El Paso Delegation: Rent-Seeking...Cont'd
So what do we know?
We know that State Representative, unlike most of her colleagues in the El Paso Delegation, does not report rent expenditures one would assume she would have during a legislative session.
We know that an El Paso native, Rene Lara, is a registered lobbyist for the Texas AFL-CIO.
And that there is Rene Lara that has made contributions to labor and Democratic candidates that claims this address.
Why does this all matter?
Per the Texas Ethics Commission:
A lobbyist may make necessary expenditures for transportation and lodging for the following purposes only:
to explore matters directly related to the state officer's or employee's duties, such as a fact-finding trip, including attendance at an informational conference, seminar, educational program, or attendance at an event where the state officer or employee provides services (such as giving a speech or participating on a panel) that are "more than merely perfunctory."
a trip in connection with a conference, educational program, or similar event, if the state officer or employee provides services at the event (such as giving a speech or participating on a panel) that are "more than merely perfunctory."
You see the address that a Rene Lara claimed with the Nevada Secretary of State, and the zip code that a Rene Lara claimed with the Texas Ethics Commission, is the same address that State Representative Mary Gonzalez claims.
Gonzalez claimed that address in 2005: Download 990 Form Senate Hispanic Research Council (page 16).
Gonzalez claimed that address in March 2013: Download Izel Consulting LLC Certificate of Formation.
Today, per a Texas state agency, Gonzalez still claims that address.
All this information is available to the public.
Is it just coincidence that a legislator and a person named Rene Lara, that happens to be the name of a lobbyist, share or shared the same address?
But what if it is not?
Then there are some questions.
Did a lobbyist pay for Gonzalez's rent?
Did a lobbyist pay for Gonzalez's utility bills?
Did a lobbyist live with Gonzalez?
We would not have to ask these questions if Gonzalez was as transparent as her colleagues, but she is not.
Who knows? Maybe there is a reasonable explanation for all of this, but then the only one that can explain this is Gonzalez.
Before we delve more into State Representative Mary Gonzalez's campaign finance reports, we need to talk about someone else.
Who is that someone else?
A one Rene Lara.
Per this 2014 Texas campaign finance report - Download 636550 - on page 29, you will find a Rene Lara that is a "Labor Director" and resides in Austin.
And per the Nevada Secretary of State's office, a Rene Lara, also from Austin, made the following political contributions in 2014 - haz clic aqui.
Now one thing that you should notice in both the Texas campaign finance report and Nevada Secretary of State's webpage is the zip code that Rene Lara lists - they are both the same.
Could there be more than one Rene Lara in that Austin zip code? Maybe.
Could there be more than one Rene Lara in that Austin zip code that is politically-active? Maybe, but less likely.
So who could this Rene Lara be?
Maybe it is this guy - Haz clic aqui - who also happens to be an El Paso native.
That would make sense wouldn't? A Texas AFL-CIO lobbyist who make the kind of above-mentioned contributions.
Again, it could be another Rene, but I am not sure how likely that is.
So what does this have to do with Mary Gonzalez?
That's tomorrow...or maybe not, if the Rene Lara in the above-mentioned reports is indeed somebody else.
El Paso Delegation: Rent-Seeking
Below are a few campaign finance reports that cover the period of January 1, 2015 through June 30th, 2015 from members of the El Paso Delegation:
Download Moody
Download Marquez
Download Blanco
Download Rodriguez
Download Gonzalez
Now you will notice State Representative Joe Pickett's report is not there, but there is a reason for that. I'll get to that shortly.
What are you supposed to be looking for?
In Moody's report, it is page 19. In Marquez's report, it is page 63. In Blanco's report, it is page 33. In Rodriguez's report, it is page 59. In Gonzalez's report, well, I am having a bit of trouble.
You see for everybody else you will notice those pages contain expenditures for rentals of Austin residences during the legislative session.
But you cannot find any rental expenditures for Mary Gonzalez.
Now you will not find in rental expenditures in Pickett's report either, but that is probably because he married someone from Austin. But that cannot be said of Gonzalez.
So what is going on here?
I have a hunch - and some docs - that may shed light on Gonzalez's situation.
But maybe you folks have a better idea.
