldn’t be more appropriate to discussion this issue during the
budget sessions. He’s right, and she
indirectly answered his question. She said that if Council were to take action,
they would “be making a revenue statement outside the budget process.”
The Big Hit – Aimed at Non-Seniors!
Cook also pointed out that
Council had agreed to hold off until after the state legislature made a
decision about public school finance; Wilson said that it was too soon to tell
what the outcome would be on that issue, and that he was right – Council had
agreed to wait. She said that the City
would have to deal with whatever revenue loss the City will experience, but
that the first big hit wouldn’t really be felt until 2007.
Cobos tried to argue that
tax revenues would continue to grow (I assume he was trying to imply that the
loss would be absorbed by a growing tax base) and made a jab at the Central
Appraisal District and their higher valuations. Cushing, who sits on the Central Appraisal District, chuckled
heartily (go figure!).
Cushing kept trying to
compare El Paso’s tax base to San Antonio’s and John Cook had to remind him
that there’s a huge difference between the two. (Does Cushing think we’re stupid?!? I know; that in itself is a stupid question.)
Susan Austin, who, like
Cook, was clearly concerned, said, “When we pitched to the public the facts
behind the $115 million February 2004 bond election, we made certain
assumptions about what our growth would be, how the tax base would grow, who
would contribute to it. So I guess one
of the things that I’m concerned about is that we now change the facts and we
take out a certain aspect of revenue that we expected. How does that change our expectations about being
able to afford the $115 million bonds?”
Studer never really answered
her question and seemed to offer an alternative when he said that the City
could phase this in slowly in order to minimize the financial impact on the
City’s budget.
Austin said that the new
growth in the tax base (from the new homes being built for the incoming
soldiers, I presume) could help make up for this “unplanned-for tax exemption,
but then we won’t have the money to provide the services that result from the
growth…I admit that the $4 million is only 1.7% [of the total budget each
year]...but I am concerned about absorbing all at once a $4 million hit.”
Austin replied that she was leaning toward a phased approach instead of a one
quick hit.
“The reality is, what we
give as an exemption will hit the general fund,” said Studer.
Chomping at the Bit to Buy Votes
Cushing wanted to make sure
that Studer didn’t forget that we’re expecting 3,500 new troops. I guess Cushing is expecting every single one
of those soldiers to immediately purchase new homes. I guess he’s also expecting that none of them will buy or rent
existing homes, rent apartments, or live on base. He tried pressing Studer to say (contrary to responsible and
realistic projections) that we’ll very soon have 3,500 new homes on the tax
rolls generating plenty of revenue to make up for this hit.
Studer reminded Cushing that
while incoming Fort Bliss troops will have an impact, it would be “hard to
measure.” He also added that “it would
be unlikely we would see any impact from Fort Bliss by then because the houses
wouldn’t be constructed and on the tax rolls that quickly.” Duh.
When that weak argument was
shot down, Cushing, who was furiously chomping away on his gum, tried another
one. “Okay, in other words, so you’re
assuming that these people wouldn’t buy existing homes?”
Studer reminded him that
that wouldn’t drive values up. He said
that any impact to help alleviate the burden would have to happen within the
next 8 months and he doubted the soldiers would be in newly built homes within
8 months.
The
gum chomper was shot down!
The Beneficiaries
Nine audience members, all
of whom stood to gain from the expanded exemption, spoke on the item.
The first was Jetta Roberts,
who said that Texas voters supported a tax freeze by voting for statewide
proposition 19. She asked Council not
to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly and the disabled. Several other citizens also spoke, echoing
the same sentiments, arguments and appeals.
I, for one, would love an
added or expanded exemption. But you
know what? Almost all of us are
overtaxed and underpaid. And while it’s
clear that our senior and disabled residents deserve a break, I don’t believe
it’s okay to shift that burden onto the backs of the poor, the working class,
or any other group in El Paso. After
all, someone has to pick up the tab, don’t they?
I had a burning desire to
get to the podium and ask this Council a few questions like, “Will you provide
a tax exemption to low income El Pasoans who are finding it difficult to hold
onto their homes?” How about this
one: “Will you provide a tax exemption
for single working mothers who are trying to raise their children and keep a
home for them?” Or how about this: “Will you provide a tax exemption for
homeowners who have lost their jobs in this poor economy?” We have to look beyond our narrow personal
interests and ask what’s good for the community. The mere fact that we may benefit from a particular policy
doesn’t make it right or responsible.
There are many groups worthy
of tax relief in our community. The
difference, though, my friends, is that these other groups are not potent
voting blocs like we oldsters. You can
count on the old folks to vote in every election.
This is pandering to the
senior citizen voters, pure and simple.
It’s also completely irresponsible (but hardly surprising) for this
Council to blithely throw away millions of dollars in tax revenues at this time
(so close to election day).
Space Oddity: the Re-launch
After the seniors had had
their say, Lozano once again launched himself into space. I could almost see the rocket engines
blazing as he asked to be recognized.
“Mayor, you know, I’m a little bit concerned of not having Hispanics complaining
here. I’m going, like, you know, it’s
80% of our population Hispanic and they’re not complaining?” He also said, “I rather lose those $4
million from the city budget than have our seniors lose their home.” Then Major Al flippantly said, “We’ll find
the money to make up for those lost revenues,” and added “the numbers are
confusing, but regardless...I think we’re on the right track.”
Susan Austin, who always
talks the talk but never walks the walk, very appropriately said, “I have also
heard from many, many voters. They’re
asking for their streets to be repaired…city staff has talked about a raise
they haven’t received in many, many years…there are lots of demands we’re not
meeting…and that’s not even raising taxes…it’s a lot of money, and a lot of
things that we’re not going to be able to fund. All the arguments…are very valid arguments, but it will cost
us…things we will not be able to fund, all types of things, drainage, streets.”
She’s right. But what I’ve come to learn is what Austin
says and how she votes are often two very different things.
