UPDATED: El Paso Times Piece April 1, 2012: Campaign 2012 Silvestre Reyes vs Beto O'Rourke

(Updated 4/412)

I thought the El Paso Times 2012 16th Congressional District comparative piece between Congressman Silvestre "Silver" Reyes and Robert "Beto" O'Rourke was pretty balanced. Chris Roberts is a straight shooter. Reyes comes across as the balanced, experienced, elder statesman. I think he doesn't provide enough detail on how key, (at the Congressional level), RELATIONSHIPS are and what an important role they play in getting things done for a community.

When I was in the Texas Legislature, I was on the Veterans Committee and we were given briefings on BRAC (Defense Base Closure and Re-Alignment Commission) and Ft. Bliss had to make the argument to be a base worth preserving and adding troops. Granted it was a community effort that included the Chambers of Commerce (all of them), state, county and city governments, business and community leaders and of course all federal elected officials. But the local Congressman has to have the respect from other members in Congress and the President and Vice President, to have gotten what we got. It just wouldn't happen with a freshman or shady congressman. Reyes is not known as a public speaker, he sits at the table of power – he has proven he is a deal maker, (example he was successful in leading the BRAC strategy to save Ft. Bliss, he was able to secure $1 billion dollars for the Beaumont Army Medical Center). El Paso benefits from having an experienced Congressman with key relationships with  Democrats and Republicans in Congress. 

In addition, the argument could be made that seniority is vitally important for a community with a military base like Fort Bliss, a new medical school still dependent on federal funding, and because of the on-going public corruption investigations and future indictments of elected officials that continue to shatter our community. The stability of a senior member in the highest elected position for El Paso, is arguably the most compelling reason to re-elect Congressman Reyes. Not quite time for change!

The current political capital for our city at the federal and state level includes a freshman Texas Senator, two freshmen legislators (all going to re-election for a second term), one sophomore legislator and we will be sending another freshman legislator to Austin. (As a freshman State Representative with connections to the party in power, Dee Margo stated he was connected to the leadership and criticized the incumbent for failing to file and pass bills, yet he passed only 2 bills and was not able to fulfill his campaign promises). 

The senior legislators (on the federal and state level) are Congressman Silvestre Reyes and State Representative Joe Pickett. That is it.  Inexperience in the hierarchy of the institutions of Congress and Texas legislature is significant for a community. Although both institutions have similarities, Congress committee assignments are not only based on seniority but on relationships and position with the Speaker of the House or Minority Leader.  Congressman Reyes has a tremendous relationship with Leader Pelosi and has long standing relationships and respect by the most politically powerful Democratic political figures in the national Democratic Party, former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Remember, Secretary Clinton chose to make her first stop as a candidate for US President along the US/Mexican Border in El Paso with Congressman Reyes. That is a very big statement of the respect and trust the Clintons have of Congressman Reyes. In addition President Barack Obama has demonstrated his support and trust of Congressman Reyes and not many congressmen have flown on Air Force One, much less under two different presidents.

El Paso Times reporter Chris Robert's comparative piece presents two completely different choices for Congressional District 16 and I think he did a good job. Here are is my political opinion and analysis.

Congressman Silvestre “Silver” Reyes
Congressman Reyes is presented as the “well connected” Washington insider (not necessarily a bad thing when the political capital for our El Paso state delegation is freshman and sophomore legislators).  Seniority then becomes important. The Vietnam veteran combat war experiences are important to his rise to power and his survival of real live combat attacks have allowed him to handle and put in perspective the political attacks by O’Rourke.  Not to say he is not concerned about this election, but observing him and the strategy of the campaign, his moves have been tactical.

When Roberts covers the “bump in the road” which was the discussion of marijuana legalization, Roberts writes of a consistent elder constituent who compares marijuana legalization with Prohibition and provides O’Rourke’s continued argument of supply and demand.  But Congressman Reyes has never budged on the issue.  And he won’t.  His background is law enforcement and you are either a bad cop or a good cop, and Reyes has not been a corruptible cop!  Reyes, again using a tactical war strategy, reflects on his successes with the US Border Patrol stating his record and shares his experience of the ultimate corruption - bribery.  In that story, he shares how he was offered $5 million dollars, which he turns down, and the drug cartels dump 5 bags of onions on his driveway. The onion bags were symbolic and a message (because the drug cartel hide cocaine in the onion bags), and he and his family had to go under protective custody for a period of time.  That is a very good story and counter to O’Rourke’s pro-marijuana legalization stand.  He wasn’t bribable, he isn’t for drugs, and he doesn’t support legalization of a drug that could lead to harder drugs.  PUNTO!

