Is Steve Ortega Holding Office Improperly?
Comparisons to Socorro Corruption
Editorial
El Paso has Single Member District Representation, which requires City Representatives to reside
full time in the District voters elected them to represent for their entire term in office.
Recently
blogger David K publically disclosed on his blog, what apparently many people
already knew that Steve Ortega moved out
of District 7 into District 1 with his spouse near the Kern area quite some
time ago – apparently around September 2012.
Ortega
has an apartment address in District 7 and questions have arisen whether he is using that address to game the system
to stay in office?
Why should you care?
There are many reasons here are 3:
- An elected
official should never be allowed
to circumvent laws or regulations. Otherwise, isn’t that basically the
definition of corruption?
- A representative
holding office improperly, such
as by not living in the District they were elected to represent, has serious implications for contracts,
financial decisions, and close votes.
Votes may be invalid, including those votes to authorize debt,
expenditures, and enter into contracts.
How much debt and expenditures have been
authorized? How many contracts has the City Council voted upon?
- Single-Member
District Representation was put in place because of
Misinformed? Indifferent
to District 7 Residents? Covering for Ortega?
Members
of the public reported to DIEP that they have reported questioning local
newspapers and local TV news about the lack
of reporting holding Ortega accountable. A few members in the media are apparently aware that Ortega allegedly
moved out of District 7 and lives in District 1.
The
local media gave several responses to the public and these responses have given
rise to allegations of a cover up. The same problem occurred a few years ago in
the removal of a District 8 Representative so why not report now? The responses
reported were disturbingly inaccurate including:
- During the year
when the District boundaries are being redrawn, the regulations for representation
of a District do not apply
.
- The City Attorney waived the residency requirement.
- Representatives only have to live in
their District 6 months before running.
- A Representative does not have to live
in their District for the last 6 months of their term.
What do
the Authorities say?
DIEP called call the Texas Secretary of State’s Office and spoke
to an attorney. Also, DIEP called the Department of Justice to ask of requirements of Single Member District
Representation.
Here
is a combined summary:
1. Single-Member District Representatives are required to live full
time within their District boundaries to be eligible to run and if elected must reside full time within the District
boundaries for their entire term.
2.
If a representative moves out of the district that elected him/her to represent
them, then the representative is required
to resign immediately.
3. A City Attorney has no
authority to waive Single Member District requirements.
4. The City Charter only
further defines residency in a district as someone who has lived in the
District full time for at least 6 months prior to running for the office.
5. The City Charter does
not waive Single Member District requirements for continued full-time residence
in the District for the entire term.
6. Single-member district regulations
always apply regardless of redistricting.
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| Photo from "We the People of El Paso" Facebook site |
The only exception
is if a new approved redistricting map
redraws boundaries such that the Representative’s
current home is "drawn out" of their District during
redistricting.
In this case, the representative is allowed to complete the
remainder of their term if they continue to reside in their current precinct or
should they choose, relocate back into the new district boundaries.
A representative may not run for re-election for the district unless
they move back into the new district boundaries. If they chose not to relocate, then they may
run for the office of the district they live in if th