The Other Elected Official working for a Public Relations Firm..Parte Dos
In addition to outgoing-State Representative Marisa Marquez, and San Elizario Mayor Maya Sanchez, there is yet another elected official who not only works at a public relations firm, but owns it as well.
Who is that?
Trustee Susie Byrd.
To be fair, like Marquez, Byrd has been upfront about her business - Moxie Communications and Consulting.
But unlike Marquez, neither State Senator Jose Rodriguez or the El Paso Times have questioned Byrd's judgment.
Most recently, Moxie Communications received $3,000 from state representative candidate Lina Ortega: Download 100622802 (Page 28, if you are interested).
Another time, Susie Byrd received $300 from Ortega's campaign: Download 100611841 (Page 36, if you are bored).
Why did Ortega pay Moxie in one instance, and Byrd directly in another? Your guess is as good as mine.
Did Byrd coerce Ortega into hiring her firm?
Is Ortega now in Byrd's pocket?
Does Ortega feel compelled now to send her legal clients to Byrd?
Has Byrd registered as a lobbyist?
Is Byrd using her position as a trustee to drum-up business for Moxie with EPISD vendors?
All the questions raised about Marquez and her work at work Forma can easily be raised about Byrd.
And look, it is perfectly fine for the El Paso Times to raise questions about Marquez, but if you are going to raise questions about one, then you have to raise questions about the others.
I personally would like to hear Jose Rodriguez, or Sito Negron, explain how Byrd's situation is different from Marquez's.
Actually there is one big difference...Marquez is leaving public office, Byrd is not.
Again, I get it. Byrd needs money because God knows Cinco Puntos Press doesn't exactly print money.
The Other Elected Official working for a Public Relations Firm
Per the El Paso Inc:
Ghostlight Creative has named Maya Sanchez as director of account planning. She has experience in advertising and public relations, coordinating local, national and global campaigns, as well as serving as senior producer in commercial and entertainment production environments and managing projects for visual effects and production studios in Los Angeles.
Who is Maya Sanchez?
She is the Mayor of San Elizario.
What public relations firm has done work for San Elizario?
Here is a clue:
So the City of San Elizario has done business with GhostLight Creative in the past, and Ghostlight Creative has recently hired the Mayor of San Eli.
For me, I get it. I doubt being Mayor of San Eli covers the bills. The Mayor needs another gig.
Yes, I said nobody cares about San Eli. But Old San Eli is cool, and hopefully it can keep to its form become more than just a tourist spot.
All that being said, if the El Paso Times skewered for State Representative Marisa Marquez, who is leaving the Legislature, for working for a public relations firm, then I ask why hasn't the El Paso Times skewered Sanchez?
Gunning for Marquez
Well, it looks like the El Paso Times has found a new target - outgoing State Representative Marisa Marquez.
It is only a matter of time now before the El Paso Times publishes an editorial asking for a pregnant woman to resign.
So what is the issue?
Marquez works for the Forma Group.
But why is that such a big deal?
State Representative Mary Gonzalez works as a consultant.
The mayor of San Elizario, Maya Sanchez, works for a group similar to Forma that counts San Elizario as a client.
But the El Paso Times is not going to dig into Gonzalez's employment situation because the El Paso Times loves her, and it will not dig into the Sanchez's either because frankly nobody gives a shit about San Elizario.
Weirder yet though is the fact that Marquez has not exactly been shy about her employment.
She announced it last year, but for whatever the El Paso Times did not think it was an issue then.
So what changed?
El Paso Times and KVIA
Here is the headline from the El Paso Times:
Now here is the headline from KVIA:
Look both are right.
But most of us have the attention spans of gnats. More often than not, you only read the headline because you get a text or a phone call, and then you forget to read the article. All you have is the headline, and based on that you either know the VA did no wrong, or the VA did everything wrong.
And based on that, you either think Congressman Beto O'Rourke is a hero or that Silvestre Reyes is absolved.
El Paso Solar Irony
El Paso Inc. has an article about the recent El Paso Electric rate case settlement - Here.
A while back I wrote - HERE! - about how El Pasoans use less electricity in large part due to the usage of swamp coolers. If you have a house that uses swamp cooler AND solar, you would reduce significantly your electric usage. Which good for you, bad for the utility.