Wardy said that he knows
people are worried about buying toothpaste because of their high property
taxes. That’s right Joe, but they
aren’t all elderly. He then did some pandering
of his own, talking about needing to “sleep at night” and about how sympathetic
he is. Who could be surprised by
this? Being fiscally irresponsible in
the extreme by slashing our tax receipts to gain votes lets you sleep just
fine. And I’m sure you slept just fine
after corrupting the bid process to help campaign contributors, after
appointing cronies to important boards just so they can enrich themselves and
their friends, and after decimating vital departments for political gain. Sleep well, Joe.
Deep in the Red Zone
Anticipating this
pander-fest, I brought my pandering meter to the meeting and, I gotta tell ya,
folks, the readings were off the scale!
(You can’t imagine all the different kinds of meters a City Council
columnist needs…the irony meter, the hypocrisy meter, the mendacity meter, the
had-too-much-coffee-gotta-go-to-the-bathroom-can-you-speed-up-the-discussion
meter, and at election time, the pandering meter.)
Austin asked, “What are you
saying, Mayor?” and Wardy responded, “An action is required to bring some
relief to the taxpayers, especially the people that are disabled, the people on
a fixed income.”
William Studer pointed out
that while we’re expecting a 2.5% increase in the tax base, this increase is
exceeded by expected growth in the budget of 3.1%. Presi Ortega pointed out that, in other words, “we’re bringing in
less than what we’re spending.” You
got it, Sherlock.
David Almonte, from the
Office of Management and Budget, explained that government is no different from
you and me and is affected by things like the increases in gas prices and other
commodities.
Ortega, saying that he had
“big concerns about what we’re doing here today,” called it an emotional issue,
and one he wished had been brought up at another time (try budget time,
Presi). “I think that we’re going to be
putting a load on ourselves.” He’s
right.
Cook agreed that relief is
needed and that he, too, has elderly parents on a fixed income. He said he needed information about a tax
freeze, which was what the voters supported via Proposition 19 and not what was
on the agenda. He also asked Wardy what
he felt should be done.
Wardy, who rarely has to do
anything (including vote) but can always take credit for others’ ideas,
reluctantly answered and said that he supported a phased in approach instead of
doing it all at once because he didn’t think that $4 million could be absorbed
going into next year’s budget.
Joyce Wilson reminded
Council that the tax relief would only impact the City’s portion of the tax
bill (which is about 25% of a taxpayer’s total tax bill); in other words, the
savings for the elderly and disabled wouldn’t be an across-the-board savings as
the City would be the only taxing entity doing this irresponsible thing.
Vivian Rojas proclaimed that
as a social worker, she thought that tax relief was needed! (So glad you could put that social worker
title to work, Viv.)
Susan Austin tried to speak
again and Lozano, having made a brief touch down to earth, cut her off. He announced to the City Manager, “Ms.
Wilson, I made a motion and we have a second!”
With a subtle look of irritation on her face, Austin paused while Wardy
reminded Lozano that Ms. Austin had the right to speak.
When a resident took to the
podium to complain about increasing appraisals, Wardy said that Council has “no
input, none, into the operations of the Central Appraisal District.” My question, then, is if that’s true, what’s
the point of having two Council members (Cushing and Rojas) on the El Paso CAD
board? What’s the point of having a
board at all?
The motion supporting the
increased tax exemption (from $15,000 to $30,000) passed unanimously, and even
the voices of reason and restraint on this issue (Austin, Cook and Ortega) gave
in to the temptation to pander and voted the irresponsible way. Immediately after that vote, Cushing sent
out a mailer to elderly residents in his district announcing he had just
lowered their taxes. It is indeed
election time.
You Can’t Keep a Good Woman’s
Organization Down
Before Council could hardly
take another breath, Lozano quickly asked Cobos if they could move public item
number two before public item number one.
Clearly, Lozano wanted to punish the women who had waited through the
taxing discussion even more by extending their wait. It never ceases to amaze me how vile this trio of Cushing, Lozano
and Cobos is.
Even after Wardy told Lozano
that Council would now proceed in proper order, Lozano quietly chuckled and again
asked if they could just skip the first item and move on to item number two.
Cobos, with a sleazy grin on
his face then began his typical praise of Cushing, trying to build him up and
stall while the oldsters left Council chambers. What a putz! Lozano
leaned over, offered Cushing a hearty handshake, and pointedly left the room as
the women were about to begin discussion on their item.
My friends, I have never
been so close to throwing up at a public meeting than at that moment.
Lozano and Cobos, knowing
that Cushing was about to be confronted by courageous women, tried to protect
their woman-beating, dog-killing, deadbeat liar of a friend.
They
are truly repugnant, the three of them.
1. Discussion and action: The Coalition asks the Mayor and Council members for (1) reaffirmation of their
Proclamation denouncing violence against women, and (2) permanent removal of
Mr. Cushing from all committees and decisions on law enforcement and women. [Irasema Coronado, Co-Chair, Coalition
Against Violence toward Women and Families at the Border] [Attachment]
Three women spoke (although
others were there in silent support) and made their brief presentation about
violence against women, the need to support victimized women, and their request
to remove Cushing from commissions related to women and law enforcement.
Vivian Rojas, the social
worker who cares so deeply about elderly and disabled people, didn’t bother to
give these women the courtesy of paying much attention to them. During most of the presentation by Dr.
Irasema Coronado, Dr. Kathy Staudt and Sister Ida Bearsheim, Rojas flipped
through her paperwork and read through her agenda. I suddenly felt sorry for the clients Rojas had as a case worker.
The coalition mostly read
from their documents (the text is available as backup) and Dr. Staudt asked
that staff place an item on next week’s agenda removing him from those boards.
No one responded, except
Wardy, when he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for your
patience today. I want to thank you for
being here today. Let’s move on to the
next item.”
Amazing!
