Sito, David, Newspaper Tree, look in the mirror

I never comment on stuff but here it goes....GET OVER IT!! its just an opinion, relax!!! life is awesome, EL PASO is awesome!!! people take things so serious.

This would be a solid argument if Rep. Holguin questioned only the stormwater fee or other fee-affecting ordinances. But he does not. David Crowder clearly sees what many observers see when witnessing the City Council meetings: a city representative who does not fully understand the topics and ordinances up for discussion at Council meetings, which are posted several days in advance, and the majority of which are introduced one to two weeks prior to the public hearing. Other Council members pose insightful questions which help clarify subjects up for discussion. Holguin, however, argues points simply for the sake of arguing, as if that is his role to play. His lack of understanding on many ordinances is clear during almost every City Council meeting, and a time-consuming hindrance to progress. He is simply against everything, usually lacking suggestions for alternative solutions. Byrd and O'Rourke are simply in a different league when it comes to finding solutions.

Representative Holguin has no clue on most of the issues that take place during City Council meetings. Even if he did his homework the intellectual capacity is lacking and that fact it is as clear as the skies on our border communities. For those who want to defend this "Hijo del Pueblo" understand how he came into local politics in the first place.
He started out as a loyal disciple of Jaime Perez in one of those ill thought recall elections against Paul Escobar and the handling of the Cheryl Ladd dump. He then ran for office as a "Man of the People" as if that was going to have a positive impact on this City. His populist approach is good for getting reelected, particularly in a district that has such poor voter turnout, but that method is not good for making well though out public policy decisions that impacts the entire community. His ranting that his district gets nothing but leftovers makes him popular with some of his constituency but he embarrasses most of "Nuestra Raza" that sees through this charade. While Fernando Chacon and Norma Chavez have all the right to support their guy this is one Chicano who is not hesitant to state that the "Emperor has no Clothes". Eddie Holguin, while a genuinely likable person, is a continuation of a long line of poor representatives from the Mission Valley who are elected because the electorate see something of themselves in him. Perhaps someone with a college education, particularly if they left to go to school and came back home will not ever have a chance in that segment of our community and things will continue as they always have. Continue reelecting the likes of Eddie Holguin, Melina Castro, La Rachel Quintana and now Emma Acosta and expect things to continue sliding downhill for those parts of the community. El Chuco deserves better and we produce thousands of well educated and ethical young people who would do a better job if supported. I also expect the Sito Negron & David Crowder continue telling it like it is because Eddie Holguin is clearly out of his comfort zone at City Council and all of us can see it on a regular basis.
Sin/Fin

Rep. Holguin does not seem to the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Fernie, why are you an apologist for ignorance? You don't do Holguin, yourself, or anyone justice when you do that.

Sorry Vatoman,

For such the Chicano activist you portray yourself to be, It is you who has no clue and truly are the embarrassment of "nuestra raza". Support of the Iraq war...and of the progressives on council... and attack Eddie, Melina and Rachel Q.... enough said.

In defense of Sito and NPT, Sito does give space to dissenting voices in spite of his apparent biases and that says quite a bit.

forgot to add- not the sharpest knife in the shed but much sharper than those on council. El Paso taxpayers are better off for Eddie, Melina and Rachel.

I never comment either. It was an opinion piece that was formulated on fact. Eddie didn't know the issue and couldn't back up his claims. It is not the author's fault that Eddie did something wrong. It's not the cop's fault you got a speeding ticket. Get it?

I strongly disagree with some of the writers they feature here. I choose not to read their stuff just like a choose not to put my finger in a light socket.

NPT is most definitely NOT the El Paso Times. The El Paso Times is crap...pure out-house material, and an embarrassment to the city.

You are way, way off Mr. Chacon. You obviously don't know what intelligence and character is, and so you damage your credibility.

And sorry "vicentefox," you are definitely way way off too. This Chicano says so.

Vato and Vatoman,
You remind me of those wannabees that I have encountered all my life while walking the walk, on the sideline taking pot shots and not even being able to talk the talk. Pretending to be Chicano and vatos, but yet being the first ones to grovel at the feet of anyone that criticizes la raza representatives or actions just to get a little pat on the back and be accepted. One step removed from food stamps and all of a sudden qualified to brind down la raza.
And to Ken G, of course i am on the Civil Service Commission, but unlike you use to do, I make sure the city workers are not railroaded by the supervisors and are afforded due process.
c/s/r
Fernando Chacon

Sorry Fernie, you're on the wrong side on this one. Crowder did an opinion piece with some true "balance" in it. On the other hand, I don't think that Holguin is the only one that would be mis informed, o lacking of information on the council SEVERAL members fall into this category. Regarding Holguin one of my questions has been, why is he so vocal about stormwater fees AFTER they went into effect and not before? Perhaps he too thought it was a good idea in the beginning?

While I disagree with the assertion that this was a personal attack or insulting article against Holguin I do agree with this part of your op-ed:

"....look in the mirror and you will find that the more things change, the more they remain the same."

That would be a really good view of El Paso's government bodies as a whole.

This is not David Crowder's opinion. It is fact. He reported what happened and how Representative Holguin was way wrong and not understanding anything that was written or said. If you watched the Council meetings, you would see that this is a weekly thing. Are you saying that we should support him just because he is Hispanic? He is an embarassment. As David Crowder points out, it's bad enough he doesn't understand the issue(s), but he gets very rude and ugly with people. It's pretty sad. I do not know much about El Paso politics but I do see Jaime Perez's stamp all over him.