Next subject is the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations and his role in that process.  In order to put the horse in front of the cart, we as a community had to deal with our potential water shortages of the future due to our water source – underground water Bolsons.  The El Paso Times story documents that “THE THEN IMMINENT CLOSING OF FORT BLISS” was due to El Paso’s lack of a long term water supply.  And one of the most important projects that Congressman Reyes, and Senator’s Hutchison and Cornyn accomplished was the globally recognized water desalination plant.  This project ensured Ft. Bliss was back in the “keep open” category and then it became an expanded base to where we are today.

I cannot emphasis enough that this doesn’t happen without an organized community, which our local chambers did a fantastic job, the local governmental entities demonstrated unity, but the sitting Congressman of the district has to be a respected member of Congress to have been able to have garnered the support of other congressmen to keep Ft. Bliss open!!  A freshman Congressman won’t have that kind of pull as we address future needs for the base. 

The next big issue includes political attacks by O’Rourke that Ft. Bliss expansion didn’t include enough local contracting.  Contracting of $500 million dollars to local businesses is BIG, but I find O’Rourke’s accusation leaning on cronyism.

When I was a policy maker, I never interjected who should get what contract. That was not my job. Our jobs as legislators, (federal or state), is to ensure the procurement process is fair.  O’Rourke’s stance demonstrates his ease and comfort level with involving himself in the awarding of public dollars, of which he showed his wiliness to do so when necessary on various occasions while sitting on Council, by voting on projects that he should have recused himself, because his father-in-law had either real estate holdings or directly benefited from O’Rourke’s vote (more specifics on this in another blog).

Again, in the low brow Congressman’s response, he gave his honest answer that the office held seminars for the business community, but $500 million dollars to local contractors is a big deal. 

The next question of Aliviane is from the O’Rourke playbook.  Reyes did the good cop thing again, called for a full investigation (it should be noted that State Representative Marisa Marquez authored and passed Texas House Resolution 1875 and HR 1628 and provided it to the Congressman for that specific earmark and to demonstrate the delegation’s support of the funding).

The final issue is skirted but is in my opinion a significant issue.  The issue of race. 

The first and only Hispanic Congressman to represent El Paso is Silvestre Reyes.  He is the first Texas Congressman to Chair the US Hispanic Caucus, and the first Texas Congressman to Chair a standing committee in the US House of Representatives.  He is probably one of a handful of congressmen to ride in Air Force One with both President Clinton and President Obama.  His wife, Carolina, is the first Hispanic female to be President of the Congressional Spouses Club in the 103 year history of the club.  It is an elected position by the spouses of members of Congress both Democrat and Republican. Again, Congressman Reyes has the respect of colleagues to have risen up the political ladder in Congress, his wife has been an honorable partner.

And I can tell you that at the state level, speaking among ourselves, Latino legislators would ask who would be the next Latino senator for El Paso and who is likely to be the Latino to take Pickett’s seat when he retires.  The seats are statistically Latino districts, you don’t see many non-minorities representing minority districts in the legislature or in Congress anymore.  El Paso would reverse the trend with O’Rourke. 

Robert “Beto” O’Rourke

First, he absolutely utilizes the newspaper story to roll out his campaign agenda (Reyes did not do this, and I think that decision was tactical).  Robert “Beto” O’Rourke starts his interview in the Lower Valley and every political junkie in town knows that El Paso is a walk district. O’Rourke makes that the entrance to his story and according to him he’s walked 12,000 houses to date.  Pretty grassrootsy.

O’Rourke is not the son of a sharecropper, he is the son of the late Pat O’Rourke a County Judge in the 1980’s and a conservative Republican. His mother Melissa O’Rourke is a business woman and owner of Charlottes Furniture who also voted in the 2010 and 2006 Republican Primaries.  He is married with children.  His wife Amy, is an administrator at La Fe Preparatoria (a Charter school) and her father is real estate tycoon Bill Sanders a Republican. The 39 year old has an Ivy League degree from Columbia University, and served 6 years on City Council. 

