December 15, 2008
Jaime Perez, chief of staff for El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos, and David Crowder, NewspaperTree.com reporter, appeared on ABC-7 KVIA's News Xtra program with Darren Hunt Sunday night.
The show opened with a brief report on the events of Friday, when Cobos had a news conference in front of the El Paso Times, read a statement, then in a moment of political theater approached the front doors and demanded entry so he could deliver a letter to Publisher Ray Stafford.
Cobos initially had been scheduled to appear, but when he found out that Crowder, not someone from the El Paso Times, was to appear with him, Cobos backed out, sending Perez in his stead.
Perez took issue with the characterization of the incident as "wild," and said that there had been preparation beforehand. [link] One his staff went to the door and was told that Cobos would have to give the letter to Stafford's executive secretary, Perez said. The way the action was described, he said, reflected an ongoing bias in coverage of Cobos.
Hunt said he thought the action was fairly wild. (See the clip below.)
Perez did not explain why, if it had been pre-arranged to give the letter to Stafford's executive assistant, Cobos still pounded on the front door and made a show out of the fact that nobody from the Times would come to debate him. The question came up from a caller later in the show, and Perez answered by switching the issue back to what he sees as the bias of Stafford and the El Paso Times.
In their closing remarks, Perez said that El Paso is a town divided, and Cobos is trying to bring everyone together. Crowder said that the issue is Cobos' record, and the reporting reflects that.
You can view the whole show (courtesy of ABC7) below: