There is an unprecedented amount of screw ups in the local Democratic Party this season. Which is saying a lot because the local Democratic Party is typically a case study in what not to do in elections and campaigns.
Trust me when I tell you I will have some really great stuff to make you hip to in the coming weeks that will be equal parts hilarity and stupidity. You're gonna love it.
But I have also been doing my homework on all the candidates while I've been taking a little holiday break and found out some interesting things about all of them. I'll share the relevant stuff as its appropriate to.
In the mean time I want to talk about the Tax Assessor Collector race again because its just so hilarious to me. That is the race in which the appointed Tax Assessor Collector Ruben Gonzalez was running for a full term against Siria Rocha who pretty much ran the tax office while she was there. Beating an Hispanic female countywide who is younger than you is always tough but given the fact that he was the sitting Tax Assessor Collector he had a shot.
He had already filed, had signs out and knowing his campaign manager Mike Apodaca, there's a good chance he had already started walking some turf. (If you don't know what the last part of that sentence means and are a candidate, congratulations you're going to lose.)
Then along came a guy named Gregory Gonzalez. Turns out all three candidates have some experience in that office - Ruben Gonzalez as the current TAC, Rocha as the former #2 in that office, and Gregory Gonzalez as well.
Turns out he's the inventory clerk.
Which leads me to my point.
I don't fault the guy for wanting to run and be of service to his community. Really I don't. I like smart young raza that run for office.
But it underscores the fact that there are many offices at the County that shouldn't be elected positions. They should be appointed.
Tax Assessor Collector, County Clerk, District Clerk, Constables.
Appoint those people. Just like other department heads like Public Works and Elections.
Why? Because you need people that know what the fuck they are doing to be department heads, which is what those offices largely are.
For the record, I'm not saying the current County Clerk and District Clerk aren't doing their jobs. They are both very good at their jobs and County Clerk Briones has had a lot to deal with this year considering the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality.
Point is, those are administrative jobs that should be appointed, not elected.
Why? Because you never know who can win an election.
Gregory Gonzalez isn't going to win, but if he did you'd have someone who was the inventory clerk one day be the department head the next. If you think that is a formula for good government you need your head examined.
He basically killed the chances for Ruben Gonzalez, who seems to be very popular with the county electeds, to be reelected. I'm not completely sold on the guy myself though, I mean the vato spent a really long time as the head vato in charge of the DMV.
And we all know the model of efficiency the DMV is right? Seriously, have you ever met anyone that went to the DMV that had prompt, friendly, accurate and efficient services there?
Stop lying, no you don't. Why? Because the DMV might be the epitome of all that is wrong with government bureaucrats. How bad is it?
It so bad that in this preview of an upcoming cartoon release there is a joke in the scene where the DMV is run by sloths!
Not sure you want to hang your hat on your experience running an office that is so inefficient that its a punchline Mr. Gonzalez.
Ruben, not Gregory.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, races like those should even be run. They should just appoint those offices.
At this point, Siria Rocha would actually have to TRY to lose this race. She would need the worst campaign team in the history of El Paso to screw this one up.
To Mr. Gonzalez - Gregory not Ruben - politics is the intersection of timing an opportunity. Keep that in mind next time.
Trust me when I tell you I will have some really great stuff to make you hip to in the coming weeks that will be equal parts hilarity and stupidity. You're gonna love it.
But I have also been doing my homework on all the candidates while I've been taking a little holiday break and found out some interesting things about all of them. I'll share the relevant stuff as its appropriate to.
In the mean time I want to talk about the Tax Assessor Collector race again because its just so hilarious to me. That is the race in which the appointed Tax Assessor Collector Ruben Gonzalez was running for a full term against Siria Rocha who pretty much ran the tax office while she was there. Beating an Hispanic female countywide who is younger than you is always tough but given the fact that he was the sitting Tax Assessor Collector he had a shot.
He had already filed, had signs out and knowing his campaign manager Mike Apodaca, there's a good chance he had already started walking some turf. (If you don't know what the last part of that sentence means and are a candidate, congratulations you're going to lose.)
Then along came a guy named Gregory Gonzalez. Turns out all three candidates have some experience in that office - Ruben Gonzalez as the current TAC, Rocha as the former #2 in that office, and Gregory Gonzalez as well.
Turns out he's the inventory clerk.
Which leads me to my point.
I don't fault the guy for wanting to run and be of service to his community. Really I don't. I like smart young raza that run for office.
But it underscores the fact that there are many offices at the County that shouldn't be elected positions. They should be appointed.
Tax Assessor Collector, County Clerk, District Clerk, Constables.
Appoint those people. Just like other department heads like Public Works and Elections.
Why? Because you need people that know what the fuck they are doing to be department heads, which is what those offices largely are.
For the record, I'm not saying the current County Clerk and District Clerk aren't doing their jobs. They are both very good at their jobs and County Clerk Briones has had a lot to deal with this year considering the SCOTUS ruling on marriage equality.
Point is, those are administrative jobs that should be appointed, not elected.
Why? Because you never know who can win an election.
Gregory Gonzalez isn't going to win, but if he did you'd have someone who was the inventory clerk one day be the department head the next. If you think that is a formula for good government you need your head examined.
He basically killed the chances for Ruben Gonzalez, who seems to be very popular with the county electeds, to be reelected. I'm not completely sold on the guy myself though, I mean the vato spent a really long time as the head vato in charge of the DMV.
And we all know the model of efficiency the DMV is right? Seriously, have you ever met anyone that went to the DMV that had prompt, friendly, accurate and efficient services there?
Stop lying, no you don't. Why? Because the DMV might be the epitome of all that is wrong with government bureaucrats. How bad is it?
It so bad that in this preview of an upcoming cartoon release there is a joke in the scene where the DMV is run by sloths!
Not sure you want to hang your hat on your experience running an office that is so inefficient that its a punchline Mr. Gonzalez.
Ruben, not Gregory.
Where was I?
Oh yeah, races like those should even be run. They should just appoint those offices.
At this point, Siria Rocha would actually have to TRY to lose this race. She would need the worst campaign team in the history of El Paso to screw this one up.
To Mr. Gonzalez - Gregory not Ruben - politics is the intersection of timing an opportunity. Keep that in mind next time.