Even the two women on City
Council—Susan Austin and Vivian Rojas—remained silent and offered the women no
support. So much for female solidarity,
eh, ladies?
The Non-Apology Apology He Couldn’t
Even Write By Himself
This week a loyal reader
forwarded me a copy of a letter that Robert Cushing sent out to his voters, a
letter that adds insult to injury. I’m
not interested in dwelling too much on it, but there are a couple of points
that need to be made.
In the letter, Cushing
claims that the severe and vicious beating of his then-girlfriend Belinda Salinas
occurred because he was “carelessly high spirited” and the “black sheep” of his
family. Yeah, funny how careless high
spirits result in so many vicious beatings.
Cushing does admit he was arrested and faced a misdemeanor charge (which
he claims was dismissed). Interesting
how when he was first confronted about the case—which resulted in his being
arrested, booked into the county jail, and bonding out, he said it didn’t ring
a bell. I know, Bob, I frequently
forgot about all the times I have viciously beaten people and about my arrests
too. He then goes on to claim that the judgment ordered by the court ($50,000,
which he was supposed to pay Salinas) was “null and void.”
My friends, it’s clear as
day that Cushing received help on this letter—plenty of it, and some of it
legal (how much you wanna bet that his good friend Martie Jobe wrote the
letter?). Whadda guy. He doesn’t even write his “heartfelt” letter
himself, but has a lawyer write it for him instead. What more do people need to boot this guy out of office?
I guess someone decided that
the letter was much too important to be left to Cushing to write. And it is much better than the drivel he has
sent the voters before. Missing are the
ungrammatical sentences of previous mail-outs, as well as the pompous language
he uses when he places items on the Council agenda. Missing also are the “quotes” he uses “inappropriately” to show
“emphasis” on words that “don’t need” that “emphasis.”
As an act of contrition, the
letter is a joke. Clearly, Cushing’s
lawyer (Martie?) told him he couldn’t specifically apologize to Salinas, as
that would constitute an admission of wrongdoing. So, the best Cushing can offer is an apology so broad as to be
meaningless. He says, “I deeply regret and much repent any harm, insult, or
grievance I have caused another human being at any time in my life.”
In this Saturday’s El Paso Times I was glad to learn that
the victim has filed her latest abstract of judgment (as she did in 1998,
despite Cushing’s claims to the contrary) and reported that the amount due the
victim (with interest) is now $800,000.
She deserves every penny, especially considering that she continues to
need surgery to repair the damage she is still suffering from.
And Cushing, the man whom
Cobos and Lozano lauded to the skies and tried so assiduously to protect at
Council, the man who resides firmly in the pocket of Luther Jones, and the man
who has bullied nearly everyone at City Hall, continues to deny he owes Ms.
Salinas anything. And the sorry-excuse-for-a-man
has the gall to say he “closed that chapter” in his life when he married his
wife. Well, you may have closed that
chapter, Bob, but because Ms. Salinas continues to need surgery 30 years later
as a result of your brutality, she cannot.
Oh, and by the way, did your wife close the chapter that included your
breaking into her house and brutally killing her dog?
Promises, Promises
Once the women moved away
from the podium, Council then moved on to public item number two:
2. We would like
to have the Mayor and Council reconsider decisions made regarding the CDBG
funding recommendations for the 31st year due to irregularities that are not
fair to several applicants for these monies.
[Marina Rios, Bacilli Valenzuela, and the San Juan Senior Citizen Center
members]
Basilli Valenzuela said he’d
been to Council for five years, asking for CDBG funding for the San Juan Senior
Center. He said that Wardy promised him
that he would get what he needed if he just asked, but Valenzuela pointed out
that they’re still asking. Furthermore,
he said, the group (who had applied for funding for their center again this
year) was not notified about the meeting where the final decision would be
made.
As an aside, while Mr.
Valenzuela was giving his presentation, Lisa Elizondo, as she so frequently
does, just sat there, her arm propping up her head, staring at her computer
screen. Poor Lisa E.
Lozano
promised that the City would give them a new senior center.
Marina Rios said she had
been trying to get in touch with the mayor and Council but the Mayor never
answered her calls. “So what are you
here for?” she asked. She also said
that a recent notification of a meeting stated that the next meeting would be
Thursday April 26th, and because the date was wrong (Thursday is the
28th, not the 26th, she pointed out), she didn’t know if
the meeting was on Tuesday the 26th or Thursday the 28th.
Joyce Wilson said that the
presentation of the recommendations provided by the CDBG steering committee is
only the first part of the process and Council will review those
recommendations on Tuesday the 26th. She said that because the committee would be
presenting a balanced budget, if Council decided to fund the Senior Center,
then that would mean reworking that budget (and either deleting or decreasing
funding for other projects, I assume).
Wardy restated the old,
un-kept promise that he would “work hard” to get the money for that center.
Cobos, who is very concerned
about his potential for re-election (and the re-election of his partners in
cronyism), promised to work with Lozano to find the money. Although he didn’t say it outright, he
seemed to imply that he was willing to give up some money from his district for
Lozano’s when he said, “I will personally look at projects in my district, look
at the priority, and I wanna work with Rep. Lozano and work with the senior
center…we really have to make exception…we have the ultimate authority.” Okay, District 8, you heard it here.
Lozano said that Cushing has
informed him that he, too, is also willing to stop one of his projects in order
to help fund the center. There you go,
District 2.
Hmmm. These are the same guys who put up an
argument during the San Antonio Alternative Housing Corporation discussion
about killing existing projects to make exceptions and fund others. Guess when it’s election time, they don’t
mind talking out of both sides of their mouths. (Wait a minute…they always
talk out of both sides of their mouths…election or not!)
Representative Paul Escobar,
appearing to throw a little jab at Lozano, said that when he is committed to
making sure a project in his district gets CDBG funding, he shows up to
meetings in order to help the residents lobby for it. Lozano became very irritated and said, “Don’t be negative!” (Hmmm…guess Lozano never bothered to show up
for those meetings).
