Heather Wilson, O’Rourke, and El Paso's Conservative Oligarchs: The Left Gets Bit in the Ass

Heather Wilson, O’Rourke, and El Paso's Conservative Oligarchs: The Left Gets Bit in the Ass

In Game of Thrones, it seems that the ultimate insult was to kill your family and have you eat their remains unbeknownst.

Heather Wilson. Beto O'Rourke. El Paso is seeing sad times.

This seems to be the problem with the Left in El Paso.

I first wrote about this in my posting “Looking the Other Way: The O'Rourke-Sanders Displacement and Clarence Thomas: Displacement as a Local and International Issue” way back in 2012.

This was meant to be an attack on immigration advocates in El Paso, many who were supporters of Beto O’Rourke.

My point was that many immigrants live in South El Paso, and many poor Mexicans live in the Lomas de Peleo area near the Mexican side of Anapra, New Mexico.

These were the areas being affected. This is where people were  being forced off their land. This was O’Rourke’s selling out Segundo Barrio.

Then there was the exposed connection with the violence perpetrated on the residents of Lomas de Poleo in Mexico. 

This was connected to many of the deals the O’Rourke’s father-in-law and the oligarchs in Cd. Juarez were hatching.

To be true immigrant advocates, the Left needs to be more than advocates in the immigration reform realm.

We need to be advocates in all realms concerning immigrants: wages, housing, woman’s issues, LGBTQ issues, and specifically when they face displacement by Beto O’Rourke and his Republican allies. 

Once immigrants are in the United States, we cannot just abandon them to become victims of rich elites.

So what of the Left in El Paso? They seem like a snake that eats its own tail. They shoot themselves in the foot. I write this soul searching because I'm a member of the Left.

Looking at Facebook and seeing the intense movement by the Left by UTEP professors and students as well as community groups, many just a few months ago were actively supporting Beto O’Rourke.

Now their hero is running for president of the United States, and he is silent on the appointment of Heather Wilson to the UTEP presidency. Will O'Rourke bite the hands that feed him. He did not when it came to housing for military families, so probably not.

For many of us who have fought O’Rourke and the White Elites in El Paso for years, we saw the connection years ago. 

Yes, O’Rourke and Heather Wilson are connected. If you can’t connect the dots, you need to do your homework.

We will cut you a break for your actions during the Texas Senate race. Yes, why would one vote for Ted Cruz? Or maybe you were just towing the Democratic Party line.

However, for people of color, we are often placed in this situation. One of choosing the lessor of two evils.

For the UTEP presidential search committee, it was stacked with Borderplex Alliance members. At one point the only person of color was the Student Government president. Two of the search committee members are O’Rourkes biggest contributors while on city council and in Congress. For one, O'Rourke is the largest recipient of contributions from one of them.

Members of El Paso Oligarch: Paul Foster (left) and Woody Hunt (right). O'Rourke is the largest recipient of contributions from Hunt Corporation, which has been accused of building substandard military housing.

 

Above: Paul Foster and Rep. Veronica Escobar celebrate victory.

What can we say? Is it a “reap what you sow”? Or “chickens come home to roost” for El Paso’s Left?

The road toward the Right in El Paso is being paved with the bones of the victims of El Paso’s elite.

We are at dinner and the victims of O’Rourke and his conservative allies are being fed to us — and all we can say is, “That’s a good pie.”

"All Studies in Last 20 Years Choose Union Plaza for Arena": LIE!

 

Surely the City of El Paso is Lying

City of El Paso Lie #2: All Studies in Last 20 Years Choose Union Plaza for Arena 
Research DeBunks City of El Paso's Claims

Paso del Sur Posted This on Facebook. Great research and historical incite on how the City of El Paso Lies:


THE CITY LIES AGAIN!
FALSE: THE CITY'S CLAIM THAT ALL THE STUDIES IN THE LAST 20 YEARS CONCLUDE THAT DURANGUITO IS THE BEST SPOT FOR AN ARENA!

