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| Above, Yesterday, El Paso District Attorney announces investigation into Southwest University Park baseball stadium Open Meeting Act Violations. |
El Paso D.A. Jaime Esparza Requests Texas Rangers Investigate Baseball Stadium
Open Meetings Act Violations
Current and Former City Council members Cortney Niland, Michael Noe, Suzie Byrd, Steve Ortega, Ann Morgan Lilly to be Investigated
by Satira Sinverquenza
Associated Mess
In a press conference Friday afternoon, El Paso District
Attorney Jaime Esparza announced that he has asked the Texas Rangers to investigate
what he think are Texas Open Meetings Act violations during the baseball
stadium push by El Paso City Council back in 2012. He also announced the formation of the White Crime
Unit in his office.
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| Above, former City Council representative Steve Ortega and former City Manager Joyce Wilson conspire to violate the Texas Open Records Act and run a "Walking Quorum." |
Although the violations go back to 2012, Esparza is optimistic that an investigation will find violations. Email disclosed to the public via www.chucoleaks.org, showed multiple actions by the named city council member to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act and maintain a walking quorum.
A “walking quorum” is a series of gatherings among separate
groups of members of a governmental body, each less than quorum size, who
agree, tacitly or explicitly, to act uniformly in sufficient number to reach a
quorum.
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| City Rep. Cortney Niland emails stadium supporter Rick Harrow in which she sets up a "Walking Quorum." |
DA Esparza’s sudden interest in public corruption has pleased
many open government advocates in El Paso like City Attorney Silvia Firth and
former City Manager and supervillain Joyce Wilson.
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| Above, Steve Ortega in this email says he "has the votes" implying the City Council had done a secret vote. Reps. Niland, Noe, Acosta, Byrd, Lilly would eventually vote for the baseball stadium. |
Recently escaped from Arkam Asylum, and speaking from her office at El Paso’s Workforce Solutions Upper Rio Grande, where her position was
conveniently set up for her after she was rejected as a city manager candidate
from several cities, Joyce Wilson said she is proud of Jaime Esparza but has her doubts due to Esparza's record of investigating public corruption.
“I hope he looks into my dealing facilitating these violation
of the Open Meetings Act back in 2012,” say Wilson. “What does a villain have to do to get
caught in this down? This town deserves a better class of criminals and I'm going to give it to them."
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| Above, Former El Paso City Manager Joyce Wilson at Texas Workforce, who recently escaped from Arkam Asylum, doubts Esparza's crime-fighting abilities. |
Esparza deflected criticism that he has been soft of political corruption, but did admit he had not been as aggressive with Open Meeting Act violations by former and current city representatives Ortega, Lilly, Byrd, Niland, and Noe.
When asked why he did not ask the Texas Rangers to investigate City Council member in 2012 when with the baseball stadium, Esparza admitted that the baseball issue concerned the rich and powerful in El Paso and the recent scandal involves the poor and people of color.
"This will not happen again in El Paso," said the D.A., "Because I'm the hero El Paso deserves, but not the one it needs right now."
To help his office learn of political corruption and Texas Open Meetings Act violations, Esparza proposed a search light be illuminated on top of the city hall building to call him to investigate corruption.
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| Above, EPPD pose with "Corruption Signal" which will alert El Paso D.A. Esparza to City Council corruption |
Should citizens feel the El Paso City Council is violating the Open Meeting Act or Rep. Claudia Ordaz is receiving phone texts from County Commission Vince Perez during City Council meetings, or she is not living in the district she represents, they can go atop the City Hall building and light the "Corruption Signal."
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| Above, "Corruption Signal" as it will appear illuminated in El Paso's night sky (Photo Courtesy the District Attorney Office.) |
