Escobar wants panel formed to review vendors, bids

07/16/2007

By Erica Molina Johnson / El Paso Times

The recent guilty pleas by a former El Paso County commissioner and the former county chief of staff on conspiracy charges are having an effect on how vendors will be treated in the future by Commissioners Court.

A special meeting on Wednesday to discuss the county's financial services adviser contract may be postponed because one commissioner wants to be extra careful in awarding that contract.

Commissioner Veronica Escobar said she will ask during today's meeting to postpone Wednesday's discussion until a committee can be created.

"I'm going to ask that ... we appoint a committee independent of the Commissioners Court to evaluate all of the bidders and bring recommendations back to the court," she said. "Considering the fact that in both Travis Ketner's and Betti Flores' pleas, financial services are a part the issue related to their guilty pleas, I think we need to do everything we possibly can to ensure a very fair, transparent, non-political process for the awarding of these bids."

John Travis Ketner, former chief of staff to County Judge Anthony Cobos, pleaded guilty in June to four counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud or bribery, implicating 17 county officials.

In count four, Ketner described an instance in which he and several unnamed co-conspirators, who are thought to include Commissioners Luis Sariñana and Miguel Terán, conspired to take a bond underwriting contract from First Southwest Co., which the county employed for years, and award it to another company.

Commissioners Court voted in April to fire First Southwest on a vote of 3-2, with Escobar and Sariñana voting against the contract termination.

Former Commissioner Flores pleaded guilty July 6 to six counts of conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud, describing instances where she traded her vote for money.

In count two of Flores' plea, she admitted to receiving cash bribes for her vote on "part of the underwriting contract for a bond initiative for Thomason General Hospital, an underwriting contract for bond issues at the County of El Paso, and to award financial advisory contracts at the County of El Paso and for the Thomason bond initiative."

Escobar said she does not think the court would engage in any impropriety with the current financial services adviser bid, but she wanted to remain cautious.

"I think it's the best thing we can do for public trust and for ourselves as commissioners to ensure we get an objective group of professional staff to evaluate it for us," she said.

Commissioner Dan Haggerty said he'll listen to her proposal, but he thinks the committee is unnecessary.

"Ultimately we're responsible for who we hire," he said. "I want to be a part of the interview."

Escobar said a committee for this could include representatives from the county auditor's office, the county attorney's office and perhaps the purchasing office.

"I'd like to hear how this process has been done in the past and get recommendations from the auditor and county attorney as to who should serve on the committee," Escobar said.

Haggerty said although he would like input from the county attorney's and county auditor's offices, he would rather they not make the recommendation.

"Do we want them to do the initial interview and narrow it? No," he said. "This vendor thing has become a real issue with me. We don't need somebody making sure the right people are selected or the wrong people aren't selected."