Using the pretext of a looming deadline from the Texas Secretary of State for reports from the 2012 May primary that had not been filed by resigned (ahem, retired) former Cameron County Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz before he left at the beginning of 2013, County Judge Carlos Cascos, Pct. 1 commissioner Sofia Benavides and Pct. 2 commissioner Ernie Hernandez rewarded him with a one-month $5,000 gig so he could finish w hat he was paid for already.
The usually ebullient Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez – aware a firestorm of protest was brewing over the court's proposal – ducked the issue and was absent.
Only Pct. 3 commissioner David Garza took the bull by the horns and expressed his distaste at having Ortiz came back as a paid consultant when he should have performed those tasks before he left."Roger should have done all this before he left," Garza was reported as saying.
Current Elections Administrator Chris Davis says he doesn't have the expertise to finish the tasks that bare required or to oversee the redrawing of the city and county voting precincts by another consultant who is helping both the city and county redraw the lines before this year's city commission elections in May. He also admitted he doesn't know how to file the required reports on the primaries.
Funny that he didn't say any of this during the interviews for the position earlier this year, isn't it?
Those statements by Davis must be music to the Ernie Hernandez vote-harvesting machine as they contemplate their involvement in the city commission elections and their intricate manipulation of the mail-in and vote-hauling in the early voting period. Will Davis even have an inkling of what awaits him?
And – if he proves incompetent to handle the upcoming test of fire – will he again call on Indispensable Roger to come out of his "retirement" and put out the fire, for a hefty fee of course. At $5,000 for a month, that equals out to $1,250 per week for part-time work. All you have to do is prove your incompetence, ignore massive voting fraud in front of your nose, and clear the way for the vote-harvesters to work unmolested.
Several protesters were ignominiously ignored by the majority of the commission and Cascos when they objected to the rewarding of Ortiz with the cushy gift. Mary Helen Flores, an activist with Citizens Against Voter Abuse (CAVA) said Ortiz should not be allowed to return given his dismal track record of disdain for the voice of the people. Her voice, like the others, was ignored by what can only be characterized as an imperious tone by Hernandez, who know that he and his vote-harvesting machine are the leading culprits behind the corruption of the county's and local election process.
Will Ortiz's tasks include answering the written questions posed by CAVA last October and dodged by Ortiz even after he promised he would answer them at least three times in front of legal counsel, the county judge, CAVA and others?
We wouldn't hold out breath.
Several protesters were ignominiously ignored by the majority of the commission and Cascos when they objected to the rewarding of Ortiz with the cushy gift. Mary Helen Flores, an activist with Citizens Against Voter Abuse (CAVA) said Ortiz should not be allowed to return given his dismal track record of disdain for the voice of the people. Her voice, like the others, was ignored by what can only be characterized as an imperious tone by Hernandez, who know that he and his vote-harvesting machine are the leading culprits behind the corruption of the county's and local election process.
Will Ortiz's tasks include answering the written questions posed by CAVA last October and dodged by Ortiz even after he promised he would answer them at least three times in front of legal counsel, the county judge, CAVA and others?
We wouldn't hold out breath.
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