Although no action was taken
on the item, the San Juan group left thanking Council for their support.
Mass Bid Rigging OR FBI guys, where are you?
Before Council
proceeded with the rest of the meeting, they recessed the Council meeting to
convene the Mass Transit Board meeting.
And, despite the fact that the public is now keenly aware of the bid rigging
attempts (and, in my fantasies, the FBI and the newspaper are, too), Cobos
again was successful in postponing a bid so he could have some “time” to review
the points on the bid:
3. BEST VALUE PROCUREMENT:
Solicitation No.: 2005-167
Security Guard Services-Sun Metro Facilities
Award to: Akal
Security Espanola, NM
Item (s): All
Amount: $826,459.92
(estimated yearly)
Department: Sun Metro
Funds available: 60600001-502212
Funding source: Mass Transit General Revenue Fund
Total award: $2,479,379.76 (estimated)
District (s): All
Action: 05-23
Purchasing and the Mass Transit [Sun
Metro] Departments recommend award as indicated to, "AKAL Security",
this vendor has provided the Best Value Bid, from responsible offerors. The recommended vendor is the highest ranked
bid submitted for the referenced solicitation.
The Review Committee, comprised of City Staff members, reviewed the
bids. This company is the incumbent
provider and their performance has been satisfactory. Their price is 4.7% lower than it was three [3] years ago, when
this contract was initially awarded to them. This is a three [3] year
requirements Contract. Contract will officially commence at 12:01 am, May 20,
2005. (Attachment)
If you recall, dear reader, this is the same company that does the
security work for the Airport. Terry
Lee Scott said that it was a “good company.”
Presi Ortega made a motion to approve and it was seconded by Paul
Escobar.
Cobos, as if on cue, began his barrage of questions that would show the
company in question that he can stall or kill a project if he wants to. Cobos asked about the low bidder, so Byron
Johnson had to come to the podium.
I’m Still Standin’
Johnson, who is the director of Purchasing, frequently has to defend the
way independent committees make decisions on bids, especially when Cobos,
Cushing and Wardy aggressively manipulate points for their friends and campaign
contributors.
This time, when Johnson approached the
podium, I almost gasped aloud (again).
Johnson was on crutches, and I couldn’t help but wonder, “Hmmm…who
could’ve hurt this poor guy? Did
somebody finally resort to mafia-like tactics to make a point?”
Poor Johnson. He looked very vulnerable up there.
He explained that Sun Metro had various criteria, and although there was
indeed a low bidder, Akal Security (the company being recommended by the
committee) beat out the low bidder when it came to overall assessment and
evaluation.
Because there would be a $200,000 difference between the two bidders over
the life of the bid, Cobos said he was “concerned” and wanted to postpone the
item and expressed a desire to give the bid to the low bidder.
Johnson reminded Cobos that this is not a “lowest bidder” award, but
instead a “best value” bid and explained that according to the FTA Procedural
manual, all service bids should be “best value” bids (which are based on the
best overall value the bidder provides the City, so factors other than cost are
considered). He said that the criteria
are created before bids are solicited, there is an independent committee that
reviews and ranks the bids, and the selection is made.
“What I’m looking for,” said Cobos “and I don’t see, is the actual
tabulation.” That’s right, my friends,
in order to manipulate bids, you need to see the points before you can switch
them around. He kept asking for the
individual scores and points and said, “I need that to make an informed
decision!”
Indeed.
He needs that in order to do the old Cobos switcheroo!
The item was postponed until the next
meeting.
Okay FBI guys…here’s another shout out to you! I guess I’ve been too coy in previous columns, so now I’ll be a
little more obvious: FBI PEOPLE! YOU NEED TO INVESTIGATE THIS GUY! As I said before, City Hall insiders have
described Cobos’ infamous act of postponing items in order to shakedown the
companies applying for City work. I
wonder if any of that shakedown money ever makes it to one of Cobos’ 14
companies (some of which that look like they never have been in
operation)?
http://newspapertree.com/view_article.sstg?c=1f0e4198d62147fa
Helloooooo? FBI, where are you?
Lawless Avenues
Almost
immediately after the first bid rig attempt came another. Okay, FBI guys…I mean, really, feel free to step
up and open a file on this guy anytime.
7.
Discussion and action on a resolution that the City Manager be authorized to
sign an Agreement for Consultant Services by and between the CITY OF EL PASO
and AMEC Earth & Environmental, Inc., for a project known as "Sun
Metro Diesel Remediation Project" for a period of three (3) years with an
option to extend for two (2) one year terms in an amount not to exceed EIGHT
HUNDRED THOUSAND AND NO/100 DOLLARS ($800,000.00). (Action 05-27) (Attachment)
Let me take you
down the long road of the bid rigging on this particular bid, dear reader. It was first introduced on January 11, 2005,
when Cushing, a frequent flier on the Crony Express, asked that the item be
postponed after staff recommended awarding it to AMEC (http://www.thestrelz.com/shm/2005_0111.htm). At the next meeting, Cushing postponed the
item a second time, and here’s what I said in those notes:
This
agenda item and Cushing’s action postponing it is a perfect metaphor for this
Council: Let’s ignore the festering
cesspool beneath us while we search for a way to help a crony get a lucrative
contract. Yeah. That’s the ticket!
http://www.thestrelz.com/shm/2005_0118.htm
It was postponed
again the following week amid rumors circulated by certain Councilors that
there was “blackballing” going on. This
time around, the fourth time staff
tried to get it done, Terry Lee Scott explained how AMEC had received the award
and the very independent process that took place by the committee that was
recommending the award. He said that
the committee heard presentations and that the panel listed the top three
companies, with AMEC ranking first, Raba Kisner ranking second, and Viva (owned
by Cobos contributor Peter Felix) ranking third.
