April 21, 2009
Editor's note: Jaime Abeytia, who writes theLionstar blog, will contribute regular articles to NPT from his travels through the grassroots of El Paso politics. His articles will appear Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. For questions, comments and concerns, email the editors at npt@epmediagroup.com. Enjoy!
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El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza is looking into possible charges of nepotism against two El Paso judges, Manny Barraza and Regina Arditti. Traditionally nepotism refers to the hiring of one's relative to work for them. In this particular case, the allegation is that the two judges hired relatives to work in each other's court; the hiring of one being predicated on the hiring of the other. Judge Barraza's sister, Sally Mena, works for Judge Arditti and Arditti's son, Dante Vance, is the bailiff for Judge Barraza's court. Neither of the two employees of the judges carry the same last name as their prominent relatives and on the surface don't benefit from the family connection.
A source involved in the hiring of Judge Arditti's staff stated that there were more than 30 candidates interviewed for the position that was eventually won by Mena. Mena has been a paralegal for 27 years and has an associate's degree in Paralegal Studies. Vance was employed by the district clerk's office for more than a year and clerked for several judges prior to being selected as the bailiff for Judge Barraza's Court.
This investigation opens up a can of worms in the courthouse because if one looks into things a little deeper, a surprising number of relatives of judges and attorneys are employed in the courthouse. This appears to all be completely legal and on the up and up, but several courthouse employees who are not related to prominent El Pasoans have expressed frustration about the number of employees with family ties.
You may need a flow chart to keep up with some of this, so pay attention. The following is a list of judges who have relatives working as staff in the court house or for other courts, either as a clerk, court coordinator, or bailiff:
• Judge Chris Antcliff's bailiff is the son of Chuy Reyes, the brother of U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes. Tony Gomez, the bailiff, served under Antcliff in his appointment to Criminal District Court #2, now presided over by Judge Arditti, and continues to serve Judge Antcliff in his new court, the 168th.
• Former Judge Don Minton inherited Grace Herrera, wife of Judge Ricardo Herrera of the County Court at Law #1. He let her go and hired Chris Arditti, estranged sister-in-law of Judge Regina Arditti.
• Judge Barraza then re-hired Grace Herrera for his court after defeating Minton in the November election to become the judge of Criminal District Court #1.
• Judge Barraza's daughter Flor was also employed for a time in the District Clerk's office, headed by Gilbert Sanchez, but is no longer employed by that office.
• Judge Sam Medrano's (of the 409th) wife works in the District Clerk's office.
This is just a partial list, from what I've heard. If I track down and confirm the others, I'll update this list.
Estela Salgado of the Human Resources Department of El Paso County stated that “our nepotism policy within our rules is very vague but it does state that 'the hiring, promotion, or any other personnel action of an employee shall not violate our applicable laws against nepotism.' ”
Salgado also indicated that there is a section on the county employment application where an applicant has to declare their relation to other county employees. Salgado further explains the process, “We screen the application as far as if the employees qualify for that particular position. If the employee is not qualified then we contact the department or we will not send the application unless the department is requesting the application. If the department is requesting the application, then we will make a notation that the employee is not qualified for the position.”
So far there is no indication that any of the hires were based on their relation to judges or prominent El Pasoans, nor that anyone interceded on the applicant's behalf, and there does not appear to be a violation of any county nepotism violations as explained by Salgado. It is however an interesting set of circumstances.
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Abeytia writes theLionstar blog and is a political animal who spends way too much time traveling the wilds of El Paso politics. Reach him at lionstar@thelionstarblog.com.