Mayor Dee Margo and County Judge Ricardo Samaniego are battling it out over local government’s response to El Paso’s soaring COVID rates. From KVIA:
El Paso Mayor Dee Margo, speaking at a news conference Thursday afternoon, publicly aired grievances with County Judge Ricardo Samaniego over his shutdown order to battle Covid-19.
. . .
“The biggest frustration for me personally” is not being informed and “Judge Samaniego has yet to reach out,” the mayor professed in a statement that was immediately disputed by the judge.
Samaniego, in a text to ABC-7, said he was going to attempt to call into the virtual news conference “to challenge the mayor on reaching out to me.”
The judge later told reporters that city staff blocked his call. Margo contended “we did invite him to be here” at this news conference.
So who will you believe? Mayor Dee “Hold the Line on Taxes” Margo? Or County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, who, as far as we know, hasn’t lied to us yet?
Margo spent much of his remarks talking about the harm to small businesses in the community that would be done by a prolonged economic shut down.
“What is the county’s plan for economic recovery?” Margo asked, in what appeared to be a question publicly directed at Samaniego.
Does the City have a plan for economic recovery? They’re spending all the CARES funds on real estate acquisition.
Mayor Margo’s plan for economic recovery appears to be to let a lot of people die.
First blush? Hell, even after long reflection, I don’t believe much of anything that comes from the Mayor’s office. For that matter, I lost hope, faith, trust, and a lot of interest in matters having to do with the City of El Paso along about the time that guitar picker from NE gave away the entire town, lock, stock, kit and caboodle. Our elected leaders care nothing for the rest of us, and their actions make that point every damn day (see City attorney’s latest kerfuffle with her kid’s Birthday Party). The County Commissioners Court does seem to care, but since they supposedly only have jurisdiction outside the city limits, they are pretty much ignored. Maybe the County Judge needs to take over.
Leaving aside the question of who is lying, maybe the verdict is “a pox on both their houses.” The County Judge has issued an order that includes the effective closure of all local small business unless it is a booze shop, while allowing the “big box” stores to not only stay open but to sell goods in competition with the closed small stores. We KNOW that the big stores are sources of infection. Samaniego did not offer ANY evidence as to the danger of going into a small store under safety protocols such as wearing a mask, reduced occupancy, etc. Why is it dangerous for me to go to a small store and buy a sweater but I can go into Walmart with dozens of other people and buy a sweater no problem? Something is very wrong here. Do we require any evidence of clear thinking from our officials wielding power over us?
As the old Econ profs used to say, “Correlation is not causality.” A lot of people with COVID might have been to big box stores because a lot people go to big box stores.
How about some robust contact tracing? Oh yeah, the City doesn’t have any money for contact tracing because we spent all our CARES money buying real estate.
I agree with you, Ms. Marshall, that all the proposed solutions for our crisis are falling far short. But give me 24 hours notice before you shutter the liquor stores.
Re picture:
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer doppelganger?
(sorry to be mean; I am fed up with the mayor)
You can see the unedited version of this photo (unedited by me, at least) here:
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/complaint-made-against-mayor-dee-margo-filed
Rich, Totally Unrelated, but any thoughts on Juan “El Cabron,” and his “Golden Parachute” courtesy of the hard working TaxPAYERS of El Paso? Seems like only yesterday he was an attorney in Austin, then Doris FennenBucks elevated him to be her Chief Lap Dog? A guy with Zero Experience running the El Paso Independent School District or ANY School District for that matter. He was basically “learning” on the job…..now he’s getting $558,000 to go away? I was always peeved that this ass kisser was using his own personal credit card for expenses, then reimbursed by the TaxPAYERS. I am not a betting man but I would bet you that “El Cabron” was probably utilizing a PERSONAL credit card that gave him $$$ for his purchases. Or at least Air Travel Miles. I still remember he could only fly First Class on his numerous “business” trips….so no Southwest Airlines for this dude. If El Paso was run more efficiently, EPISD would have issued him a Corporate AMEX card with travel miles or money to be returned to EPISD—Not Cabronera!