El Paso Metro
In a standing room only meeting held on Thursday night October 25th, a considerable and well-known group of political activists met to discuss the future of party politics in El Paso. After long and often raucous debate, the participants at the first JFK Democratic Club meeting decided that the best course of action was to form a Political Action Committee (PAC) rather than affiliate with any one party directly.
The participants at this organizational meeting included members of the Democratic, Green, Libertarian and Independent Parties. They felt they wanted to continue to work within the system of the existing parties but that it was necessary to be able to take action without having to deal with the corruption endemic in the major parties.
Ed Patrykus was unanimously elected to lead the new PAC. Lupe Weaver was selected to serve as the Vice-Chair, Ho Baron as Treasurer and Jaime O. Perez as Recording Secretary.
It was decided that the formation of the PAC avoided the pitfalls of internal party manipulation and addressed the need for a forum at which members from different parties could engage a reasonable political dialogue. The JFK PAC adopted a simple but powerful platform that it hopes will attract other open-minded individuals to its ranks:
Equality
- Right to Human and Civil Equality;
- Responsibility to hold ourselves accountable for our Actions;
Economic Freedom
- Right to the Pursuit of Economic Independence
Fairness and Wage Equity in the Workplace
Support for business start-ups and incubators
Support for Locally-owned Core Business Districts;
- Responsibility to Quality, Innovation, Cooperation and Mutual-Assistance;
Privacy
- Right to Privacy;
- Responsibility to Respect Other People’s Choices;
Environment
- Right to a Clean and Uncontaminated Environment; and
- Responsibility of both Individuals and Corporations to protect the Environment;
Health and Education
- Right to Health and Educational Access for all; and Responsibility of both Individuals and
- Corporations to maintain Health and Pursue an Education.
The JFK PAC will promote this platform as an independent association. The next meeting is set for November 15, 2001 at 8808 Polaris located west of I-54 between Hondo Pass and Hercules.
