April 17, 2008
[Editor's note: The background to this letter can be found here with a news story by KVIA Channel 7 and here with a subsequent exchange of e-mails between Perez and Reyes Mata.]
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A private exchange with an unsuccessful candidate for Public Information Officer for the County was leaked to you. Please know my comments were not intended for public dissemination.
I apologize to Commissioners Court and above all to Ms. Lascano, the new hire, for adding to her mortification at untruths being expressed about her.
For the record, Ms. Lascano has an excellent relationship wtih Channel 26 and it is grossly unfair to hold Ms. Lascano responsible for editorial decisions that may have been made by Diario of El Paso. In fact, Ms. Lascano has solid relationships with elected officials and institutions.
I am a little baffled at the concern Ms. Lascano speaks with an accent. While Ms. Lascano may speak with an accent, she doesn't think with one. I know her to be affable, professional and highly intelligent. She is fluent in Spanish, a necessary asset, in the county. She has served as a news director, reporter and editor in both English and Spanish media including Reuters.
Those qualifications are, at minimum, equivalent to a bachelor's degree which is what the job description stated.
On a personal note, I do not subscribe to the notion intelligence, capacity, common sense and dedication are necessarily limited to those that hold college degrees.
It is my sincere hope waters will not be irremediably poisoned as Ms. Lascano embarks on her duties to keep El Paso informed of the work being accomplished at the County of El Paso.
jaime o. perez