October 8, 2008
The 11 residents who filed an ethics complaint against City Rep. Eddie Holguin on Sept. 29 and then agreed in negotiations with Holguin and Jaime Perez to dismiss it kept their end of the bargain today by withdrawing the complaint.
But, they say, the other side hasn’t kept the agreement to remove the trucks that was proposed on Saturday, agreed to on Sunday and announced on Monday.
The residents of the Richard Lee subdivision in the Mission Valley alleged, among other things, that Holguin violated their trust by not disclosing his relationship to Bill and Guadalupe Dempsey – the mother of Holguin’s wife – last summer when residents started complaining to him and to others at City Hall about Dempsey’s trucking operation.
The residents, six of whom signed sworn affidavits in support of their charges, further alleged that Holguin told the Dempseys who was complaining, which resulted in threats and intimidation by the Dempseys.
“After meeting with (Holguin), we are satisfied that he was unaware of the extent of the misrepresentations, intimidation and city ordinance violations committed by his step father-in-law, Bill Dempsey,” the letter to the city states. “While it is unfortunate that Rep. Holguin’s initial reaction was to defend his in-laws and attack his constituents, we believe he is now aware of the realities in our neighborhood.”
But in withdrawing the ethics complaint, the residents are not retracting or disavowing any of the allegations they leveled in the complaint and the affidavits. (Download copy below)
“We stand by the factual allegations made in the six affidavits attached to the complaint,” the letter withdrawing the complaint states. “Unfortunately, Rep. Holguin’s in-laws have chosen to maintain their position and continue their hostile attitude toward the neighbors.”
Neither Holguin nor Perez, the chief of staff to County Judge Anthony Cobos and Holguin’s former legislative aide, could be reached for comment.
Newspaper Tree did reach Dempsey who said, “I’m not aware of any of this. Right now, I don’t want to give a statement at all.”
George Rodriguez Stoltz, president of the Little Bit of Country Neighborhood Association, said none of the seven or so tractors or the trailers Dempsey has on his property has been moved.
“After the meeting with Eddie on Sunday, we felt that his family had bamboozled him, too,” Stoltz said. “We gave him the benefit of the doubt.
“I already told them we were going to withdraw the ethics complaint. So, if I didn’t, I’m not doing my part.”
On Monday, Stoltz said he understood from the neighbors’ meeting with Holguin and Perez that Dempsey would start moving the trucks that day and have most of them out by today.
“As of now, they have not removed the tractors from the property,” Stoltz said. “I don’t know what their intention is. But if we have to go to municipal court and testify, then that is the route we are taking right now.”
Holguin’s initial response to the news that the Richard Lee residents were going to bring an ethics complaint against him was that it was a political ploy by Stoltz, the Republican candidate for sheriff, to gain publicity for his campaign.
He called the allegations a “smear campaign.”
Holguin also charged that the residents efforts were orchestrated by Newspaper Tree and this reporter.
He made that view public Saturday by publishing an open letter in the El Paso Times saying the residents’ effort was “led an guided by a third-rate reporter with a political ax to grind.”
While residents said they called his office and, in one person’s case at least, spoke directly to him repeatedly last summer, Holguin said he never spoke to anyone about the trucking business Dempsey was operating from his property.
He said the residents’ complaints went directly to the city manager’s office, but City Manager Joyce Wilson and her administrative assistant for neighborhoods, Leila Melendez, said they knew nothing of the problem until July 30 of this year when Melendez took a complaint from an anonymous caller, who turned out to be John Godinez.
“In slanted reporting, there was an insinuation lives were being threatened,” Holguin wrote. “I can assure my constituents there is absolutely no basis for this complaint.”
On Monday, after negotiations between the neighbors and Perez and Holguin on Sunday, Holguin sent out an announcement headlined “Mediation Successful.”
The statement said the residents agreed to withdraw their complaint and “to accept a commitment from their neighbor to remove all vehicles and commercial equipment (tractors-trailers) not allowed by city ordinance.”
Holguin retracted his statements in the Times column, saying he:
-- “Believes the association members were earnest in their perception that their concerns were not being heeded.”
-- “Agreed to assist the association members in ensuring that all city ordinances are enforced in the neighborhood and property rights respected.”
-- “Believes the filing of the ethics complaint was not motivated by politics or influences outside the neighborhood.”
Godinez said he stressed to Holguin and Perez that none of the residents’ actions – including the ethics complaint that had been in the works for weeks over a problem that was more than a year old – were influenced by Newspaper Tree.
Asked why the residents became inclined to drop their ethics complaint before the city attorney’s office determined whether it should go to the Ethics Review Board, Godinez said, they have become disheartened by events and lack confidence in that the city’s ethics process would have a good outcome.
In the past decade, and perhaps longer, two ethics complaints have been filed against elected officials: one against former city Rep. Paul Escobar that the city attorney’s office tossed out and the other against Rep. Beto O’Rourke, which the Ethics Review Board dismissed in 2006.
“We’re not giving Eddie a pass by dropping it,” Godinez said. “I can tell you the neighbors are terrified of Dempsey. They are terrified of the situation.
“They cannot believe they are living in the wild, wild West. They are all standing by the affidavits. They’re not saying Eddie Holguin had nothing to do with any of this. They are thankful that Eddie Holguin went out there with his surrogate, Jaime Perez. Once his surrogate gave him permission to speak to the neighbors, Eddie said he did not know it was that horrible out here. The neighbors are accepting that.”
But, Godinez said, Perez informed him soon after the Monday announcement that the agreement was coming unraveled because Newspaper Tree had quoted Stoltz as saying the residents would drop the ethics complaint but would not retract their allegations.
“He pulled the plug for no good reason, and it’s even worse now.”
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To reach David Crowder, write to dcrowder@epmediagroup.com or call (915) 351-0605.