The newspaper has helped 39 year old O’Rourke’s campaign by giving him a new title “reformer” vs the name that is most associated with him and the political group he emerged from “progressive”.  That is an interesting play and way to disassociate himself from the City Council majority he voted with, that were all recalled by petition (legal challenges left the actual vote for the recall in limbo and out of time).  Most honest political pundits believe that had he remained on council, he too would have been successfully recalled.

In addition to the good looks and somewhat anti-incumbent sentiment in El Paso, O’Rourke has help from a Houston Based Super PAC (a Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) federal "big sister" PAC).  The mission of the PAC is to take out long term incumbents and it will have the money and capacity to fund negative campaign ads, phone banks, radio, and TV.  The PAC leaders and deep pocket contributors are from Republican based TLR, including big chunks of change from his father-in-law Bill Sanders.  I’m sure that the Super PAC will drop big dollars against Reyes, adding to the three TLR Texas House seats in El Paso they have bank rolled and now this roll of the dice for the congressional seat. (The prototype for this type of funding is my race where TLR bankrolled 86% or $338,000  of Rep. Naomi Gonzalez campaign funds, making her the number 1 purchase in Texas in 2010.  The title of the story is “Who Owns the Legislature”  http://www.texasobserver.org/cover-story/who-owns-the-legislature and that is what TLR is now doing on the federal level).  O’Rourke will benefit from this Republican money.

Although Roberts mentioned in detail the “smart growth” initiatives for Downtown, he failed to mention the eminent domain problems O’Rourke had with Downtown property owners not tied to his father-in-laws real estate investments or Downtown millionaire businessmen who created Paso Del Norte Group (PDNG). Nor was mention made that he was forced into recusing himself after an unsuccessful recall petition drive and because ethics complaints were filed on votes that included conflict of interests because of real estate investments of his wealthy father-in-law. It should be noted that O’Rourke was brave enough to silence speakers at a City Council meeting who were supportive of a ban of use of eminent domain for private redevelopment Downtown and “a vote was quickly called by O'Rourke without hearing from people who had signed up to speak”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beto_O'Rourke  Nor did Roberts interview people living in Segundo Barrio or Chihuahuita who opposed the transportation projects that could displace them.  Nor did he interview people at the bus station that was relocated to the Chihuahuita area at the desire of the PDNG who did not want the bus riders or "that element" at the Plazita de Los Lagartos (San Jacinto Plaza) anymore.  

As O’Rourke continues his journey through “Lower Valley” neighborhoods, he presents his political campaign issues.  A full service VA hospital, improving the international bridge time to cross over (remember Rep. Stevo Ortega sitting in his car with a videocam trying to cross the bridge – that is how they roll together), and cleaning up corruption (really? that is a good one).

Lower Valley Dan Gonzalez is given 7 paragraphs to tell how he likes Reyes, how Reyes has done good, how he got $40 million dollars of work at Ft. Bliss because of Reyes, even states the old Shapleigh line “don’t ever make the mistake that we didn’t get our fair share” BUT he’s voting for O’Rourke.  That appears very, very well staged.

In the newspaper, O’Rourke makes his public debut statement that “he will NOT bring the legalization of marijuana issue to Congress”.  What perfect timing. Sunday’s paper, above the fold, and conveniently mentioned in between his laying out his political campaign agenda.  He’s written a book on the subject with City Rep. Susie Byrd (his political ally and confidant), he started a book tour (which was quickly stopped), he presented a resolution on City Council to call for the legalization of marijuana, and he’s been in many pro-marijuana publications because he was proposing legalization as a sitting City Councilman on the Border with Mexico where a drug cartel war has torn our bi-national community apart. And during this metamorphosis he went from legalization to a legalization “conversation” and now in the El Paso Times, it’s “I’m not for that anymore”.  He is pro-legalization of marijuana and Congressman Reyes has every right and should pounce on his head with that every chance he gets because he “shelved” the issue for now, he didn’t kill it.