Tender is the Bid
Cobos
immediately announced, “This is a very delicate item!” When
Cobos starts talking like this about a proposed contract, you know what’s
coming. “We’re talking about the diesel
fuel under our soil, under Sun Metro, and I think that we need some additional
oversight, and I would like to send this to LRC [Legislative Review Committee]
just so they could review the findings, uh, uh, and you know, there have been
some concerns that maybe some staff has blackballed one of the applicants, and
I’m very concerned about that. Um, and
I think that I am not ready to vote on this today. I think that we need to move it to a committee…that can do a
little investigating.”
Investigating, indeed!
That’s what I’ve been begging the FBI to do for two years!
Lozano, one of the vile trio, quickly seconded Cobos’s motion.
Despite some
interruptions, Terry Cullen-Garney, the Deputy City Attorney, insisted that she
wanted to explain the process to Council.
“We have the A/E [architects and engineers] selection committee, and
under that committee and the way it’s set up,” she explained, “it’s for
qualification and demonstrated competence.
It’s not a legislative function.”
She said that Council could review the selection committee, “but the
actual evaluations of the firms is governed by state statute and our own
particular City ordinance.” In saying
no to Anthony Cobos, Ms. Cullen-Garney was being polite. She has to be. But I don’t. What she was
saying, Tony, is that this has nothing to do with drafting or amending
ordinances, you corrupt master manipulator.
It’s about awarding a contract.
Cobos insisted
that before he can vote on the contract, he wants the awarding committee to
“make a case” for the award to the LRC before they bring it to the City Council
again.
Representative
Cook – not Wardy – stepped up to move this forward. Cook stated that he has “every confidence in staff…we asked them
to make sure the process was fair and equitable. We rejected all the bids several times as I recall, and I think
it ends up sending the wrong message to people who are competing for these
contracts when they in good faith try to put all of their qualifications and
credentials and plans for what they’re gonna do on the table, and then they run
into all kind of roadblocks. It just
sends the wrong message.”
Cook is
absolutely right. When a legitimate
winner in the bid process has to see his/her bid come before Council FOUR
times, there’s a problem. You know what the message Cobos sends is? “We’re anti-business and we’re corrupt.” Cook continued, “I think that we need to at
some point say, ‘Well we trust that staff is doing what we had asked them to
do.’” Cook also pointed out that the
committee was expanded and included City Manager Joyce Wilson.
Cobos demanded
to see the scores, and Alan Schubert, Director for Building, Permits and Inspections,
said Cobos got them in his backup and had to explain the process again.
Desperado
Then Cobos,
realizing that this might be a more difficult task than anticipated, went into
desperation mode. He hurriedly flipped
through the pages of the bid and points tabulation sheets, looking for a way to
stall this bid, too. Cobos wanted to
know if staff had signed off on each recommendation (he wanted to know who on
staff supported each specific firm), and Schubert said that staff doesn’t
normally sign off on each individual recommendation since they’re all sitting
in the same room together.
Shubert again
explained to Cobos how the process works and how the committee unanimously
recommended AMEC.
City Manager
Joyce Wilson, Director of Building, Permits & Inspections Alan Schubert,
and City Engineer Ric Connor, all stated they supported the bid. Because none of them had been around very
long, not one of them could convincingly be said to be guilty of what Cobos
calls a history of “blackballing.”
Even Lisa
Elizondo, who took time out of her game of Solitaire (or emails to her
assistants, asking for help on basic legal questions or whatever it is she does
on that laptop), sat up and took notice, warning Council that the LRC can only
review legislative functions, and that this was not a legislative
function. (Yeah, Lisa, bid rigging
usually isn’t.) She said the only
“legally permissible option” for Council is to throw out all the bids again.
The Rime of the Ancient
Crony
Wardy said he
was comfortable with staff recommendations.
He would be…now. A couple of
months ago, Wardy actively supported Cobos’s
transparent attempt to stall this bid.
But now that he’s being criticized for his past participation in bid
rigging at public mayoral forums, he’s singing a different tune. About the diesel cleanup project, he said,
“It’s been hanging over our head like an albatross for years,” and he asked
Council to award the bid. Um…Joe…the
albatross goes around the neck, not the head (you need to catch up on your Coleridge).
Lozano also did
his part to try to derail this bid and wondered why the bid had to be re-bid at
all. Wilson had to explain that the
contract expired, and you re-bid it when it expires.
Lozano tried to
figure out why Viva (owned by Peter Felix, again, a campaign contributor and
supporter of this crew) wasn’t contracted with again, and Cobos, seeing the
writing on the wall, pulled his motion to send it to an LRC. But he said he would not support this bid.
Cook made a
motion to approve, and voting against it were Cushing, Lozano, Escobar and
Cobos. Wardy had to vote, and, owing
only to the increased scrutiny of Council’s actions in awarding contracts, he
voted to award the bid to the company recommended over and over by staff.
A frustrated Susan Austin
said, “If you all truly believe there are some improprieties in our process,
then put something on the agenda to investigate that department or that
process.” Sorry Susan, your comments
are too little too late. And for old
Tony, the only “irregularities” occur when bids don’t go to his campaign
contributors.
DIM(S) and Dimmer
Wardy asked that the
following item be moved up because DA Jaime Esparza was waiting to be heard:
5M. That the
Mayor be authorized to sign an Interlocal Governmental Agreement between the
City of El Paso and the County of El Paso / District Attorney, 34th Judicial
District of the State of Texas, for services to the City and its Police
Department relating to arrests and prosecution of cases in connection with the
District Attorney's Information Management System and program from September 1,
2004 through August 31, 2005, in an amount not to exceed $380,042.00. Funding Source: General Funds, Account #21010050-01101-502217. [Police Department, Assistant Chief Paul
Cross, (915) 564-7310] [Attachment]
Readers, DIMS is a somewhat oddly entitled
program begun by El Paso County District Attorney Jaime Esparza about ten years
ago. According to his website, it was
implemented to “streamline the efficiency of the arrest and booking process.
