El Paso County Commissioner Under FBI Watch Gets Park Honor

By ABC-7 Reporter/Producer Daniel Marin

EL PASO, Texas – With a three to one vote, El Paso County Commissioners approved the naming a park in the colonia of Agua Dulce after current-commissioner Miguel Teran. Residents of Agua Dulce presented the court with the 300 signatures needed. One man called it a fitting tribute to a commissioner he said helped the struggling colonia.

Precinct 2 commissioner Veronica Escobar felt the timing was off.

“I feel a person’s life should be measured at the end of their life,” explained Escobar, the lone vote against the park’s naming.

Luis Sarinana, commissioner for Precinct 1, cited an old Mexican song which asks to honor the living, not the dead.

The news of Miguel Teran park struck some far east El Paso county residents as odd Monday night given Teran’s brush with the FBI in May of 2007. Teran’s home and office were raided during a sweep across the county in the bureau’s ongoing public corruption investigation.

“Kids play there,” said resident Kelly Grimes of the park. “If something were to come of the investigation, I think it would be a shame.”

Federal documents revealed 19 boxes were removed from Teran’s home last May. Another 21 were removed from his office. More than a year later, Teran has yet to be charged with any crime related to the corruption investigation. In a phone interview, the commissioner declined comment on the FBI investigation.

Miguel Teran park is scheduled for completion in late July.