I reckon the local oligarchs really got their hooks into the El Paso Times.
Yesterday the El Paso Times had a front page report on the Mayor’s race, and on the Editorial page, the Times endorsed Margo.
Much of the Times coverage conveyed pique at Oscar Leeser not returning a questionnaire to the Times.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
All of the three editors who ran the Times since Mayor Margo was elected have been critical of the mayor. But still Margo got the Times’ endorsement.
Remember?
Remember when Mayor Margo sent the riot cops down to arrest the protestors in Duranguito?
Remember when Mayor Margo used his private email to negotiate with J.P. Bryan about the lawsuit over Duranguito? Remember that Mayor Margo invited Woody Hunt to join the negotiations?
Remember when Mayor Margo advocated reimbursing City Manager Tommy Gonzalez’s legal fees for an ethics violation hearing, even though Mr. Gonzalez was found to be at fault? Mr. Gonzalez got reimbursed for his legal fees.
Remember when Mayor Margo had Jud Burgess arrested at a City Council meeting?
Remember when Mayor Margo and City Council blessed City Attorney Sylvia Borunda Firth with a golden parachute after she got fired resigned retired got fired resigned retired?
Those are just some of the scandals that we know about for sure. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, and City Council runs to Executive Session at the flimsiest excuse.
Remember this summer, El Paso Times Editor Tim Archuleta suggested that the El Paso Times might not offer candidate endorsements anymore?
It’s hard to believe that Mr. Archuleta felt so strongly about Dee Margo continuing as mayor that he rushed into that burning house.
Now look at this:
That is the front page of Monday’s El Paso Times.
Except it’s not like any other Monday front page of the El Paso Times for the last six months, maybe a year. Maybe ever. That’s a Sunday front page. That’s a Sunday feature.
What it looks like, to me and Dr. Watson, is that the Times pulled that Sunday feature to run that tepid story on the mayoral election and that weak endorsement of Mayor Margo. And they bumped the Sunday feature story to Monday.
Do you suppose they did that at Mr. Archuleta’s initiative?
Me neither.
I don’t blame Mr. Archuleta. Not everyone can afford principles. Life can be expensive. If you want to play in the oligarch’s sand box, you have to play by the oligarch’s rules.
I bet Mr. Archuleta has already sent out his resume.
I know I promised to play nice with the El Paso Times, but I can only go so far.
Thanks for the reminders.
My dad had a colorful term for local governments that behaved like El Paso’s. He called them shit house aristocracies. That term was usually reserved for Chicago politics but I think our local politicos could show Chicago a thing or two about the shit house. Plato intentionally left shit house aristocracy out of his description of the political regimes. He couldn’t imagine that a group of half bright, avaricious, malevolent rubes could be consistently re-elected by the citizens that they clearly have contempt for. What are the chances of that happening? Clearly, Plato has never been to El Paso.
El Paso’s long, long history of general voter apathy has brought us this government that we deserve. Too many of our fellow citizens have failed to exercise their civic duty for lo, these many years, and frankly, I have no idea what could turn this around.
John; I would say the 40,000+ votes received by Ms. Carbajal is the beginning of a turnaround. I voted for her, not because I’m on board with the racist La Raza crap, but because she was the only candidate with a solution to the arena problem, an environmental agenda and who basically said GFY to the shit house aristocrats.
Margo and Leeser represent the last of the Old Guard; Leeser less so. A new activist generation is arising now. They are educated, well organized, communicate via social media, have a sometimes radical left wing agenda obsessed with “equity” and “social justice (read that as, “You’re done taking our money and giving it to the rich; now we’re coming for your money.” )
They are not their parents’ apathetic generation.
Racist La Raza? What. Are you that stupid?
I, too, voted for her, and a fat lot of good it did us, huh? I hope your description of what is to come is closer to the reality because, as an old man, I am also very tired of rich men taking our tax dollars for their bright shinies, and leaving those in need, in need.
The turnout so far in the runoff for mayor and two city reps is sadly not surprising…31,000 as of Sunday. 48,000 would be ten percent of registered voters…is the turnout so low because everyone just loves Dee, or????
Apathy, as I said. I doubt that Dee is getting many of those few votes cast.
Jerry K is a Racist. He used to hang out at that blog, “Refuse the Juice.” A VERY Right Winger who would constantly run his pie hole mouth. Jerky K wouldn’t know squat about La Raza other than it doesn’t fit his idea that “Mexicans” should go sit in the back of the bus. He’d boast about drinking margaritas at El Farol in Santa Fe. I could go on, but I was kinda surprised to see Jerky K hanging out here. IN regards to the El Paso Times, I guess Archuleta found a horse’s head in his bed and “saw the light.” I was going to say a dead Chihuahua, but that wouldn’t fit Paul Foster’s and Alejandra de la Vega’s agenda. Leeser is from Chihuahua, while de la Vega and all her family (except for Don Pabo) is from Juarez and tight with the Governor of Chihuahua. Margo is the guy who snaps his fingers at the wait staff. Married the boss’ daughter. Moved here from Oklahoma and “re-invented” himself. Calls Hispanics “Abnormal.” Refers to the only Jewish City Council member as “Gestapo Tactics.” Unfortunately, Leeser is the Lesser of the 2 evils….meanwhile, the brain drain continues.