The program operates 24 hours a day allowing an Assistant District Attorney and
law enforcement official to interface on a criminal case as it develops.” http://www.epcounty.com/DA/projects.htm
Before Council began
discussing the item, Jim Martinez, a/k/a Jabba, a/k/a El Superstar, said, “I
don’t want to kill the party, but before there’s any substantive discussion of
5M I’d like to take the item into executive session to address Council.”
“With
Mr. Esparza?” asked a clueless Wardy.
El Superstar hesitated
momentarily and then, with a quizzical look and just a hint of condescension,
replied, “No, sir.”
Duh! Hellloooo!
How often do you invite others into your executive sessions, Mr. Joe?
Council retreated into
executive session for almost 15 minutes, and when they came back to rejoin “the
party,” Presi Ortega made a motion to approve and Paul Escobar quickly seconded
the motion. Before they took their
final vote, they allowed Ric Schecter, Sam Snoddy, Police Chief Wiles and
District Attorney Jaime Esparza to speak.
Sam Snoddy is an attorney
working on the federal lawsuit related to the accusations of police brutality
that drove the Courts of Inquiry.
Snoddy said that he was there to ask questions about DIMS. What information, he asked, is the DA
managing on behalf of the City? In
addition, he asked, has Council asked for an Attorney General’s opinion been
requested regarding DIMS?
Cook responded and said that
City Council doesn’t have the authority to request an AG opinion.
Snoddy said that “If you’re
paying out $380,000, why aren’t you requesting that Mr. Esparza request an AG
opinion to the legality of DIMS?”
Snoddy also said that the Police Department and the District Attorney’s
office maintain “a separation of powers” and that DIMS “cuts out a neutral and
detached magistrate in many cases,” and has an impact on people’s lives.
Snoddy also implied that
since he’s begun questioning police activity, police officers have been
stalking the area where he lives. If
that’s true, it’s an outrage.
Chief Wiles pointed out that
the City owes the DA’s office money and, he said, “What we pay for is to have
assistant DAs available 24 hour a day, seven days a week to make decisions on
whether or not an arrestee will be prosecuted for the offense.”
Esparza called this a “great
program,” and explained that when someone is arrested, the prosecutor can
decline or accept the charges. Esparza
said that the PD and DA work together, and even Federal Judge Harry Lee
Hudspeth said there is no “separation of powers” issue.
He said that DIMS “allows
the defendant a low and reasonable bond based on the schedule by the Council of
Judges, we recommend it, the sheriff accepts it as reasonable, and that’s how
we proceed. Period.”
Esparza said that Snoddy
incorrectly stated that a magistrate must set the arrestee’s bond. According to Esparza, the Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure states that a magistrate can set the bond, but that a peace
officer can also set a bond, “and that’s what we rely on…and the peace officer
is the sheriff.” He said that DIMS
helps create a more efficient system, and cases are reviewed “instantaneously.”
Lozano asked if other law
enforcement agencies use DIMS, and Esparza said most do not. Lozano then asked if there are ”magisters”
available 24 hours a day and Esparza said they are not available around the
clock.
A “magister”? Surely, Lozano wasn’t referring to the
classic Herman Hesse novel Magister Ludi. Nah!
Maybe he’s into crazy word hybrids.
Is “magister” a cross between magician and manager? Or is it a magi spinster? Hm.
You gotta love Lozano’s new words.
He, Elizondo and Wardy should get together and, instead of a book club,
create a word club! I can see them now,
sitting cross-legged in Wardy’s living room (lighting the flag, maybe?), makin’
up words. Lisa wouldn’t make them up so
much as use them inappropriately, Wardy wouldn’t be able to move away from his
favorite, “exercise”, and Lozano,
well, that guy would steal the show!
Snoddy came back to the
podium to ask if Council knows how much the savings is, and said the sheriff
opted out of DIMS because it was “not efficient.” Esparza responded by saying he doesn’t know where Snoddy gets his
information, but the sheriff’s department doesn’t use DIMS because it does not
have the appropriate technology.
Esparza also said, “The
argument that you have a right to go to a magistrate immediately is not what
the law says. The law says I have to
get you to a magistrate in 24 hours, and we do that.”
Lozano made a motion to
postpone, and Wardy wanted Council to first vote on the motion to approve made
by Ortega. Elizondo had to step in to
remind Wardy that a motion to postpone (“if it’s seconded,” she added) takes
precedence. Wow. That was the second time in one Council
meeting that Lisa E. actually functioned as a City Attorney. I wonder what inspired her?
Vivian Rojas seconded the
motion to postpone the item for two weeks, but Council voted against postponing
it (the only Councilors voting to postpone were Cushing, Lozano and Rojas).
The
motion to approve passed, and only Lozano and Rojas voted against it.
Finally, at 12:39 in the
afternoon, Council was ready to move on to the consent and regular agenda
items.
More Minutes
Passed on the consent
agenda:
3. APPROVAL
OF MINUTES: [Municipal Clerk, Richarda Duffy Momsen, (915) 541-4127] Approval
of Minutes for Regular City Council Meeting of April 5, 2005.
Bullying Progress
The following two items
should have passed readily, but Cushing did his best to impede progress and the
transfer of power to the City Manager:
26A. 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. [City Manager, Joyce A.
Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915)
541-4550] POSTPONED FROM 03/15/05 [Attachment]
26B. 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. [City Manager, Joyce
A. Wilson, (915) 541-4844 and City Attorney's Office, Elaine Hengen, (915)
541-4550] POSTPONED FROM 03/15/05 [Attachment]
The items would allow the
City Manager to approve temporary and provisional employees, and for some
reason, Cushing was doing everything in his power to prevent our City Manager
from being allowed to take on this responsibility, which would make the City a
bit more efficient.
