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AN UNETHICAL VOTE
Part I:
City Rep Robert O’Rourke casts deciding vote despite admitted conflict of interest
by PDS
JANUARY 30, 2008
ALTHOUGH CITY REPRESENTATIVE Robert O’Rourke has signed sworn
affidavits in the past admitting to conflict of interest regarding all
issues related to the Downtown-Segundo Barrio “redevelopment
plan,” he failed to recuse himself during yesterday’s vote
on an ordinance that would disallow “blight” condemnations
on buildings that are in perfect condition. Instead he cast the
deciding vote with the 4 to 3 majority of City Council that wants the
local government to have broad powers to condemn and forcibly
confiscate any building it wishes within the “redevelopment
zone” even if the building is well-maintained. The homes and
small businesses that are thus expropriated will be handed over to
private developers including O’Rourke’s father-in-law
William Sanders. As owner of the Verde Group, the Borderplex Community
Trust (that is currently buying property within the redevelopment zone)
and founder of the Paso del Norte Group, Sanders is the major driving
force behind the plan to demolish a 30 acre-zone of the Segundo Barrio
and displace more than 1,800 residents from this historic neighborhood.
Since December 2006, O’Rourke has consistently recused himself
because of admitted conflict of interest from votes related to the
redevelopment zone, a 302-acre area also known as the TIRZ (Tax
Increment Reinvestment Zone) that includes the heart of the Segundo
Barrio. For instance in October 17, 2007, he signed a sworn affidavit
stating that “I, and or a person or persons related to me have an
interest in property in the proposed TIRZ district.” Oddly
enough, instead of admitting the obvious conflict of interest involving
his father in law who is currently buying up land in the TIRZ zone,
O’Rourke states that “my wife’s employer is a
landowner in the proposed district.” In other affidavits he
states that his wife, Amy Sanders O'Rourke, works for the La Fe
Community Development Corporation, a for-profit entity that owns
apartments and several businesses within the TIRZ zone. Ms. O'Rourke is
currently the executive director of the La Fe Preparatory charter
school.
The executive director of La Fe Clinic, Sal Balcorta is a member of the
executive committee of the Paso Del Norte Group that developed the PDNG
plan and charted the zone within the Segundo Barrio where residences
and small business could be forcibly expropriated.
O’Rourke gave no explanation why, if has signed sworn statements
in the past admitting to conflict of interest in the TIRZ zone, he
believes it is ethical to cast the deciding vote on a matter related to
this same zone.
Was it that O’Rourke felt he could safely recuse himself from
votes in the past where the outcome was safely on the pro-eminent
domain side, but now things have changed with the recent resignation of
former city rep Alejandro Lozano? Yesterday’s vote would have
resulted in a 3 to 3 tie if O’Rourke had chosen to continue to
abstain and the Mayor would have been forced to cast the tie-breaking
vote.
In the past, Mayor John Cook has stated publicly that he supports the
use of eminent domain condemnation only against “specific
properties” that fit the definition of blight and not properties
whose only crime is to have the misfortune of being located within a
TIRZ zone. If Cook had been forced to break the tie, it would have been
a lose-lose situation for the pro-PDNG crowd. Either Cook would have
been forced to drop his mask of being against forced expropriations for
non-blighted properties, or he would have cast the winning vote for the
ordinance to limit eminent domain abuse.
O’Rourke could not afford either of these scenarios. That’s
why he now has to explain why one day he swears to conflict of interest
and another day, although nothing has changed, he decides his sworn
statements no longer apply.
Part II:
A Real Bad Taste in Their Mouth
The voice of the Segundo Barrio residents is squelched again.
Why can’t we at least pretend there’s a democracy here? one
speaker asked O’Rourke at City Council chambers yesterday.
“Some Segundo Barrio residents were told the vote on the
ordinance was postponed for a week and they left. It’s not going
to hurt you to postpone it for a week. You should always err on the
part of the citizens. You’ve obviously already made up your mind
how you’re going to vote anyway. But at least let them speak
before you cast your vote. Please postpone it for a week. It’s
not going to hurt anything. Otherwise the people will go with a real
bad taste in their mouth.”
The speaker, who is a regular at City Hall meetings, spoke in support
of a group of Segundo Barrio residents who had shown up at City Hall on
Tuesday morning to sign up to speak on the eminent domain ordinance but
left after they were told that the vote and discussion on the issue had
been postponed for a week.
“We arrived at City Hall at 8:30 in the morning to sign up to
speak and we were told by a City employee at the sign-up table that the
issue was postponed for a week,” say Gaby Garcia of the Paso Del
Norte Civil Rights Project. “She showed me a postponement notice
that said “postpone one week as per representative Castro.”
Segundo Barrio resident Lupe Ochoa was also told the vote on the issue
was postponed but then she found out the City Council decided to
rescind the postponement. When she found out she rushed back to City
Hall, but this time by herself because it was too late to inform the
other residents.
Both Lupe Ochoa and Gabby Garcia returned and asked the council members
why they had been told that the eminent domain abuse ordinance vote was
postponed but now they were actually going to vote on it. “Could
you wait until next week so that the Segundo Barrio residents get a
chance to speak? Or at least put it back a few items on today’s
agenda so that we can call them and they can come back today”
Gabby Garcia asked.
Representative Melina Castro, who introduced the ordinance on forced
expropriations, apologized whatever misunderstanding occured and moved
to postpone the vote for a week to give the barrio residents a chance
to speak.
O’Rourke responded with a clear-cut no. “I’m ready to
hear and decide on this issue now. I represent the residents of the
Segundo Barrio. I met with them a numbers of times to the point of
going door to door. I’ve met with groups of barrio residents
twice. Once at the Boys and Girls Club and another time I met at Sacred
Heart Church where I was ambushed by the Paso Del Sur Group. [editors
note: The meeting that took place in the summer of 2007 was in fact
organized not by Paso Del Sur but by the church and a group of lawyers
representing the residents.] You can see my meeting with the residents
there on YouTube. We’ve heard this issue ad naseum for two years
and I’m ready to vote on this. I moved to deny this proposed
postponement,” he said.
Guadalupe Ochoa approached the podium and addressed O’Rourke,
“Why are you excluding us from your plan again? Many of the
people of the Segundo Barrio were here this morning but we were turned
away, then I find out you’re going to vote today after all. Why
can’t you understand that we love our barrio and we’re
happy there before your plan came along? Why can’t you fix our
homes and property rather than destroy it? We are willing to defend our
barrio because we love it. But I know not everyone shares this love for
it. Remember (looking at O’Rourke) that you are where you are
because we put you there, so think carefully before you do what you
intend to do.”
At this point, O’Rourke interrupted Mrs. Ochoa and asked,
“Señora Ochoa, is it not true that you live in Eighth
Street outside the redevelopment zone? [Mrs. Ochoa actually currently
lives on Ninth Street but lived on Mesa Street for close to 20 years.]
I have many projects to repave that street and add additional lighting
and security there.”
Mrs. Ochoa responded: “I’m not here to fight only for my
street. I’m here to fight for my barrio and my people."
The City voted 4-3 to deny the request for postponement. O’Rourke again cast the deciding vote.
“The residents are free to come back next week and address the
council if they wish during the open comments period,”
O’Rourke told Mrs. Ochoa. He did not inform her that next week
whatever the residents have to say will not affect City Council's vote
on Segundo Barrio expropriations. That vote has already been cast.
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