El Paso city Rep. Claudia Ordaz-Perez again facing ethics questions
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso city Rep. Claudia Ordaz-Perez is once again facing an ethics complaint. A resident in her district is accusing her of misusing discretionary funds.
Ana Reza alleges the city representative violated a city ordinance when she used more than $1,000 dollars without council approval.
Reza says Ordaz-Perez spent more than $6,300 to send a mailer about a proposed medical waste facility last year to approximately 16,000 residents in her district -- and beyond.
The flyer was co-signed by Ordaz-Perez' s husband, County Commissioner Vince Perez.
"During my tenure as the most senior council member, communicating with the public, such as newsletters, have never received city council approval."
"As a second-term city rep we should expect Ms. Ordaz-Perez to know regulations," reads the complaint filed by Reza. "If not, how do we trust her following them."
The city ordinance Reza references in her complaint dates back to 1994 and states city council must approve discretionary funds unless the amount is $1,000 or less.
In complaints filed last November, Reza alleged the representative and the commissioner used the flyer as a campaign mailer as they're both running in the Democratic primary. An outside attorney hired by the city dismissed the complaints in December.
The representative said she used all addresses in the 79960 zip code to send the mailer, and not just to voters but to all residents and it wasn't the first time she sent newsletters.
"People have the right to know when dangerous medical waste is about to be dumped into their neighborhoods," said Ordaz-Perez in a statement to ABC-7. "This is the third ethics complaint this individual has filed since I announced my candidacy in House District 76," she wrote. "This complaint is clearly politically motivated and will be dismissed as the others. I will always put the safety of my community first."
City spokeswoman Laura Cruz confirmed the complaint will be reviewed by an outside attorney.
The city's legal department has also been reviewing the representative's alleged violation since Reza brought it up last November, she confirmed, though she said no determination has been made.
