Max Grossman sent this to us:
Dear Friends,
The anti-TIRZ and anti-“Arena” efforts have made state news, this time on the Texas Standard. My takeaway is this statement by City Rep. Cassandra Hernandez Brown of District 3 justifying the City’s ongoing attack upon our environmental and cultural assets:
“You develop beautiful properties–retail properties–to incentivize and attract and recruit new companies to come here by providing that new atmosphere to appease to a new demographic.”
Grammar aside, I find this statement deeply disturbing on a number of levels. I wonder which “demographic” our City hopes to “appease” and what implications that has for the old demographic.
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“appease to a new demographic?”
Isn’t her job to help the current population?
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Translation, a consultant has told them lack of upscale retail venues to entertain an educated, upwardly mobile workforce is hurting large-scale business attraction. These retail businesses have avoided this area because we are geographically isolated and disposable income is low. The new theory appears to be tout the buying power of visiting Mexicans and give these retail businesses incentives that make it attractive and less risky to move here. Once that happens big businesses will select us because we will look like other big cities.
Reality: large scale businesses see high taxes and high bond debt ( plus a council that lectures some on what employees should be paid), unattractive. Competing cities grew their business base first and upscale retail venues moved in without incentives. Taxes are lower and the workforces are more diverse in terms of skill sets and education. We are pretty much a one-trick pony with an owner who thinks adding more sequins and feathers will bring in a bigger crowd.
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well said!
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Sounds racist.
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She’s an idiot. Most of the council members are idiots. They were hand picked by our plutocrats for that exact quality. Vote for Rich Wright. He’s not an idiot.
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“You develop beautiful properties–retail properties–to incentivize and attract and recruit new companies to come here by providing that new atmosphere to appease to a new demographic.”
Nonsensical double talk!
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Robert Velera (Borderplex ED), speaking last week at Rio Grande Economics Association, discussed his talks with relocation consultants who are key to recommending a location to companies.
He said the major negative issue here is the perception of violence and not just in El Paso but the SW generally. Movies like Sicario and TV series like Breaking Bad don’t help this perception.
He points out the low crime rate here but the 179 murders in June in Juarez are hard to cover up. I do not envy him his job.
I didn’t hear anything about shopping and amenities but they have to be important. The biggest asset he mentioned for the region is the young and growing population, not typical in the northern industrial cities.
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Elected officials, to include city council members, do not read through these project studies which cost taxpayers good money. If you take time to read any of these studies, you will find many of the economic projections are over optimistic. Look at the study justifying the Children’s Hospital; or that new international port of entry in far East El Paso county; or the bus BRIOs; and the street car.
These voter petition initiatives help put city elected officials on notice. Just look at how two city council members voted no on that Westside TIRZ matter. In addition, a good old fashion recall petition initiative can really put a council member on notice that voters are pissed.
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“Appease a new Demographic”?? All the millions of touristas that will come here from Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, New York, Muleshoe to see their MULTI-MILLION$$ little trolley car? The touristas that will come to see downtown El Taxo, where despite the highest TAXES in the state, it’s still just closed, abandoned stores, buildings, side-walk sells, blowing trash and homeless people. But they can see the baseball field the POLITICIANS, BILLIONAIRES$$ built for themselves and forced the TAXPAYERS to pay for. And they are trying to force out the “Peons, riif-raf” from their life-time homes, so that THEY can build themselves an Arena, for the TAXPAYERS to pay for. ALL of it just tax write-offs, tax rebates for the local, idle RICH. Maybe they could do a bus tour for people to see what ANOTHER Democrat -run sanctuary city looks like, with 70-100,000 MORE Illegals to support and more coming everyday. Welcome to El Taxo, a whole nother “Demographic”.
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Developers are calling the shots. The city will do anything to help developers lease more commercial space and sell more homes. Current El Paso businesses and residents are going to directly or indirectly subsidize retail developers, shiny new retail tenants, and residential real estate development. City council and the special interests doesn’t care about most businesses and people who are already here. They care about a select few.
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News for you: this is NOT driven by developers. Just wait and see…
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If it is NOT “Carpet bagger” Contractors, Developers, “Friends and Family” of politicians, Public Officials, then who, what is it? These are the people and the idle RICH of El Taxo, that stuff pockets with cash, “Campaign donations”, to force TAXPAYERS to finance whatever they want.. The City is BILLIONS$$$ in debt and it just keeps growing. And they just keep on wasting, taxing, spending, taxing, wasting MORE.
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This could all come to an end if City Council and the Mayor would hold in the reins on spending. Do what they’re supposed to do. Quit passing non-sensical resolutions such as the ones supporting issues over which City Council has no say. I think we have another CM who wants to say they brought (new develpment? entertainment venues? QOL bond issues? etc.) to the City so they can move on to a more lucarative job & leave this city that they never really cared about.
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Exactly. All these people the City Council, EPISD Board, “Trustees” hire, all the Contractors they hire, ALL just “Carpet baggers” who come into El Paso for nothing more than to fleece US “Stupid, ignorant peons”. And then they leave town with suit cases full of money and, or MULTI-MILLION$$$$ “Retirement funds”. All their “Deals, Contracts” just to stuff their own back pockets with campaign “Donations”, Mordida. NOTHING the politicians, Public Officials do here, HELPS the PEOPLE. It’s always what THEY want or their “Pay MASTERS” want. THEY lie to US about everything THEY do to US. Everything always cost MORE than they say, takes YEARS longer than THEY say and ALWAYS MILLIONS$$$ more in “Cost over runs”. WE need to elect BETTER people to REPRESENT US.
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And if we do not “appease” this new “demographic” what, they’ll rain fire and brimstone upon us? Oh, mightyful demographic forgive our Glass Beach “old cowboy dirty lazy uneducated” backwardness, stay the calamity due to old El Paso!!
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