Recall Petition a Success and What it Means for Beto

I honestly didn't think they'd get the signatures in Representative Susie Bryd's district.  I really really really didn't think that the district that has elected her so easily and lovingly in the past would sign the petition.  This is not good news for Byrd.  This is not good news for the Mayor.  And this is surely not good news for Beto O'Rourke.  We'll get to Steve "Man About Town" Ortega in a minute.

You have to look at this whole recall effort from the platform above emotion if you want to measure its weight.  To my knowledge there has never been a successful recall petition in the City of El Paso.  We're talking lots of years and lots of really bad politicians without one single successful recall.  That stat went from zero successful recalls to three successful recalls in a very short amount of time.  You have to take what you thought about El Paso's electorate and change it to reflect what we saw happen here.

I don't think Byrd will be voted out in May, but then again...  I didn't think they'd get the signatures to put up in the first place. There were roughly 3,500 votes cast in her district during her last election bid.  We know at least 600 or so people were mad enough at her to make her run for her seat again.  The math won't tell you enough to make you feel safe if you are a Byrd fan, but it does give you an idea what you are up against.   People have had their eye on the seat knowing that Byrd terms out in 2013.  They may work behind the scenes during the recall election to speed up the process of ascension to the thrown.  Depending on how savvy they are, they could wreck things for Byrd badly.

The Mayor is gone.  He might as well start packing boxes now to save time later.  Hell, if I were him I'd quit now and get on with me new life of not being mayor.  There's no sense in sitting through all this BS just to be embarrassingly thrown out of office in  a few months.  Leave on your own terms - write your own history - own your destiny.  He won't listen to me, though.

Roughly 30,000 people voted in the last mayoral election and a third of that number signed a petition to oust the guy early.  I have on good authority that Pastor Brown received another bundle of petition sheets late and there are as many as 2,000 names on them as well.  The response was huge and from what I hear, the petitions are full of names of people who don't got to Pastor Brown's church.  There are a ton of westside and northeast voters on them and those areas are the "deciders" in city elections.  The mayor will not prevail and he has only himself to blame.  He should have never tried to throw the progressives a bone in exchange for a charter amendment to let him be a the lifetime mayor of El Paso.  The progressives fed him to the wolves for his efforts.

I thought Beto O'Rourke was going to be a very strong opponent in the race against Representative Reyes.  However, this shows that the people of El Paso are not too impressed with that vote to "overturn the will of the people."  I see an easy way to beat him up in ads, debates and by word of mouth.  If 10,000 or more El Pasoans hate the mayor for his vote overturning the "will of the voters," that means Beto is starting out at the same deficit.  Not a good hand to be dealt when need every vote you can get and especially votes from people who lean right.   Good luck to Beto, but this is a major setback for him that was completely unforeseen until the recall numbers came in.

Steve "Man About Town" Ortega is in the catbird seat.  He has needed to get out of office so he could go makes some cash, date some models and move on with his life.  I can see why a guy that young might want out given he is forced to live in a part of town he probably doesn't want to live and gets paid pennies to deal with a lot of BS.  He has a way out now and he can go down a martyr.  Just think of all the clients he'll get that are sympathetic to his stand against the gay bashers.  It's a win for Ortega in the end and it's a win for the Jesus Freaks.  He gets his freedom, the bible thumpers get their head on pike and everyone goes home happy.

Any of you have any thoughts on what's happened?

 

Comments

[Sgt. Yonke]

I would rather Cook did not quit. I want to see him removed from office. For once I want to see El Paso react to Politicians who go against the voter grain!

[voter]

Just goes to show that voters are generally dissatisfied with all government at all levels and in no mood to put up with feel good agendas that favor the smallest minority and yet never address the majority of our city, state and federal problems we are facing right now today. Politicians be aware - voters are flat out pissed about life in general - and will take that attitude to the voting booth.

[Gossip Girl]

Maybe this is the opportunity for Theresa Caballero to up her game from running for District Attorney to now run for Mayor. What a show that would be!!!!!

[Old Fart]

Remember that old story of the Christians who were thrown to the lions in the Roman coliseum? Think the Christians have now become the lions.

The city completely misjudged this whole thing from the start.

Think you made a valid observation about Beto. When you add that drug legalization thing into the election mix, not sure he is such a shoe in.

Don't care what people say. but this is the best novela in town.

[Marcel the shell]

Why do these career puppets or so called politicians, not leave quietly? LISTEN PEOPLE IN ELECTED OFFICES: YOU ARE REPRESENTING VOTERS, NOT YOURSELF.
signed: no love for cook

[Gossip Girl]

Once and if the Mayor's lawsuit is settled and should it confirm the validity of the recall petitions, then I think everyone should voice their opinions that the Recalled 3 should resign in order to have an election scheduled ASAP and the Recalled 3 can re-apply for their jobs. This would settle the issue faster, easier and cheaper. This would also settle the argument on who their constituents agree with.

[Texaswoman]

Here is a problem many have over looked. The filing of the intent of the recall is probably null and void. As can be seen in the news footage Brown rewrote each one. Got copies. The one for Ortega doesn't even ask for a recall but states the opinion of one person.