(I talked about Jorge Artalejo who is also running for District 8 in my last post so go read that if you want to know what I said about him.)
Sergio Contreras-
At a first glance Contreras seemed to be a normal mid 20's to early 30's guy. He wore a suit with a tie that was not all the way to the top. It made him look like a man who had been working hard all day in an office and needed to loosen up his tie. Even though it was only 9 in the morning. But that's were all the good stuff ends. Yeah, that was the good stuff. Contreras stood up and introduced himself to the crowd. He had this certain "Gangsta" swagger to him. The guy swayed back and forth and used his hands to speak. You know kind of how rappers use their hands in rap videos. I just kept hearing people whisper "stand still" to him the whole time. One thing that caught my attention was when he said why he would be the best choice to represent District 8. Contreras said and I'm only paraphrasing. I know my district. Why? Because you will always find me walking up and down the streets of my district. Interesting. Does this guy not own a car? If walking up and down the streets of a district makes you a good choice for City Council, then we have a lot of homeless people downtown who might give this guy a run for his money. I don't know but Contreras just seems lost. One of my colleagues, uh yuy, this guy has colleagues now, said Contreras reminded him of a stoner. Contreras did say something that at least made people think twice. He said that if elected he would push to split District 8 into two district. Currently District 8 covers Segundo Barrio, one of El Paso's poorest zip codes and the Willows, one of El Paso's richest zip codes. Not sure where I stand on that at this time but the idea wasn't to shabby for a "pothead gangsta".
Ernesto Villanueva Jr.-
Villanueva himself said he was a result of the El Paso brain drain. He received his degree in an industry that did not offer any jobs in El Paso so he left to find an opportunity outside of El Paso. And just like a lot of El Pasoans he has come back home looking for yet another opportunity. He sounds like a straight forward guy. Didn't sound like he had much knowledge of issues other than the El Paso brain drain, but then again I did not stay for the whole event. One thing that did get the very conservative crowd grumbling was when he said that him being a minority helped him understand how those who were fighting for domestic partnership benefits felt. That didn't exactly get the viejitas(elder GEPRW members) excited about voting for him. He didn't scream out City representative to me. You never know, some more refining, some more studying of issues and this guy might be able to run for a lesser office to start off. Maybe.
Courtney Niland:
Niland was the most prim and proper of the District 8 bunch, that showed up of course. We were told three other candidates were not able to attend. We'll just have to hope I see them at other events. She had a great big smile and worked the room well. She shook every person's hand and introduced herself showing off her pearly whites. She was well spoken, properly dressed, she already had half of the candidates beat just with that, and had plenty of enthusiasm. That could be a good thing, thats if she had something else her enthusiasm complimented. I only heard her speak for two minutes but she gave me the whole valley girl vibe. She sounded more like a cheerleader at a pep rally more than a politician. She didn't really give a reason why she was the better choice to represent District 8 other than (I'm paraphrasing....again) she had the desire and enthusiasm to do her best to represent her district. She obviously has spent more time working on her campaign judging by the fact that she actually came up with a campaign logo, her campaign signs that are slowly but surely coming up on the west side, by her campaign office, even though it is in the wrong district and by her work on social networking sites actively trying to gather support. So she has outworked her opponents so far.But does that make her a good choice for the position? I'm going to have to sit down and hear her out at the next forum. I know people who I talked to said they really liked but as for now I just like her as a person. Not sure if I would like her as a city representative. I'll be at the next forum and see if little Miss Cheerleader turns out to be more of a captain of the team and not just someone yelling from the sidelines.
To the few of you who read this blog. This was more of a superficial observation. Nothing really substantial to make any sort of decision. But I promise I will stay and hear each candidate out and give you better information to try to help you make up your mind next time. And for the record, I don't even live in that district.
Courtney Niland:
Niland was the most prim and proper of the District 8 bunch, that showed up of course. We were told three other candidates were not able to attend. We'll just have to hope I see them at other events. She had a great big smile and worked the room well. She shook every person's hand and introduced herself showing off her pearly whites. She was well spoken, properly dressed, she already had half of the candidates beat just with that, and had plenty of enthusiasm. That could be a good thing, thats if she had something else her enthusiasm complimented. I only heard her speak for two minutes but she gave me the whole valley girl vibe. She sounded more like a cheerleader at a pep rally more than a politician. She didn't really give a reason why she was the better choice to represent District 8 other than (I'm paraphrasing....again) she had the desire and enthusiasm to do her best to represent her district. She obviously has spent more time working on her campaign judging by the fact that she actually came up with a campaign logo, her campaign signs that are slowly but surely coming up on the west side, by her campaign office, even though it is in the wrong district and by her work on social networking sites actively trying to gather support. So she has outworked her opponents so far.But does that make her a good choice for the position? I'm going to have to sit down and hear her out at the next forum. I know people who I talked to said they really liked but as for now I just like her as a person. Not sure if I would like her as a city representative. I'll be at the next forum and see if little Miss Cheerleader turns out to be more of a captain of the team and not just someone yelling from the sidelines.
To the few of you who read this blog. This was more of a superficial observation. Nothing really substantial to make any sort of decision. But I promise I will stay and hear each candidate out and give you better information to try to help you make up your mind next time. And for the record, I don't even live in that district.
I've actually been engaged in a number of discussions concerning local issues with Sergio Contreras. He's a graduated economist and actually a very knowledgeable individual. Appearances come after substance to me.
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