"Don't call me Sherly," says Paso del Sur

It is absolutely not true that 20 years of City-funded studies unanimously concluded that the sports arena must go in Union Plaza/Barrio Duranguito, as City staff and politicos have repeatedly told the press and the public. Of all the falsehoods they've told thus far, this is one of the biggest ones! (See poster below used at the City's "public outreach meetings."). In fact, only 1 of 5 Studies, the Paso del Norte Group Study of 2006, singled out Duranguito/Union Plaza as the supposed "best" location for an arena. One City-funded study recommended that Union Plaza/Duranguito be declared an historic district and be protected from the kind of massive demolition the arena project envisions.
The City has cited four reports as evidence that Duranguito is "the overall best location" for the sports arena (let's start calling it what it actually is). Here are the relevant facts from each of the four studies:
C.H. Johnson Consulting (2001):
After considering several options, the firm concludes that "the best location for a new sports complex and soccer stadium in El Paso is at the [County] Fairgrounds." (p. 69) Another “compelling site,” the 2001 study concluded, was “Cohen Stadium, owned by the City of El Paso.” The study found this to be a good location because of “the required amount of land adjacent to Cohen Stadium for an arena and shared parking” as well as easy access to the Patriot freeway.
To read the 2001 study: https://www.elpasotexas.gov/…/aren…/2001%20mpc%20study.ashx…


City of El Paso and the Paso del Norte Group Foundation, "Downtown 2015 Plan" (2006):
This study analyzes only two potential sites, the Airport and Union Plaza. It recommends building the arena in the Union Plaza (Duranguito) neighborhood. (pp. 58, 112). The PDNG group was a semi-secretive organization led by several highly-influential binational developers, contractors and real estate speculators including Paul Foster, William Sanders, Woody Hunt, Dee Margo and Alejandra de la Vega that later morphed into the Borderplex Alliance. It received about a quarter million dollars from the City of El Paso to create a plan that envisioned the demolition of 127.5 acres of downtown, South El Paso, and Union Plaza with the threat of eminent domain.
(https://www.elpasotexas.gov/…/aren…/2006%20mpc%20study.ashx…)


City of El Paso, Texas Comprehensive Plan (2012):
This study considers four possible arena sites (p. 181). The Union Plaza site is among the options cited but there are reservations because the project "would remove blocks of existing infrastructure and building fabric." There is no specific recommendation for the arena location.
(https://www.elpasotexas.gov/…/aren…/2012%20mpc%20study.ashx…)

Master Planning Report (2015):
This study recommends proceeding with the construction of a "Multi-Purpose Cultural and Performing Arts Center" (note the new nomenclature) but does not cite a specific location within downtown.
In summary, three of the four studies more or less recommend locating the sports arena in downtown; but only one, the 2006 Paso del Norte Group study, specifically recommends placing the arena in the Union Plaza neighborhood. Of course, that study considered only two possible locations, and several of its authors stood to benefit financially from the project--not exactly an objective and impartial analysis.
Note: The majority of the land speculator owners of Barrio Duranguito properties who are eager to sell to the city are members of the PDNG/Borderplex Alliance, including Alejo Restrepo, Dr. Roberto Nassim Assael, Woody Hunt (as well as Hunt's son-in-law, bank executive Peter Spier). The PDNG members who own the majority of the buildings in the "footprint area," began buying their properties at the time PDNG targeted Duranguito for the arena. Woody Hunt and Peter Spier closed the deal on their property three weeks before the City voted unanimously in October 2016 to build the arena in Duranguito.
(https://www.elpasotexas.gov/…/hks%20presentation%20-%20publ…)

The Union Plaza Downtown El Paso Development Archeological Project (1998):
The one study within the previous two decades that the City Manager’s report conveniently ignores is the 1998 City-funded survey "The Union Plaza Downtown El Paso Development Archeological Project." This study recommended that Union Plaza/Barrio Duranguito be designated an historic district and thus protected from mass demolition. It was commissioned by the City of El Paso for the Sun Metro Transit Authority and it was carried out by a team of experts led by John A. Peterson, Stephen Mbutu, and Mark D. Willis. The survey found a great number of historic buildings within the demolition zone. Their findings directly contradict City Attorney Silvia Firth's initial public declarations that there is nothing historic there at all.
To read the 1998 City-funded survey:
http://www.elpasohistory.com/…/uploads/2016/10/079-2000-001…

All of this information definitively contradicts the City’s false assertion that every single study in the last 20 years found that Barrio Duranguito is the best place to build an arena. Perhaps the City Manager and City Attorney were just hoping we never bothered to read those studies.
Of course, the City has failed to carry out any studies that take into consideration other issues beyond financial ones. Most importantly, those related to building an arena in a place that violates the civil and human rights of more than a hundred mostly elderly, lower-income residents who will be displaced by the arena. It has done no medical study of the impact of displacement on the residents' health, for example. Previous studies have consistently shown that forced removal significantly increases mortality rates, especially among the elderly who are forcibly kicked out of their homes. But that's another issue we'll deal with in other posts.
EL PASOANS DESERVE THE TRUTH, NOT MISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA!

