Where the Hell Does City Council Rep. for Dist. 6 Candidate Claudia Ordaz Really Live?
Questions raised if Ordaz Gamed the System? Does Ordaz really live in District 3?
by Carmen Jones and George Billings
Does Claudia Ordaz Live in District 6?
When applying for a place on the
District 6 ballot in May 2014, Claudia Ordaz signed a sworn statement under
oath that she has lived in District 6 for 24 years which legal documents show is
clearly not true.
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| Application for Place on Ballot, Filed May 6, 2014 |
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| On the Ballot Application, Ordaz says she's lived in District 6 for 24 years, yet in a January 2014 HUD Special Warranty Deed (see below) shes lives at another address. |
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| City of El Paso's City Rep./District Search puts Ordaz' supposed David Carrasco address in Dist. 6 |
According to State
Law as well as Local law, Section 2.2 Part A Item 2 of the City
Charter, Candidates for City Representative are required to live in the
district for 6 months preceding the election.
Although one would think the District
6 election began on July 2, 2014 with the start of early voting, a City
employee ”decided” the election was
July 19, 2014 so all legally eligible candidates must have lived in District 6
by January 19, 2014 to comply with the law.
Legal Documents filed in Official
Public Records show that Claudia Ordaz lived in District 3 and did not live in
District 6.
1. A DEED OF TRUST established
that Claudia Ordaz purchased a HUD home located at 11372 David Carrasco Drive on January 17,
2014 in District 6 but did not live in the home (see above).
2. A SPECIAL WARRANTY DEED executed
between a HUD representative and Claudia Ordaz established her residence at
11029 Bob Stone in District 3.
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| Deed of Trust for |
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| Deed of Trust |
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| Special Warranty deed lists Bob Stone |
Furthermore the City Property Tax
Record for 11372 David Carrasco
Drive shows that as of June 24, 2014:
1. Claudia Ordaz is the listed
owner of the 11372 David Carrasco
Drive but her mailing address is still listed as 11029
Bob Stone in District 3. The same is reflected by the Central Appraisal District.
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| City of El Paso's City Rep/District Locator puts 11029 Bob Stone in District 3 |
2. More importantly Claudia Ordaz did not take the homestead exemption on the 11372 David Carrasco Drive property.
Claudia Ordaz would have to live
in the home at 11372 David Carrasco Drive full time to qualify for a homestead
exemption, which would also provide a discount on her property taxes as well as
provide certain protections for the property.
It appears Claudia Ordaz may have
gamed the system, with help from her County Commissioner boyfriend Vince Perez,
to get around election law by using Perez’ address at 649 Londonderry on her
February 2014 Campaign Treasurer filing.
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| County Commissioner Vince Perez is listed to live at this Londonderry address. Is Ordaz using Perez' address to gain the system. |
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| February Appointment of a Campaign Treasurer by Candidate form list Ordaz at the Londonderry address. |
Furthermore Claudia Ordaz is now using
a PO Box as her address on her June 2014 Campaign Finance reports.
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| Ordaz' June 19 Campaign Finance Report uses a PO Box in the 79917 zip code area |
If we want to
stop public corruption in El Paso we must first demand that laws are to be
followed and not merely suggestions or if only convenient, especially a basic
one like election law.
Mayor, City
Council, and City Administration have an obligation to preserve the integrity
of City Government as well as representation for District 6 residents and
should immediately challenge Claudia Ordaz’ eligibility to take office in the
unfortunate event if she wins.
The City is
the filing authority for candidates for City Representatives and is responsible
for certifying residency when a person applies for a place on the ballot.
Claudia Ordaz
is a City Employee and certifying her residency was a simple matter of
verifying her employment records.
Clearly we
need to change the City Charter to require candidates to actually live in the
district for 12 months rather than 6 months preceding the election to prevent
special interests from corrupting District Representation by stacking the
ballot with their candidates.