The international bridge issue is multi-tiered and thanks to the terrorists who masterminded the 911 American tragedy, homeland security takes precedence over speeding up lines of vehicle traffic into the US. The technology is being tested, and a slew of federal agencies have jurisdiction over the international bridges not to fail to mention international law and treaties, and sorry Beto but the drug cartel wars and trafficking come into play in the whole public policy decision making process.  I hate to tell you, but a freshman congressman is not going to just speed up the cars and the bridge waits.  This political issue is silly and demonstrates O’Rourke’s lack of knowledge of Congress.

One thing O’Rourke does is tell everyone that he supports another international bridge. What he doesn’t say is that the bridge location he prefers is the Yarbrough Bridge that Congressman Reyes has adamantly opposed.  In addition, the newspaper did not state that an international bridge must get the approval of the sitting Congressman in order to proceed to the permitting phase.  Bill Sanders and his real estate investment companies and real estate partners have vast real estate holdings on both sides of the border as well as in the Sunland Park international bridge area.  The Ysleta Independent School District has opposed the bridge because of health and safety issues of the pre-school that was constructed on Yarbrough, neighborhood groups oppose the bridge, and the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo oppose the bridge at Yarbrough.  Because another international bridge is such a big issue for commerce and trade, for the Lower Valley, and with environmental impact and safety issues, the bridge at Yarbrough deserves an in depth investigative story by the El Paso Times and or El Paso Inc.  (Why is the Tornillo bridge not sufficient?)

O’Rourke cannot truthfully say that the international bridge is a Metropolitan Planning Organization issue because any international bridge will have to get the approval of the sitting congressman where the bridge is proposed.  O’Rourke needs to be directly asked if he is for the International Bridge at Yarbrough, Congressman Reyes is adamantly opposed.

O’Rourke’s response to his mother’s corporation “Charlottes Furniture” charges were skirted again in the paper as “IRS disclosure issues” but she entered a “plea” for the corporation SHE OWNS and signs a PLEA AGREEMENT admitting that the corporation SHE OWNS accepted $630,745 IN CASH, and that there was the “altering receipts” for a “particular customer” and she was fined $250,000 as part of her/the “plea bargain (and ironically Melissa O’Rourke was a Director of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas – doesn’t quite pass the smell test she should know the rules intimately). In addition, agents analyzing seized records show “structured payments” of $1,071,934 in “CASH PAYMENTS” between 2005 and 2008 for “a particular customer”. Use of structured transactions is a common placement strategy for “money laundering”. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and it looks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Looks more like money laundering to me “for a particular customer”. Beto O’Rourke’s response – he punted to his attorney. http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site525/2010/0506/20100506_091732_Plea%20Deal.pdf

Cleaning up corruption is an O’Rourke’s campaign message in the Lower Valley and in political mailings. Wow a closer look at his votes on Council demonstrate tax breaks for political contributors, at least one conflict of interest vote on Downtown revitalization that directly benefited his father-in-law, ethics complaints that were reviewed by friends and dismissed, a mother’s corporation and her signed “plea agreement” for a federal felony, a father with an alleged cocaine problem. I believe the message is pandering to a worn Democratic base that has witnessed the corruption scandal and indictments of a variety of elected officials with no end in sight. But be careful what you ask for.

O’Rourke concludes his “Lower Valley” tour with a veteran who is genuinely disheartened with the 10 hour wait he had at the El Paso VA Healthcare offices. O’Rourke advocates for a full VA Hospital, however, Reyes has secured $1 BILLION dollars for a new Beaumont Army Medical Center. (Thomason Hospital name was changed to University Medical Center (UMC) – aren’t they one in the same?).

And finally term limits. “The promise”.  Proposing term limits is political pandering to the Democratic Lefties. It is not likely to pass in our life time.

So me and my family, have decided that experience at this time, is important. Seniority has great value at the federal level. And a respected elder statesman is what we need as we continue to go through the public corruption scandals in El Paso and as our state legislators build seniority. Congressman Silvestre Reyes is not perfect.  He is not an incredible public speaker but a deal maker, he stayed within the federal election laws when he hired and paid or reimbursed family members as campaign staff (maybe not the smartest thing to do, but legal), he has been consistent in utilizing his seniority to rise among the ranks of Democrats in Congress and has been successful in bringing federal funding to El Paso and adding language unto bills moving in Congress for El Paso, and Congressman Reyes is TOUGH ON DRUGS.  He’s one of us. And he has earned my vote for another term in Congress.

###