55% of Steve Ortega’s Campaign Donations came Paso del Norte Group and Associates

Steve Ortega: Doughboy of the PDNG
55% of Steve Ortega’s Campaign Donations came from PDNG Members and their Associates
38% came from the 13 PDNG contributors

by Jerry

The Baker’s Dozen
 

Editors Note: We previously analyzed Steve Ortega’s financial reports in 21% of Steve Ortega’s Campaign Donations came from 6 Paso del Norte Group/Borderplex Alliance (PDNG) Special Interests. Since Ortega later amended his 8-day financial report and it was notoriously hard to read, we had to reanalyze it.

Update (06/02/130): The agenda for the Tuesday, June 6 City Council meeting lists that Ortega received $5,000 from Bill Sanders (for a total of $17,000), $5,000 from Rick Francis, $5000 from Charles Jordan, $1500 from Bill Burton, Jack Chapman $1500

 

38% or $105,659.88 of Steve Ortega’s $276,914.40** in total campaign donations came from the following 13 PDNG Members and their associates (see chart above).

 

1.    The owners and relatives of 500 W Overland donated $15,659.88. They also happen to have a contract with the City. 

 

Coincidentally the 500 W Overland tenants include Steve Ortega’s Campaign Headquarters, Steve Ortega’s PR group, The El Paso Times, and Beto O’Rourke’s Stanton Street Technology Group.

 

2. The William “Bill” Sanders and O’Rourke Clan plus employees donated $12,500. Sanders owns the Wells Fargo building through the Borderplex REIT. He is currently leasing space to the City for the Tax Department and the Finance Department because the Finance Department did not fit in the new City Hall. It does not appear that either lease went out to competitive bid.

 

3.  Hunt family and Hunt employees donated $10,100. The Stadium-MountainStar.

 

4.  J Kirk Robinson of Pizza Properties donated $8,000

 

5.   Robert Brown of Brownco Capital, Inc. and Brown Ranch donated $8,000

 

6.   Paul Foster and a Western Refinery employee donated $7,500. The Stadium-MountainStar.

 

7.   Rick Francis family of WestStar Bank donated $7500

 

8.   Robert Hoy family Hoy-Fox Automotive donated $7000

 

9     Dan Longoria of Mattress Firm donated $6900

 

10   Harold Hahn of Rocky Mountain Mortgage donated $6,500. County records show Rocky Mountain Mortgage wrote a mortgage for Steve Ortega for a property he purchased.

 

11.   Ted Houghton of the TxDOT Commission and Toll Road fame donated $6,000

 

12.  JA Cardwell of C&R Distributing donated $5,000. C&R has had contracts with the City.

 

13. Jonathan Abrams of JD Abrams donated $5,000. JD Abrams is the contractor that built part of the Loop extension.

 

The pie charts below show the break down of total campaign donations by interest group

 

(See pie chart above)

 

55% or $152,254.90 from Paso Del Norte Group Members (PDNG) and their Associates which includes those named above (38% or $105,659.88 of the Paso Del Norte Group Members (PDNG) and Associates contributions are from the 13 interests above)

6% or $15,250 from PACs and Companies

1% or $3325 from Family and Friends

7% or $19,700 from Builders and City Contractors excluding PDNG donors

7% or $18,150 from Out of Towners

Only 25% or $63,234.50 was donated from the “Average Citizen,” less than received by other Mayoral candidates

 

** Note: Total campaign contributions are based on line item calculation of contributions which as noted does not match reported summary totals.

 

El Paso Media’s “Unique Situation” is with Steve Ortega not Oscar Leeser

El Paso Media’s “Unique Situation” is with Steve Ortega not Oscar Leeser

Are Bob Moore and the El Paso Times trying to swing the Mayoral election for Ortega and extort advertising dollars from Mr Leeser?

