Criticism and Accountability
Facing Criticism and Accountability
This way we soothe the delicate sensibilities of these public figures.
A City in Question
The past several months culminated in a council meeting, last night, that left the city reeling and questioning the integrity and moral compass of the council elected to represent the will of the people. Affectionately deemed a ‘clown show’, the council did not disappoint. Today, we are going to put the beans above the frank, and perhaps shed some light on the backroom politics plaguing our city. Remember – beans above the frank:
Jerry Pacheco (The Beans)
Just over a week ago, the council held a work session that looked more like a job interview than a presentation. In this highly irregular and unethical maneuver, council brought in the former city manager and essentially hailed him as a returning hero, heaping praise on him. Let’s look at Pacheco’s track record, shall we? The Pueblo Chieftain and local TV news outlets provided a well-documented account of Pacheco’s accomplishments while in office. The list includes, but is not limited to:
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Misappropriation of city funds – using thousands in taxpayer money to pay for his personal expenses.
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Nepotism
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Having an affair with a subordinate city employee.
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Abusing city resources to cover up his indiscretions.
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Costing the taxpayers tens of thousands to pay for improper hiring practices.
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Multiple DUI’s.
Very recently, Pacheco abruptly stepped down from his position at PURA, after the Mayor brought up questions about his conduct. Just recently, questions have come to light regarding potential mismanagement of a large sum of taxpayer dollars going to people without proper contracts. Coincidence? I think not. Leopards and spots anyone? Schmoke and a pancake? How about Zebras and stripes?
Roger Gomez (The Frank)
Gomez has significant involvement with Pacheco (his ‘brother from another mother’), including involvement with his non-profit BAND organization. Gomez brought the maneuver to revert to city manager forward. Gomez used his position as chair to bring Pacheco into the council chambers in an attempt to dazzle everyone with his brilliance. To call Gomez’s actions a conflict of interest is an understatement. For those of us who remember the train wreck that was Jerry Pacheco as the city manager, Gomez’s move was disrespectful to the office he holds, the council and most importantly to the citizens of Pueblo. For those of you who were not here or do not remember, please see above and do your homework. The articles and sources mentioned can still be found and reviewed.
While members of the council complain about bad reviews on social media, for those of you who are following, you may have noticed Gomez bullying an elderly woman who lives in his district. This was brought up at the council meeting during public commentary. While he may have deleted his posts, people observed demeaning comments, questioning her intelligence and education, calling her crazy, etc. This is how he treats his own constituency. This is also how he treats anyone who holds him accountable for abusive emails with sexual connotations, disrespectful comments to and about citizens working in libraries and so on. This information can be found in council meeting archives, the Pueblo Chieftain and local TV news.
Mark Aliff
As he took exception to ‘caricatures’, let’s get right to some facts. Aliff is a used car salesman. He is also a minister. This is an odd combination of professions, kind of facing opposite directions, but okay. Let’s examine which of the faces he is governing with. In the most recent council meeting, Aliff described how nobody can do anything in city government without the group cooperation – including all council members and the Mayor. This appeared to be conciliatory, at first; possibly an attempt to lower the temperature. But let’s go back to the previous work session and see why he wanted the temp to drop. Aliff, like much of the council, welcomed Pacheco with open arms, commented on his wisdom and experience, showed a great deal of admiration.
Here’s a question (or five): Would a pastor welcome the interaction and thinly veiled manipulations of someone who already disgraced themselves, the chamber and the citizens he is sworn to serve? I’m not talking about allowing public commentary. I’m talking about entertaining someone who has already proven false and then lauding them like a hero. This sounds more like a used car salesman than a pastor. Perhaps we should use terms his pastor face might better understand. Terms like drunkard, liar, thief, adulterer, prideful. I believe that covers three commandments and the deadliest sin. As president of the council, one would have expected objections to such brazen subterfuge by Gomez and Pacheco. As a pastor, one would expect aversion rather than open arms and idolatry. I find it hard to believe that people in the Forge would support such dishonorable, unethical behavior. WWJD Mark?
Joe Latino
Some people would call him ‘passionate’ about his district; they would praise him for walking his district and interacting with his constituents. These are outstanding qualities in a councilman. Let’s dig a little deeper and examine his ‘passion’. As documented in council meetings and local news, Latino was very liberal in his use of 911. So liberal that he felt it was okay to name drop himself, as a councilman, demanding (in vulgar fashion) that police come immediately to deal with issues like homeless squatting in abandoned buildings.
On the other side of this, he berates police response, demands the police chief step down because Pueblo is overrun with crime. Let’s think about this logically – there is a hierarchy of crimes, hence descriptions like level 1, level 2, etc. If Joe were concerned that crime wasn’t being addressed and handled in a timely fashion, what happens to the assault victim who is on hold with 911 because Joe is yelling at an operator about the homeless f***s squatting in his district?
You can’t have it both ways Joe. You don’t get to complain about response times and crime while tying up emergency lines with non-emergency rants and carrying out blatant vendettas from the dais.
Now let’s touch on Joe’s governance for a moment. It certainly did not escape notice when Joe made an irregular request - he wanted to change his vote on a previously closed agenda item and asked that the voting be reopened to do so. After consulting the attorney, the voting was reopened. Then he voted the same way he voted originally. The look of surprise on the faces of the other council members was laughable, but the implications of what had just happened are not funny.
This is not passion. Maybe it once used to be, but not anymore. This is confusion, anger and venom, pure and simple. This seems to get worse at sundown. If I were in Joe’s district, I would be concerned about an angry councilman wandering the streets at all hours of the night on the East Side. For anyone who knows that side of town, you know that is asking for trouble. Now Gomez is helping Joe set up a Guardian Angel (vigilante) style citizen’s watch program. I don’t remember the acronym, so I’ll just call it DUCK, because that is what they will be doing a lot of if they go out there like that. The risk to Joe’s safety, not to mention potential liability for the city is too high to ignore.
Dennis Flores
Flores ran for Mayor in the last election and lost. Seems like the Mayoral system was good enough for him then. Since he lost, it looks like the grapes are sour and he wants a re-do of sorts. Since he can’t be the Mayor, he wants to abolish the position and take control by telling a city manager what to do.
Flores sits on the board of PEDCO, and that organization has been taking some serious hits recently. He has made the statement that he takes this very personally. Why Dennis? Here is a little secret – it’s not about you. You are a public servant. It’s about the people. What is your stake in PEDCO that makes your involvement personal? It is not about what is in the best interest of PEDCO, it is about what is best for the city and the citizens. The same people who did not vote you in as Mayor. The same people whose will you are trying to subvert with your votes and your opposition to standard procedures that you have approved for years but now find to be flawed.
The Bigger Picture
I know we have three more to go, but do not worry. I will get to them soon. I wanted to point something out to everyone. Just these four are enough to shut down the progress in the city that they claim to want so desperately; and they have. Look at their voting record. A good example - they have voted down opportunities to bring hundreds of good paying jobs to Pueblo, not to mention the tax revenue. In Joe’s case he reopened the vote just so he could do it again. The term ‘clown show’ is nothing more than a way to mask the pain of watching elected officials make decisions that benefit themselves rather than the people that they represent.
The Final Word
Sadly, there is no ballot measure to vote no on the city council. Worse, the city is stuck with these franks and beans until the end of their terms unless there is a recall election.
The only thing standing between this unchecked power grab by city council and the people is the Mayor. Without the Mayor, history will repeat itself and set Pueblo back a decade or two.
Vote no on 2C and stop the power grab.
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