Candidate Says City Rep. Lilly May Have Used City Resources In Campaign

A candidate running against City Council westside incumbent Representative Ann Morgan Lilly said Lilly may be using city resources to conduct campaign work.

Challenger Lyda Ness Garcia said several city employees have told her Lilly is directing city staff to help with campaign work and using city equipment for the same reason.

She showed ABC-7 a piece of paper that a city employee allegedly found at a city copier that had “May 2 Early Voting” written on it, as well as the names, addresses and phone numbers of what Ness believes are potential donors. Ness said the employee her that Lilly had left the paper behind at the copier.

Lilly refused an on-camera interview and said she conducts campaign work at home. When showed the list, Lilly did not deny she had written it but said she doesn’t remember it or it being done at City Hall. Lilly called her legislative aid and said, “Do you remember this? Did I send this from a copy machine here?” Her legislative aid said ‘I said, “I don’t even know what that is.”

Garcia’s response to Lilly’s statements was, “Well, then how did it get on the copier at City Hall?”

Garcia has filed an open records request with the city. She wants all the emails Lilly has sent or received from her City Hall computer, with key words such as campaign, donations and voting.

In that list are also former State Rep. Joe moody and current State Rep. Dee Margo and his wife, Adair Margo.

Ness aid she is not implying the lawmakers on the list did anything wrong. She said she added them only because their state race is the most recent political race in the same district and Ness wants to know what lobbying interests have reached Lilly.

She also wants all the emails that mention Ness’ own name, her campaign manager and Rick Armendariz and Mark Smith, who Ness said are involved in Lilly’s campaign.

Smith, is a registered lobbyist and founding partner for Smith Public Affairs, and whose clients have included the Hunt Companies, Woody Hunt and the Forma Group.

“This isn’t some kind of personal attack on Ann, but this is her job and what she’s supposed to be doing. And if she has bedfellows that are involved financially in major economic endeavors that affect our community and affect her vote, that is something the public needs to know about about and that needs to be disclosed,” said Ness.

Garcia also said the city employees who have approached her chose to remain anonymous because of fear of retaliation.

“She’s (Lilly) not only not doing her job, which is my position, but now she was going to start to bully El Paso city employees and using her time and our taxpayer money to raise money to keep that position that continues to keep her in bed with some of the folks who have very specific interests in El Paso,” said Ness.

Lilly denied the allegations, and while on the phone said, “I’ll get her the information she wants and then she can do with it what she wants… I really try to be as straight and honest as I can be.”