Cushing announced that the
items had been postponed for legislative review but that he hadn’t gotten
around to it; therefore, he asked that the items be postponed for an additional
two weeks, saying there was nothing “pressing or urgent” about them.
After Cushing asked for his
two weeks, Cobos (his partner in cronyism) put on quite a performance, asking repeatedly
“is that gonna be enough time?” Do you
think they write out these scripts for each other before the meetings? Anyway, taking Cobos’s clue, Cushing asked
for three weeks.
A perplexed Representative
Cook asked who makes regular appointments, and the City Manager explained that
the Department Head or City Manager does.
Cook asked if passing this item would then be consistent with what is
already being done with permanent employees.
Wilson said it would be, and
that currently, provisional and temporary appointments have to go through City
Council. She explained that “these are
one of these things that create time and staff work to process paperwork that
add cost to government.” She said she
had no problem with the delay, but “it’s a pretty mundane task.”
Ultimately, the postponement
passed on the consent agenda. Who needs
progress, anyway?
And this is “Affordable Housing”?
Ray Gilbert was at Council
to comment on the following ordinance introductions, which were a result of the
sale of our land in northeast El Paso by the Public Service Board:
19A. An Ordinance authorizing the City Manager to
sign a Special Warranty Deed conveying to Tropicana Development Inc., land
totaling approximately 117.5 acres of land out of Sections 21 & 22, Block
81, Township 1, Texas and Pacific Railway Company Surveys, El Paso, El Paso
County, Texas, located in Northeast El Paso.
(District 4) [El Paso Water Utilities, Robert D. Andron, (915) 594-5506]
[Attachment]
19B. An Ordinance authorizing the City Manager to
sign a Special Warranty Deed conveying to Tropicana Development Inc., land
totaling approximately 120.7 acres of land out of Section 22, Block 81,
Township 1, Texas and Pacific Railway Company Surveys, El Paso, El Paso County,
Texas, located in Northeast El Paso. (District 4) [El Paso Water Utilities, Robert D. Andron, (915) 594-5506] [Attachment]
19C. An Ordinance authorizing the City Manager to
sign a Special Warranty Deed conveying to EPT Land Assets, LP, Land totaling
approximately 122.2 acres of land out of Section 21, Block 81, Township 1,
Texas and Pacific Railway Company Surveys, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas,
located in Northeast El Paso. (District
4) [El Paso Water Utilities, Robert D.
Andron, (915) 594-5506] [Attachment]
19D. An Ordinance authorizing the City Manager to
sign a Special Warranty Deed conveying to EPT Land Assets, LP, land totaling
approximately 100.5 acres of land out of Section 21, Block 81, Township 1,
Texas and Pacific Railway Company Surveys, El Paso, El Paso County, Texas,
located in Northeast El Paso. (District
4) [El Paso Water Utilities, Robert D.
Andron, (915) 594-5506] [Attachment]
After the items were read
into the record, Gilbert said, “When I look at it…and see the amount of money
that was paid for this property, property set up for our military personnel
basically to provide housing for them, uh, it brings something to my mind and I
would like to ask questions…were there covenants in there requiring that this
property only be used for residential?”
Wardy
said there were covenants, although he couldn’t specify what those were.
“This $31,000 [paid by
Tropicana] per acre is extremely high,” said Gilbert, asking for the appraisal
value. Wardy said the appraisal value
was between $19-21,000 per acre.
Gilbert expressed his
concerns about the high price paid on this land, saying it troubled him because
that land is intended for residential development, not commercial development.
Wardy promised that the area
calls only for residential development, although he mentioned that there will
be a “Town Center” that will be for commercial. John Cook explained that he and the North Hills Neighborhood Pride
Association sat down and told the owners of the property that they specifically
wanted residential with limited commercial.
Bob Andron, the General
Counsel for the Water Utility, explained that there are 17 different covenants which
call for single and multi-family residential with some “neighborhood support
services” like churches, daycares, etc.
Gilbert
seemed appeased.
What concerned me about the
sale price of the land was that the homes would not be what I consider “affordable
homes,” which we were told by the Wardy administration would help the incoming
troops. According to the Bowlings (the
owners and builders who will now control that property), the homes are set to
be in the $90,000 to $200,000 price range (http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005503280302).
That price range doesn’t
sound like it would be very affordable to privates in the army at all.
Public Values?
Wardy said that because the
spokespersons for item 5E had to “catch a plane,” he wanted Council to move the
following item up:
5E. That the
Mayor and City Council approve the Public Art Master Plan, attached as Exhibit
"A", and incorporated for all purposes as set forth verbatim
"the Plan" is hereby approved and adopted as the primary guideline to
be utilized in all public art programs and; That the plan shall be the primary
guideline utilized in determining and appropriating expenditures from the
public art fund; and That City Council authorize the City Manager or her
designee to negotiate with the appropriate parties to allow the City to fund,
implement and participate in the Public Art Master plan. Funding Source: Fund 60650; Dept ID 55260001; Project PPWARD03001. (All Districts) [Arts and Culture, Betty Jaraba, (915) 541-4896] [Attachment]
The consultants who worked
on the project, Gretchen Freeman of the Freeman/Whitehurst Group and Eduardo
Diaz were there to speak. Wardy thanked
them for their patience and said democracy is a “painful process.” Yeah, Mr. Joe, irresponsible cronyism, your
stock in trade, is indeed painful.
Ms. Freeman outlined why public
art is important, discussed the different types of public art, and described
the community input process the consultants went through.
Representative Cook reminded
everyone that it was former City Representative for District 3 Larry Medina’s
idea for the ordinance that calls for using 2% of what is spent on public works
projects with Certificates of Obligation on public art (ooooh…there are those
Luther Jones-created demons, Certificates of Obligation, rearing their ugly
heads! BOO!).
The group was recommending
that the initial projects focus on the main library at Cleveland Square, the
Delta Solid Waste facility, the Sun Metro International Terminal, the Sun Metro
Mesa/UTEP Terminal, the skateboard park (which one, I don’t know), the Fort
Bliss gateway, and the Rio Bosque Wetlands Bridge.