 

By Eddie Torreal
 

In the latest and most pathetic attempt to apparently swing the Mayoral election for Ortega and retaliate against Mr. Leeser the El Paso Times and Kevin Lovell of KVIA would like you to think there is a “problem”.

http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_23253174/el-paso-media-face-unique-situation-oscar-leeser

 

Funny thing is neither Bob Moore or Kevin Lovell  have admitted this problem with Beto O’Rourke and his mother who spends big bucks advertising her furniture store in both the El Paso Times and on KVIA.
 

Many of Ortega’s big financial supporters such as Hoy-Fox Auto, Rick Francis of Westar Bank, Hunt, Paul Foster of Western Refinery, and Beto’s mom are also major advertisers who may also be “unhappy” if their financial investment and candidate, Ortega, is not promoted.

 

Then there is Del Sol Medical Center another major advertiser, who happens to employ Ortega’s spouse as their Chief Operating Officer, and recently received multiple city contracts, who may also be “unhappy” if their boy loses.

 

And let’s not forget the El Paso Times’ landlord has the biggest financial stake in Ortega. Can anyone say rent increase?

 

Furthermore many advocates of ethics in journalism have question the Times coverage of the stadium scandal, the demolition of City Hall, and the purchasing of the El Paso Times building by the city. National Public Radio (NPR) frequently reads disclosures on stories on individuals who may be underwriters to NPR. It’s been said the Times should have run a disclosure at the top of their stories regarding the stadium scandal that read: “Disclosure: El Paso Times is currently selling it building to the City of El Paso to replace city hall.”

 

It would seem Ortega presents the bigger problem because there are so many more advertisers financially invested in him who seem desperate to keep him in office.

Considering what has not been reported about Ortega and his conflicts of interest during his entire tenure on City Council it would seem neither Bob Moore nor his staff  know the meaning of  “thorough, accurate, and fair news reporting” much less journalistic integrity.

 

Before you listen to Bob Moore you should ask him why he has not required Steve Ortega to turn over all his personal emails in which he conducted City business before giving a blind endorsement.

 

If the advertising and journalism functions at the El Paso Times are really separate then why is this even a story and why would Bob Moore even know about Mr. Leeser’s advertising activity?

Kudos to Mr Leeser for his honesty, integrity, and finding better investments in El Paso than Bob Moore and the El Paso Slimes.

21% of Steve Ortega’s Campaign Donations came from 6 PDNG Special Interests

 

21% of Steve Ortega’s Campaign Donations came from 6 Paso del Norte Group/Borderplex Alliance Special Interests

Apparently Steve Ortega is the Sweetheart of the PDNG 6. Who says campaign donations don’t influence votes?

UPDATED: 3:34PM
by Jerry


21% or $51,759.88 of Steve Ortega’s total campaign donations came from the following 6 Paso del Norte Group (PDNG a.k.a. Borderplex Alliance) special interests.

We mention employees because aside from getting their spouses and children to “contribute,” the oligarchs often do the same with their employees to spread the money.

 

1.    6.4% or $15,659.88 of Steve Ortega’s total campaign donations came from the owners and relatives of 500 W Overland, who also happen to have a contract with the City. 

Coincidentally the 500 W Overland tenants include Steve Ortega’s Campaign Headquarters, Steve Ortega’s PR group The El Paso Times, and Beto O’Rourke’s Stanton Street Technology Group.

2. The William “Bill” Sanders and O’Rourke Clan plus employees donated $8,500 or 3.5%.

 

 

 

3.  Woody and Josh Hunt and Hunt employees donated $7,600 or 3.1 %

 

4.  Paul Foster and a Western Refinery employee donated $7,500 or 3%

 

5.  Harold Hahn of Rocky Mountain Mortgage donated $6,500 or 2.6%

 

6.  Ted Houghton of the TxDOT Commission and Toll Road fame donated $6,000 or 2.4%*

 

The pie chart below shows the break down of total campaign donations by interest group

CLICK TO ENLARGE
Steve Ortega Donor Breakdown

 

50% or $120,454.90 PDNG and their Associates which includes those named above

7 % or $18,250 PACs and Companies

1% or $3,125 Family and Friends

8% or $19,600 Builders and City Contractors excluding PDNG donors

7% or $18,300 Out of Towners

Only 27% or $67,384.50 was donated from the “Average Citizen”, less than received by other Mayoral candidates.

