Ness' Investigation You're Paying For... Maybe

Let's cut to the chase because I need some sleep.

Lyda Ness didn't file a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission over her evidence that alleged Ann Lilly was using a 10th floor copier for campaign purposes. However, she did file an open records request with the city hoping to find emails sent or received by Lilly containing any one of a large list of nouns... a weird, paranoid, doing someone else's work list of nouns. 

Well guess what?  The vague terms came back with emails numbering in the tens of thousands.  The price to produce all of this was quoted north of $2,000.  Well, that's what I was told a week ago.  This week someone told me it's closer to $4,000.  Remember these numbers.

Since Ness isn't too fond of sending the government money, she decided she'd take another route to her final destination.  When you file a open records request you are expected to pay the cost to produce whatever is you're looking for.  The government can't charge unfair prices to scare you away.  You can also claim that the information you are trying to obtain is for a "public good" and see if the body of government you seek the production of documents from will provide them at their (taxpayer's) own cost. 

Tomorrow there's a special city council meeting slated for 9:00 a.m.  None of you know this because you'd have to look under the tab "special city council meetings" to find it.  Also, President Obama is in town and you probably wouldn't care if they were executing witches in council chambers tomorrow - you're not going to the bonfire, you're going to see the president speak.  

Ness' special meeting is to discuss whether or not $4,000 in your taxes are going to fund her personal investigation of Representative Lilly among other people (like Dee Margo and Joe Moody).  Ness claims that the documents will benefit the general public... I'm not sure how, but that's why they're having the meeting - to let her persuade them in that direction. 

I think if Ness thinks there's some hanky-panky going on with Lilly, she needs to file the complaint and let the Texas Ethics Commission conduct the investigation.  There's no need for us to pay for her initial investigation only to have the Texas Ethics Commission force our city to reproduce all those documents again for their investigation.  Remember, they don't generally accept "evidence" from the complainant when an original can be obtained from a fellow governmental agency. 

If Ness is successful in getting the fee waived, I wonder what she's going to do to make the tens of thousands of pieces of paper available to the public.  Printing something like that will run you quite a sum.  And posting it in on a wall in public would be impractical.  What public benefit would we (the public) get out of her and her friend's personal investigation of a select few people including Ness' campaign manager's wife? 

I think this is a publicity stunt that has been ruined by the Obama visit.  Ness' odd question to Lilly about the open records request on KVIA's candidate forum now makes more sense.  It came out of left field, but that's because the left fielder knew there would be a special city council meeting in which Lilly would be voting on whether or not to give Ness her mountain of data for free.  If Lilly votes "no," she's a liar.  If Lilly abstains, she's a liar.  If Lilly votes "yes," she kills Ness' game.  I say Lilly should vote "yes" because we know that the rest of council is voting "no" anyhow.  That way Lilly beats her at her own game.

Maybe Ness should just ask one of her ultra rich donors to pick up the tab...

Yep, that's right - Ness was oh so concerned with Lilly's contributions from rich developers, but failed to admit that none other than Gerald Rubin, Mike Dipp and a Malooley are her supporters.  Looks like Ness has some explaining to do when it comes to her criticism of Lilly's donors.

Also of note on her 8 day out report is David Bingham.  He's the guy who got her in trouble the last time she ran.  He's also a big supporter of Mayela Mejia's. 

This is all very interesting... to bad you'll be glued to the TV watching the president speak.

Comments

[Jhbjgdyfx]

Well someone was disappointed that their issue was not going to be taken up till after 2:30 pm.

[Diana]

This is a total waste of city employees' time and tax payer money. She is not even in office and she is costing us money? Be afraid, be very afraid. I tell you, she is TC's twin sister!

[news person]

She is wasting her time and our time anyway because she can't get elected. No one who owes the IRS almost $200 K because they are a tax cheat or stupid can get elected.

[Tim Collins]

news person

This is El Paso - anything is possible when it comes to elections. Run the names through your head you'll see what I mean