Mayor Cook Meets with Jerry Patterson

So, while Texas Land Commissioner, Jerry Patterson, was in El Paso on Monday for his big fundraiser hosted by pal, Stanley Jobe, he met with Mayor John Cook and other El Paso officials. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss communication with the General Land Office. The context for the meeting was a suggestion made by the Open Space Advisory Board to write a letter to Commissioner Patterson encouraging better communication especially when it comes to leasing critical naturally-important property such as that leased by Jobe near Avispa Canyon and Arroyo 41 A next to the Franklin Mountains State Park.

Following that meeting, Mayor Cook sent this letter to Patterson:

Letter to Commissioner Patterson From Texas General Land Office - Scanned

The letter is a well-crafted, tactful and champions El Paso’s environmental interests. In very polite terms, the Mayor firmly suggests that Mr. Patterson would do himself and El Paso a huge disservice not to consider El Paso's interests and and advises the GLO to be more open and forthcoming.

That letter speaks volumes about Mayor Cook's leadership and stewardship.

Speaking of 41A, Representative Ann Lilly met with Mr. Jobe and Mr. Ed Archuleta of the PSB this past Monday and agreed on the survey conducted by Cutts Land Surveying Inc. that Jobe had paid for so that there can be a buffer between the quarry and the important mountain to river arroyo. Apparently Mr. Jobe spent some valuable time with Commissioner Patterson to get the document moved forward. Representative Lilly calls it a win.

The issue of accepting an easement designated by the survey will be on the Public Service Board's May 26th agenda.

Jobe To Host El Paso Fundraiser for Jerry Patterson

Tonight Stanley Jobe will host a fundraiser for pal, Jerry Patterson, the rootin' tootin' gun-totin' Texas Land Commissioner. It will be at the War Eagles Air Museum.

One industry insider told me that Jobe and Patterson are buddies and that is why Jobe doesn't have to go through the usual channels to get leases. I don't know if that is true but one wonders how ethical it is for Patterson to take money from the man who comes looking for State property to lease for quarrying. Certainly Jobe's raising money for Patterson and Patterson taking it is a big conflict at best. It's a win-win for these two folks. Meanwhile, our community has several of our greatest natural assets slowly taken from us.

This blog has recently pointed out that Jobe has been a big contributor to Patterson's campaigns and has even flown Patterson and an entourage to his ranch to discuss leases.

It is not surprising that Patterson's GLO leased property to Stanley Jobe's company that abuts the Franklin Mountains State Park and contains critical mountain to river corridors previously identified by the City of El Paso as part of its Open Space Master Plan. Patterson, along with Governor Rick Perry, continues to back offshore drilling even as the now infamous BP oil spill turns toward Texas. (Perry, by the way, packs a .380 pistol while jogging and recently killed a coyote within the Austin City Limits. He's rootin' tootin' gun totin' too.)

Patterson's opponent for Land Commissioner is Hector Uribe who has a solid record of public service and environmental advocacy. In fact, he wants the General Land Office to "become a major catalyst in moving Texas into the 21st Century renewable energy economy, by aggressively promoting wind and solar energy." He wants to provide incentives to private interests to lease state lands to develop renewable energy sources. Such a plan he suggests "will bring additional revenue to our cash-strapped neighborhood public schools, spur economic activity in Texas, and contribute to the production of more clean energy."

Apparently rootin' tootin' Jerry heard about Uribe's plan and adopted it as his own . . . sort of.

When I learn more about the fundraiser this evening, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I suggest that you go to Uribe's campaign web site, read through it, get on his e-mailing list and contribute.

Breach of Contract?

On May 3, 2005 Jobe signed a mining lease with the General Land Office for the land next to the Tom Mays Unit of the Franklin Mountains State Park. (The lease is signed by Irene Epperson, a Member of Jobeco L.L.C., the general partner of Jobe Materials, L.P. Jerry Patterson signs as the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Provision 24 of the lease states:

24. SURFACE USE LIMITATIONS: LESSEE shall not drill or mine, erect buildings or conduct any mining operations within three hundred (300) feet of the improvements without reasonably compensating the owner of said improvements.

The hike/bike trails on both the GLO and Franklin Mountains State Park properties are improvements. Sources tell me that such improvements are valued at $5.00 per linear foot. Jobe deliberately bulldozed those trails on the GLO property and within 300 feet of the State Park. In doing so, he may have encroached on the state park itself.

Pay attention: This could be a breach of contract.

By the way, Jerry Patterson has been a favorite candidate of Stanley Jobe. On July 19, 2005 (2 months after the lease was signed) Patterson received two contributions from Jobe, the individual: $35,000 and $1,340. In 2006, Patterson got another hefty amount of $20,000. Jobe PAC money also went to Patterson. On December 9, 2008, Jobe gave Jerry another $10,000.