* Note that $5,000 of Ted Houghton's donation is not listed in Ortega's 8-day before election report or prior reports. This information is listed on the City Council agenda for April 30, 2013.

City and State Takeover of School District

City and State Takeover of School District

 

The dilemma of El Paso Independent School District is great.

 

How does one measure the harm done to students in the cheating scandal to city and state takeover of school districts robbing people of color of their right to elect or reject incumbents and candidates?

The Usual Sanders-Foster Zombies

More important, is it really about the children? Is there an alternative motive to district takeover and why are the “usual suspects” like Joyce Wilson, Rep. Susie Byrd, Veronica Escobar and other Sanders-Foster zombies involved? Chucoleaks has posted an email between Joyce Wilson and Rep. Ann Morgan Lily where she coaches Lily what to say at a board meeting.

 

 

www.chucoleaks.org

 

Right to Vote Representation

Others issues involved here are the right to vote: Distinctly the right to vote in and the right to vote out duly elected officials.

This especially comes into play in looking at the historical segregation and discrimination. It has only been a mere 29 years since people of color have had representation on the EPISD Board of Trustees. Before that, trustees were voted in at-large, and you can guess it how in using at-large voting what side of town the trustees lived and what color was their skin.

Almost 30 years later, two White politicians are leading the charge to take over the school board. Both of these politicians are in the pockets of the Bill Sanders/Paul Foster machine. Open government opponent and city council member Suzy Byrd and Elliot Shapleigh have posted themselves up as the White saviors and have even received the backing of many white liberals in El Paso. In addition to Shapleigh‘s wannabe Mexican dichos which verge on the edge of insulting and racist.

Furthermore, when looking at it from a racial standpoint, many White advocates don’t want to let voters (for the most part people of color in EPISD) vote trustees out. It is this common White missionary complex and “we are here to help you and we know brown people can’t make the decision to vote someone out or into office on your own so we’ll do it for you.”

But the question remains, what is the rational for this proposed takeover. It is much more than caring for children?

 

The Board of Managers

 The Texas Education Agency commissioner removed the trustees and created a Board of Managers. One of the appointments is Carmen Arrieta Candelaria who became famous for telling City Council it would take 300 years to pay off the city’s debt. The commissioner also appointed former state representative Dee Margo, just after his electoral loss in November 2012. Margo voted against more school funding while serving in the legislature.

Although Bowie High School is at the center of this scandal, the commissioner appointed no one from South El Paso. Where is the representation? Sure someone went to Bowie 40 years ago and that’s suppose to be worth something – but it isn’t.

The board of trustees has appealed the commissioner’s decision. Recently, their appeal was denied. Now it need clearance from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.

There were many questions why the commissioner would remove the board six month before the election.

Why not let the voters decide? Instead, you have a cadre of white liberals calling for removal.

But again, sure they care about Bowie students, but what else do they care about?

Underpinning Interests of El Paso’s Elite

We asked around and for Shapleigh and Byrd, one needs to think Sanders, Woody Hunt, Paul Foster.

One response we got was, “You need to think about real estate when you think about school districts.”

Most school district elections have voter low turnout and aside from the one in a million “I care about the kids” candidate, school boards have been used by developers, construction companies as a cash cows.

Two rational have been put forth:

1.       The Sanders/Foster/Hunt machine wants valuable property near the airport, property that the school district owns. How better to get a hold of this then to put Suzy Byrd on the board and take it over. Last year (2012), there was a vote in El Paso City Council to on where to put some city services after city hall would be demolished and city services spread across El Paso’s Downtown. A building a block away from Suzy Byrd’s parent’s publishing house was voted upon. We are not 100% sure, but we think Byrd brought forward the motion to buy this building. Her parents were selling their publishing house building for $600,000. The publishing house is a block down from the Galeria San Isidro, the building the city wanted to buy. The Byrd parents shared the same real estate agent who was hired by the city to find suitable properties to relocate city hall services.

 

This connect the links diagram floated around during the Stadium Scandel

 

2.       Jefferson High School and Silvia Magnet sits on some of the most valuable property now. A neighborhood that is quickly gentrifying, the Sanders/Foster/Hunt machine may have their eyes on the EPISD property. The question is how to get around one of the most active alumni associations in El Paso. How can we get this public property into the hands of private individuals.

 

More to come….