Personal Vendettas Toss Bonart from the PSB

City Council continues to be dominated by politics over policy. The reactionaries are in control. Democracy and progressivism continue to lose out. 

Today City Council voted 7-1 to keep Herr Shoephoerster on the PSB in spite of the fact that he knows something about pacemakers but not a thing about hydrology and stormwater. (Dr. John Walton, a hydrologist and engineer professor at UTEP would have been the better pick.) Schoephoerster is also the Chairman of the PSB and has been pushing for an anti-First Amendment Communications Policy in reaction to the loss of the boondoggle UTEP water project for the Engineering Department over which he dictates as Dean. It was Dr. Rick Bonart who saved us ratepayers from that boondoggle. (By the way, if you haven't, you should read David Crowder's excellent article in the El Paso Inc. about the Communication Policy. A pro-democratic, pro-constitutional document was agreed upon in committee because of the efforts of Dr. Bonart and Mayor Leeser. The entire PSB will vote on it tomorrow.) Niland moved to appoint Schoephoerster even before public comment. Dr. Walton was allowed to speak but those present reported that the members of City Council weren't even listening.

Then came the shameful vote on Bonart's seat. Emma Acosta led the charge against Dr. Bonart. She zeroed in on Bonart's recent organization of a town hall meeting at which the public could meet and hear from PSB candidates for appointment. The meeting was held at the County Building by permission of County Judge Veronica Escobar for no other reason than the fact that Bonart couldn't get an EPWU or City venue - believe it or not. Acosta hates Escobar. Acosta has no political principals only self-serving twitches. Never mind the fact that Bonart was doing something that should have been done all along - let us, the people of El Paso, meet the candidates and then give our input to our City Council reps. Even the resumes of the candidates were not something published on the EPWU web page (or the City page for that matter.) No matter how important the PSB is to and for the citizens of El Paso the good ol' boys and girls want to control the outcome. They don't want your input, people of El Paso. Reactionaries never do. They like their autocratic control too much. Sadly this is what El Paso voted for this last time around and I believe that Mayor Leeser is now beginning to see that those who grabbed on to his coattails are not worthy of his humanity. 

So Acosta ranted and raved and even those who had told others or Dr. Bonart that they would support him, didn't. They know who they are: Ann Lilly, Cortney Niland, Eddie Holguin and Lily Limon. Shame on every one of you for pledging one thing but doing another. The "L" word applies here and I don't mean "Liberal". They voted for Antcliff.

Say-nothing, do-nothing Romero will vote whichever way Ann Lilly or Bob Hoy or Myrna Deckert tells him to vote. I'm sure that he has his marching orders prior to coming to City Council. His imagination stretches only as far as picking up a coke can in a vacant lot. 

It will be interesting to see what the PSB does tomorrow with the Committee recommendation on the communications policy. Expect them to continue to do what the good ol' boys and girls tell them to do (and I include the entrenched establishment at EPWU) regarding stormwater funds. Money will continue to flow to shrubs and sod for park ponds and never for natural open space. It's lazy engineering and popular politics - but not good policy. Moreover, it will be interesting to see whether John Balliew has really been sincere about the pipeline to the Rio Bosque or whether he and others have been stalling to see if Bonart would be reappointed or not.

It will also be interesting to see whether Antcliff is as good of a person as many tell me that he is. Will he be independent? Will he think on his own? Or will he just do the bidding of the establishment which should be his wont as a Republican.

My gloves are now off and are going to stay off. If El Pasoans think that they were kept out of the decision about the ballpark, they should look very carefully at nearly everything that the establishment good ol' boys and girls do on Council and the PSB - and that establishment includes those who fooled all of you with their self-righteous indignation over the old City Hall building. 

Reactionary governments are not there to sustain communities with sound policy. They are there to scratch their own itches and will their own whims with their closed-door, behind the scenes, anti-democratic politics.

City Council Endorsements

I certainly don't speak for all of the conservation/environmental community of El Paso but I wear quite a few hats in that community. I am Coordinator and Convener of Celebration of Our Mountains, recent past President and now Secretary of the West Texas Urban Forestry Council, Co-organizer and Coordinator of the petition to preserve the Scenic Transmountain Corridor, Organizer of the Sunrise Hikers, a Master Naturalist and Vice-President of that El Paso Chapter, Co-chairman of both the City's Open Space Advisory Board and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. I'm the President of the Newman Park Neighborhood Association and we care greatly about placemaking, walkability and the environment. I have written this blog for several years now and it is the descendant of an earlier blog and e-letter written for many years about local food and farm issues. I have some credentials.

Obviously conserving more of our precious land, developing sustainable water policies, promoting local food and preserving farmland, encouraging eco-tourism, supporting low impact development, attracting clean industries to our City to employ all of our citizens and prevent further brain drain are key areas of concern. The immediate struggle to preserve land along Transmountain Road next to the State Park has been a pivotal issue. The current City Council race is critical because we want representatives who share our values for conservation, preservation and sustainability. There is a real chance that the balance will swing toward unchecked growth, sprawl and development. Because of the infusion of thousands of dollars into the campaigns of Cortney Niland and Ann Morgan Lilly by the developers' PAC, we must elect candidates who care for people, real jobs and a healthy, clean environment in which to raise children, enjoy recreation, and receive the emotional and spiritual benefits of living in this part of the beautiful, natural Chihuahuan Desert with the Rio Grande, Franklin and Hueco Mountains.

Early voting begins tomorrow and continues through May 10. Election Day is May 14.

Elpasonaturally endorses the following candidates for El Paso City Council:

District 1: Lyda Ness Garcia. Very simply, regarding Transmountain she has made it clear that she supports "expansion through Resler but not beyond". She supports widening but also preserving the corridor - elpasonaturally's position all along. I like Ann Lilly personally and think that she is a real lady. However, her campaign has been principally financed by the development community and her "open space" credentials are not as good as she would have us believe in her campaign literature. Lyda listens to the conservation/environmental community of El Paso. Of all the candidates running, her views on all other issues are closest to mine personally.

District 5: Mayela Mejia. None of the District 5 candidates attended the environmental forum. However Mayela's experience at City Hall, her appreciation of small businesses, and her work with leaders such as Steve Ortega, give her the edge.

District 6: Eddie Holguin. This endorsement may surprise many in the conservation community. Eddie hasn't voted with us often but I don't think it's because he is anti-environmental. I will always remember him when a large group of people protested the construction of the border fence behind the Rio Bosque in the lower valley. Eddie walked over a mile carrying several cases of water for the demonstrators. On that day I knew that we had a representative with a big heart who cares about people. He explained at the recent environmental candidates forum that he is all for solar power, just not for making people who are having a hard time making ends meet subsidizing that energy alternative. Eddie cares for people first - especially people on the margins. The environmental/conservation community needs to begin and continue a conversation with Eddie Holguin. This guy is a thinker with a very big heart.

District 8: Ernesto Villanueva. This race is worrisome. Sergio Contreras is also a strong environmentalist; but I'm afraid he and Ernesto will split votes and make it a run-off between the very conservative, Malcolm McGregor, and PAC recipient, Cortney Niland. Although I like Sergio, Ernesto simply possesses more personal and leadership skills for public office in my opinion.