El Paso city Rep. Claudia Ordaz-Perez facing new ethics complaints over campaign contributions
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso city Rep. Claudia Ordaz-Perez is facing new ethics complaints stemming from the campaign contribution reports she filed last week.
As ABC-7 has previously reported, Ordaz-Perez is resigning her city council seat to run for state representative for district 76.
Ross Moore, who does not live in her district but described himself as a taxpayer in the city of El Paso, on Thursday filed 24 complaints alleging Ordaz-Perez failed to report many donations of more than $500 while she's served on city council.
The city code reads, "If a member of the city council accepts a campaign contribution from a contributor of five hundred dollars or more, he shall report the amount and the donor by an item for notation on the consent agenda of a city council meeting within thirty days of the date of such contribution."
"This is an issue of transparency and accountability," Moore told ABC-7. He is the president of the El Paso Federation of Teachers which endorsed Elisa Tamayo, Ordaz-Perez's opponent, last week.
"The complaint is wrong on so many levels," said Ordaz-Perez in a statement to ABC-7. "It's another blatant political attack without merit meant to mislead the community."
The city representative said she disclosed all her contributions according to state law.
Documents obtained by ABC-7 show Ordaz-Perez filed two campaign finance reports: one with the city noting zero contributions during the last six months of 2019 and one with the state noting $63,945 in donations over the same time period.
She said it was a Texas Ethics Commission attorney who told her once she hired a new treasurer for her new campaign, her reporting obligations with the city were over.
"I can state with absolute confidence there are no violations," Ordaz-Perez said.
ABC-7 reached out to the city's legal department to see if they have a determination on this case as Ordaz-Perez is set to leave office in less than two weeks. A city spokeswoman said the complaint will be assigned to outside legal counsel as is the case with all ethics complaints against city council members.
