What’s really happening in our City?
Tue 06/07/2022
Council members override mayor veto
Anthony Jackson
El Paso Times USA TODAY NETWORK – TEXAS
Following a second mayoral veto on changes to El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez’s contract, the El Paso City Council attempted to override the veto Monday.
In a 6-2, vote city representatives approved to override the veto.
City Reps. Joe Molinar and Alexsandra Annello voted against the item while Peter Svarzbein, Cassandra Hernandez, Cissy Lizarraga, Henry Rivera, Claudia Rodriguez and Isabel Salcido voted in favor of overriding the veto.
During a May 23 City Council meeting, city representatives voted, 6- 2, to extend Gonzalez’s contract for another ]ve years and pay or reimburse “any reasonable necessary legal costs and expenses incurred by the city manager” related to the amendment that changed his contract.
Gonzalez’s contract was originally set to expire in 2024. The city manager’s oace declined to
Veto
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comment for this story, but provided an emailed statement after City Council approved the measure.
“I am humbled by the council’s confidence in the leadership team we have developed within our organization,” Gonzalez said in the news release. “I remain committed to the city of El Paso, our organization, and our workforce. We have much more to do and we have the team to execute the priorities for our community.”
On May 26, El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser listed three reasons for vetoing Gonzalez’s contract changes:
h It being too early to consider renewing or extending Gonzalez’s contract; h Gonzalez’s contract is currently in play and does not require any new negotiations; h Overwhelming support from constituents.
Almost 20 people were signed up to speak on the topic Monday for and against Gonzalez’s contract changes.
Hernandez said she wants to keep Gonzalez working for the city.
“What can we do to keep a professional in our community long-term because they can leave our community,” Hernandez said. “So it’s incumbent upon us to make sure that we make a competitive market driven offer.”
Molinar said the timing of developing the contract isn’t right.
“I believe it is not the correct time. There are two years left on his contract,” Molinar said.
District 1 Rep. Peter Svarzbein called Leeser’s vetoes politically motivated.
“These vetoes by the mayor are here to help candidates that align with the mayor to turn out incumbents,” Svarzbein said. “The vetoes that are placed are there to create a talking point, are there to create a weapon against incumbents for November’s election. That is what is going on here.”
Svarzbein also advocated for the mayor to vote on agenda items instead of issuing vetoes. The City Council appointed members of an ad-hoc city charter committee to review the veto power of the mayor in a manager-council form of government and instead make the mayor a voting member of council.
Leeser said Svarzbein was mistaken on him politicizing the issue.
“I think that this is getting out of hand, and accusations are improper and out of line,” Leeser said. “I think you need to see it for what it is, instead of trying to make it something that it’s not.”
Leeser said he told Svarzbein in executive session that he was going to veto the item. Svarzbein then accused Leeser of leaking “classified information” that was shared by council members during one-on-one meetings, adding that it was “personally damaging information.”
After City Council voted to override Leeser’s veto, the mayor’s office provided an emailed statement.
“Taking a veto action is not something I take lightly. I did so thoughtfully and taking all issues into account. I did not – and still do not – believe that it is sound government or sound management to extend any employee contract prematurely and unnecessarily,” Leeser’s statement read. “The feedback I received from the community overwhelmingly supported my veto. That said, the vote has been taken and it is time to continue to move El Paso forward.”
Rep. Rodriguez, in an emailed statement, explained her reason as to voting against the city manager’s contract the first time. She said she felt the salary cap of $450,000 should’ve been lessened.
Rodriguez said she still hopes to address a salary cap for the city manager’s contract.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Anthony Jackson may be reached at ADJackson@elpasotimes.com and @TonyAnjackson on Twitter.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Step 2: Watch a 10-minute video (English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReKB4-H7UQw
Step 2: Watch the (13-minute) video (Spanish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf5gw93yuK0
Step 3: Quick review— the Downtown Plan is not finished. The City is now in the Uptown-Downtown phase. They are asking that you Chime-in. It may take several more years and HRH TG is needed to complete the job. So his Court must keep him in place by order of Foster Hunt Enterprises & friends and it must be done NOW while the Court is still a majority. Oh yes also it has been pronounced that the Mayor must be divested of his one power —the Veto!
This from Max Grossman:
Dear Friends and Media,
On May 19, the Ad Hoc Charter Advisory Committee of the City of El Paso voted 4-3 under item 5.3 to modify our City Charter so as to deprive our Mayor of his veto power and reduce him to just another voting member of City Council. The motion was made by Joe Gudenrath and seconded by Steve Ortega and the vote was 4-3 in favor:
IN FAVOR
Yolanda Giner (D3) - Chief Legal Officer and Executive VP for Franklin Mountain Investments
Joe Gudenrath (D5) - Executive Director, Downtown Management District
Steve Ortega (D7) - Law Office of Steve Ortega, PLLC
Larry John Porras (D8) - Chief of Staff, District 1 (2017-2021), Regional Advocacy Director - El Paso/Trans-Pecos Area
OPPOSED
Sylvia Borunda Firth (Mayor) - President State Bar of Texas 2021-2022
Ben Carnevale (D4) - Manager of Infrastructure Operations at The University of Texas at El Paso
James Peinado (D6) - Chairman of the El Paso Republican Liberty Caucus
ABSENT
Rene Vargas (D2) - Trial Chief: Mental Health/Juvenile Unit, El Paso County Public Defender
Steve Yellen (D1) - Senior Vice President, Wealth Advisor (1984-2016)
So we've got Paul Foster's attorney, Gudenrath, Ortega (who was defeated by Leeser in his bid for Mayor and then lobbied to transfer control of our electric utility to Wall Street), and Porras (Rep. Svarzbein's Chief of Staff for four years) all working to deprive Mayor Leeser of his veto power and thus reduce the liberty of all El Pasoans. Of course, all four who voted in the affirmative were appointed by members of the Oligarchy Caucus.
I Invite you to watch the video of the May 19 meeting so that you can listen to the absurd justifications for this radical change to our City Charter (start at 2:10). Make some popcorn, open a six-pack and prepare to laugh yourself half to death...
The only media blurb following the May 19 vote that I could find was a brief mention in a report in the El Paso Inc, so the public has no idea about what is happening.
The bottom line is that the Oligarchs have lost control of the County and have been incrementally losing control of the City. They have a great deal of fear about the November election and this power grab is a strategic effort to curb the power of the Mayor and reduce citizen representation in our government.
This tyrannical proposal will eventually go before City Council.
Let us hope the media is paying attention.
Max