Meet PSB Board Applicants Tuesday November 12th 6 to 7:30 PM

PSB Member, Dr. Richard Bonart, and CEO John Balliew discuss the communications policy - a.k.a. gag rule

The terms for the Consumer/Citizen Advocacy and Environmental/Health seats on the PSB expire at the end of 2013 and the process for appointing persons to fill those seats has begun.

Currently, Dr. Richard Bonart is the Consumer/Citizen Advocacy member of the PSB and Richard Schoephoerster is the Environmental/Health member. Both have submitted applications to serve again. Elpasonaturally is calling for the resignation of Schoephoerster because he used his position on the board to attempt to procure a special project for UTEP where he serves as Dean of Engineering.

On Tuesday, November 12th from 6 to 7:30 p.m. the public will have the opportunity to meet the applicants for both seats. The meeting will be held in the Commissioner's Room of the El Paso County Court House (500 East San Antonio Avenue) courtesy of Judge Veronica Escobar.

The meeting has been called "an evening of civic transparency and inclusion" - quite a concept for the PSB that is currently looking at a draft for a new communications policy that restricts board members from exercising their First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and, in effect, attempts to prohibit the news media from exercising their right of freedom of the press. (See attached draft below.)

That communications policy along with a discussion of the progress toward getting water to the Rio Bosque is also on the agenda for Tuesday evening.

The moderator will be School Board member and former City Representative Susie Byrd.

The meeting is not a PSB/EPWU sponsored event, nor is it a requirement of the application process. Participation is purely voluntary

Parking is available in the County parking garage on Overland Street or on-street.

A Selection Committee consisting of persons appointed by City Council members and the current PSB will meet on Tuesday, November 19th to review candidate applications and to recommend to City Council their top three candidates for each seat. On December 10th the City Council will select the two persons to serve on the PSB for the next four years. Those two persons will be sworn in at the PSB meeting on Wednesday, January 8th.


Attachment:
Communications Policy Draft October 22, 2013