Nice that you like to toot your own horn Mr. Chacon, but my remarks are not meant to be personal as are yours. It's just that if you are in such a conniption fit over Mr. Crowder's mere opinion and that responders' sentiments are evidently and overwhelmingly in agreement with what is painfully obvious, you simply do not understand what intelligence and character are.

Ultimately, what matters is how a City Council Representative votes. Eddie Holguin, Melina Castro, and Rachel Quintana tend to vote against the "Progressive" agenda and that is perfectly fine with me, and with a lot of other El Pasoans.

I know a lot of others, like myself, who supported the "Progressives" back in 2005, but who no longer support their presence on City Council. I should have known better. I voted for Caballero the first time he ran, but not for a second term. No, I did not vote for Wardy. Carl Starr got my protest vote that year.

In Caballero's first budget, he pushed through a large property tax hike. 11 or 12% increase. He justified it because, according to Caballero, previous administrations had not done what needed to be done for the City. Hey, aren't we hearing the same thing again to justify the storm water tax (masqueraded as a fee).

College degrees and intelligence don't guarantee that the person who possesses those will not make bad decisions, or not cast bad votes on City Council.

I recall vividly the City Council debate on the Lee Trevino extension. Almost a year before the vote, back in the late Summer of 2006, I heard Presi Ortega and Steve Ortega tell a group of Cathedral alumni that the Lee Trevino extension would be going back for a vote before City Council and that it was going to happen. The Lee Trevino extension had not passed City Council in 2005 and Steve Ortega voted against the extension, as I recall.

The Lee Trevino extension was brought before City Council at the "urging" of the Chamber of Commerce in January 2007. Wait, how did Steve Ortega know months before that this issue was going to be brought before City Council again? Anyway, when the matter came up for a vote later in 2007, during the debate, Steve Ortega showed photographs he said he took of the Gateway East and Lee Trevino and Gateway East and Zaragosa intersections. He said the congested, backed up traffic shown in the photos was due to the lack of a Lee Trevino roadway from North Loop to the Border Highway.

Eddie Holguin pointed out to Steve Ortega that the photos showed clearly that the left and center lanes were backed up with traffic that was heading north on Lee Trevino and Zaragosa and that the right lanes for the traffic that was going to turn south were not backed up. Eddie Holguin stated, correctly, that the congestion at these two intersections had nothing to do with the lack of a Lee Trevino extension. Eddie Holguin's correct observations were never reported in any media, in line with Fernando Chacon's basic complaint in his article.

In fact, the northbound traffic on Zaragosa is only given about 25 seconds of green light time at the intersection of Gateway East and Zaragosa. The lights are set to give more green light time to the traffic on the Gateways to prevent the traffic backing up into the freeway.

In my opinion, the vote by the "Progressives" in favor of the Lee Trevino extension was dead wrong. Eddie Holguin's opposition to this extension was absolutely correct.

A Lee Trevino extension would violate and ruin a beautiful neighborhood in El Paso's lower valley. I thought preservation and protection of the integrity of neighborhoods was one of the mantras of the "Progressives". I guess it is only preservation and protection of certain neighborhoods.

This is just one example. Eddie Holguin has a lot of support city wide because he votes correctly a high percentage of the time, against unwise, usually expensive "Progressive" proposals.

07/07/08

I cannot believe that David Crowder would write such an article. Sito yes I believe it because he always wants to be a know it all.
If we had more people like Eddie Holguin in office we would really have a lot more here in this city. Yet no one seems to understand that Eddie tries his best to do for his constituents. What do the rest of us have in City Council, not one blasted person that cares for their constituents. The only thing they do is try their best to pocket money from all of us. THE CONSTITUENTS!!!.

Ese fernie, wachaste como el wannabe vato talks - "conniption fit" u know vatos que tiren rollo like that in the chuco?
sin/fin al bull chet.

Same old, same old with the Rasputin tentacles of Jaime O. Pérez and his troika of undereducated city reps Cobos, Sariñana and Holguín.

It is time to set some degree requirements for city office. Professional employees are required to have at least a Batchelor´s degree, why not require the same for the reps that supervise them?

I stand corrected regarding the lack of media coverage of Eddie Holguin's remarks during the debate on the Lee Trevino extension. Newspapertree did report Eddie Holguin's effort to clarify what Steve Ortega's photographs showed in "Fourth Time's a Charm for City and Lee Trevino Extension" which was posted on September 11, 2007. http://www.newspapertree.com/politics/1645-fourth-time-s-a-charm-for-city-and-lee-trevino-extension

Newspapertree reported:
"Reservations about Ortega’s presentation and findings were also brought up by Holguin, who said Ortega’s pictures showed the majority of traffic was waiting to head north, not south into the Mission Valley."

Me curo con la torica. When are you vatos going to give credit to your carnales for trying? Maybe you vatos weren't alive to drink from a water fountain that said "for Dogs and Mexicans"? How about the needed chingazos with a stiff paddle at all our public schools just because you happened to say one word in a language other than English? Orale ese, was that an early form of getting a wedgie and learning English with a hard paddling? Ustedes chavalitos don't appreciate being a real Chicano con ganas y dando mano. Ese, mejor jump in your ranfla and take your wisa or your ruca to a borlo or mono and leave the running of El Chuco to mi jente that eat a lot of huebos for breakfast for thats what it takes to be involved. O mejor, why not listen to some music de Lalo Guerrero so you can at least say you heard some original chicano rolas locas.