by Max Grossman
Elisa S. Perez of El Paso Matters independently obtained records of City Council gas card usage going back to September 2019 and published a report showing that Rep. Cassandra Hernandez and former Rep. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez purchased significantly more gas than their colleagues and over a longer period of time than previously known.
Perez does an excellent job of summarizing what we know so far and states certain key points that have been overlooked by the other media, such as the fact that Rodriguez purchased both regular and supreme unleaded, that she purchased gas five times out of town in less than three years in office, and that she claimed she had never spoken to Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon when in fact he verbally admonished her for filling up her tank in Pecos in 2020.
Hernandez’s gas card was used to purchase $13,330 of gasoline since September 2019, representing 35% of all gas purchased by the Mayor and City Council in that period.
Video footage confirms that her husband Jeremy Jordan filled up his own gas tank several times.
What I like most about Perez’s report is that she cites the key lies told by Hernandez and Rodriguez and emphasizes that neither has expressed any remorse.
What is missing is any mention of Rep. Brian Kennedy’s primary role in the investigation of gas card usage as Chair of the Financial Oversight and Audit Committee (FOAC).
Please take the time to read Perez’s report in its entirety.