But then the El Paso Inc. brings this up:
Demand has also been driven up by warmer, longer summers and a shift in consumer preference for refrigerated air over energy-sipping swamp coolers.
There is a lot to unpack there.
On one hand that trend is good for solar, and on the other hand this is not necessarily good for the environment.
Why is it good for solar?
El Paso Electric's whole issue is that it is not making money from residential solar installations. But if a residence has a HVAC unit, and not a swamp cooler, even with solar, your typical residence will still have to pull from the grid. Which is good for the utility. And good for solar because the utility will have less of an argument to make that solar affects its bottom line. HVAC units use lot more energy, and unless you have a lot of land or roof space, you will not have a solar array large enough to entirely offset HVAC usage in the summer. Solar can still help, but it would not help as much as if you were using a swamp cooler.
As far as the environment is concerned, the HVAC trend is bad. Swamp coolers run on water, HVAC runs on refrigerants. One is essential to life, and another can end your life. Then there is the energy consumption itself. If you are on a grid that primarily use carbon-based substance to fuel its generation plants, you are using that much more carbon-based fuel to cool or heat your home. This then brings up issues of whether or not we should incentivize utility-scale solar rather than distributive.
This where environmentalists have to do some soul-searching. In the short-term, increased use of HVAC undermines El Paso Electric's argument of residential solar costs to it, but in potentially reducing the cost of residential solar, there will be cost to the environment.
On balance is that short-term cost to the environment worth it? I do not know, and I am not sure any environmentalist knows.
Veronica Escobar: D.C. Bound?
This most recent election cycle County Judge Veronica Escobar somehow managed to publicly stay out of races.
She has never been one to shy away from races whether it is a city council race, a county commissioner race, a state representative race or congressional race.
Now, you would think the El Paso Children's Hospital might have made Escobar retreat.
But that is likely NOT the reason.
Enter, "I want to spend time with my family."
The best congressman El Paso has ever had - Beto O'Rourke - always talked about not being a lifer in Congress, but then they all say that.
Look, O'Rourke gets paid nearly $200,000 a year just to be a Democrat, AND he racks up points with American Airlines.
So why leave?
Apparently he wants to spend more time with his family. This is why kids suck, but that is for another day.
So spending more time with his family means there is a job opening for Veronica, and job opening where she does not have to babysit any commissioners, and the pay is double.
If she wants that job she has to pull a Jose Rodriguez...pretend to be friends with everybody.
Even if that means being friends with people she would rather not be friends with like State Representative Mary Gonzalez.
And that means she needs to keep her "frenemies" closer like Susie Byrd. Yea, I know. We all like to think Escobar and Susie are birds of a feather, but that is not necessarily the case. Something about Byrd having dirt on Escobar or something like that.
But Escobar should not worry so much about Susie as much as she would worry about State Representative Cesar Blanco.
Yes, Escobar is Latina, but Blanco is a veteran.
That and Blanco is a better fundraiser than Escobar.
And Blanco knows a thing a two about how things work in DC.
If Blanco were to beat Escobar to the punch in announcing, well, Escobar will have to go back worrying about the toilets at Ascarate.
Winners and Losers In El Paso
UPDATED....So who are the big winners and losers in El Paso this March?
Winner(s)
County Judge Veronica Escobar - For the first time in probably forever, Escobar was not involved - at least not publicly involved - with many, if any, races. Her hands are clean...at least publicly. Part of it maybe due to the El Paso Children's Hospital bankruptcy, and other part has to do with a job opening, but more on that tomorrow.
Forma Group - I know odd, right? Over a quarter of a million dollars was spent against State Representative Mary Gonzalez, and she still won. But again over a quarter of a million dollars were spent, and that still shows up, regardless of win or loss, on Forma books.
Loser(s)
Forma Group - Makes sense, right? When all is said and done, Forma's two clients in legislative races were men...men running against women. Rarely in El Paso do men do well against women in political races.
I am not staying up, but I'll find out in the morning, but here it is anyways...
District Attorney Jaime Esparza - If Esparza winds up in the a run-off, it will likely be with a Latina candidate, that also happens to be a Forma client. And incumbents and run-offs do not mix well. If he does not end-up in a run-off, he should thank the Republican primary.