Stuart Mitchell, frequent
visitor to City Council, said that he favored public art, but said he had
questions. “I’ve seen someone call art
a naked woman’s breasts thrust through a canvas, and I wanna know what system
is in place in our city for preserving our community values in the art that we
fund?”
Community values? Whose “community values,” I wondered? ‘Cuz I gotta say, my values sure are
different from those of most of the City Council members and the mayor.
Wardy said that the public
will have input into the projects, and he thinks it’ll be “a real positive exercise for us.”
The
ordinance passed unanimously.
Sports or Pets?
The following was another introduction
of an ordinance that a member of the public wanted to speak on:
19E. An Ordinance authorizing the City Manager to
sign a Contract of Sale and any other necessary documents between the City of
El Paso and the Humane Society of El Paso, Inc. which will allow for the City
to convey property commonly known as 211 and 325 Shelter Place, El Paso, El
Paso County, Texas, including the improvements thereon. (District 3) [Financial and Administrative
Services, Gonzalo Cedillos, (915) 541-4074] [Attachment]
Brian Kennedy (whom Lozano
refers to as “Mr. Brian”…what is he, his kindergarten teacher?) wants the
County to take the property so that the Sports Commission and the Coliseum
could use the property instead. He
asked that the City “stop the process” so that the City could re-evaluate what
the best use of that space is.
Be a Sport, Joe
Folks, we all know that the
Humane Society needs the property, has invested in it, and provides an
important function in El Paso. The
suggestion that the City boot them out of a building they have put money into
for the sports commission is absurd.
Cobos
tried to act shocked by the fact that the property wasn’t put out to bid.
Thankfully, Wardy (and most
Council members except for Lozano, it seemed) wasn’t interested. Wardy told Kennedy that the Humane Society
“comes far ahead of you sports.” He
also said the Humane Society would probably be willing to move to a new
building if the Sports Commission would build it.
Ray Gilbert urged them to
postpone the item, but the introduction to the ordinance was approved and the
ordinance will be back for a public hearing in two weeks.
The Anti-Business Council Strikes Again
Council also allowed public
discussion on the following introduction:
19H. An
Ordinance amending Title 20 (Zoning) of the El Paso Municipal Code, by
adding a defined use at Section 20.02.078 (Animal Crematory) and amending
Sections 20.10.040, 20.38.040, 20.40.040 & 20.42.040 (Uses Permitted By
Special Permit) to provide that such use be permitted by Special Permit in R-F,
C-2, C-3 and C-4 zoning district classifications; and by adding a defined use
at Section 20.02.258 (Crematory) and amending Sections 20.38.040, 20.40.040
& 20.42.040 (Uses Permitted By Special Permit) to provide that such use be
permitted by special permit in C-2, C-3 and C-4 zoning district
classifications. The penalty is as
provided in Chapter 20.68 of the City of El Paso Municipal Code. Applicant/Representative:
Planning, Research & Development Dept., City of El Paso, #2 Civic Center
Plaza, El Paso, TX 79901 (Districts 1-8) [Planning, Research and
Development, Kimberly Forsyth, (915) 541-4631] [Attachment]
Anna Dueñas, President of
the Lower Valley Association and big-time Wardy supporter, said that she has
now collected more than 1,000 signatures of people who are against the
crematorium. She said she wanted to thank
Lozano for bringing the item to their attention.
I gotta tell ya, this whole
issue stinks, and it ain’t the fumes from a crematorium. It’s the stink of NIMBY and political
pandering. These neighborhood folks
were frightened by their representative, who offered no scientific information
to support the fear-mongering. They
helped kill a project that would allow for families to have another alternative
to having their deceased pets dumped in a landfill.
Dueñas thanked the mayor,
Council and the City Manager for approving the ordinance. She used her time at the podium to also give
an update of neighborhood association projects. Wardy finally stopped her and said, “I’m gonna respectfully have
to cut you off.” Ouch. Too bad you didn’t cut her off when she
appeared in your TV commercial, there Joe. (Oops! Didn’t you make a big to-do about not politicizing the
neighborhood associations?)
The
public hearing will be on May 3rd.
Those SOB’s!
The following item caused both
Sid and Stuart Mitchell some heartburn:
20B. Discussion and action regarding the City's
stance on the allowing of contracts for programs, presentations, expos, and
other related venues that are of a sexually-oriented nature in City-owned
facilities, to include the Judson S. Williams III Convention Center, also
referred to as the El Paso Civic Center. [Representative Vivian Rojas, (915)
541-4108 and Representative Jose Alexandro Lozano, (915) 541-4515]
At this moment I fantasizing
that we had a real SOB ordinance—the kind of ordinance that would outlaw SOB’s
like Bob Cushing, Alexandro Lozano, Joe Wardy and Anthony Cobos. But, alas, I had to return to the real world
of El Paso politics and the SOB from District 3.
As soon as the item was read
into the record, Lozano said, “And thank you very much for that, you know, and
basically, is, we had so many calls, and we just wanted to make sure that the
public was informed that due to our SOB ordinance the contract wasn’t able to
be formed, so we’re happy for that, and, and that’s about it, you know, if
there’s any public, you know.”
Municipal Clerk Richarda
Momsen said there were indeed public members signed up to speak.
Stuart Mitchell, a local
activist, seemed irritated by Lozano’s posting of the item and his subsequent
inaction and said, “When I look at this for ‘discussion and action regarding
the City’s stance,’ I assume that you’re gonna sit here and have some
discussion and formulate a stance…and if all we wanna do is make note of the
fact that this contract’s not gonna go through, we’ve wasted a whole lot of
time with people who have come before City Council because they’re concerned
about maintaining the values of this City.”
He asked that Council be “clear on what we put on the City Council
agenda.”
He then talked again about pro