By now most of you have heard that there was some type of altercation in the city council chambers last Tuesday, October 29, 2013. Because of the local media’s incompetence we don’t know much however I can tell you that it involved Lily Limon and Cortney Niland.
According to the various accounts I have heard the altercation took place during the “Call to the Public” portion of the agenda. During the time that Lisa Turner was speaking, allegedly Cortney Niland kept blurting out “call the question” several times interrupting Turner’s presentation. In response to Niland’s rudeness, Lily Limon touched Cortney Niland on the arm.
The way it was described to me is that Limon touched Niland somewhere between the shoulder and the elbow while asking her to be “respectful” of the speaker. At this point allegedly Cortney Niland raised her voice stating that the touch was an “assault” and that she couldn’t continue to work in “this hostile environment”. Allegedly Niland added she couldn’t continue to work “under those conditions”.
Other comments have been attributed to Cortney Niland however at this point I have not received confirmation from more than one source therefore I’ll not share them with you at this time.
However, we also know that the LRC meeting scheduled for after the city council meeting was abruptly cancelled after the incident. What I have been told is that it was cancelled because of the “tension” in the room.
I have also heard that today’s city council will have musical chairs for the first time ever. It is my understanding that Cortney Niland is being moved next to, or in the vicinity of Ann Morgan Lilly because according to what I have heard Niland has threatened to file criminal charges against Lily Limon if she is not separated from her.
I hope the irony of an elected official claiming to have been “assaulted” sitting in the vicinity of another elected official who is currently being investigated for some type of assault isn’t lost in you. A swear I just couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried!
I do know that some type of event happened at the city council meeting between Lily Limon and Cortney Niland. What I do not know is to what extent.
However consider the following, if in fact this morning Niland is not seated at her normal seat, or other city representatives have moved then what can you derive from that considering what we do know?
If Cortney Niland in fact has grounds to file criminal charges then why hasn’t she done so yet? If the city councils’ shuffling chairs are related to Niland’s threat to file criminal charges then isn’t Cortney Niland interfering with the political process, by threatening legal repercussions against another elected official if Niland doesn’t get her way?
Let that one sink in for a moment.
Second, doesn’t Cortney Niland, as an elected official, have a duty to report any wrongdoing by any other city representative regardless of the ramifications? As an elected official she should lead by example and file a police report if wrongdoing was in fact committed in her presence.
Of course filing false police reports is in itself a criminal offense.
Or, is Cortney Niland just using the threat of filing charges to force action from an elected official or officials?
Either way, in my opinion both scenarios are corrupt one way or another. What do you all think?
Martin,
How could Niland want to “call the question” during the call to the public? They don’t vote on anything during that part fo the meeting. I’m thinking that you have the facts wrong – AGAIN.
Jesus, man. When you’re inventing a story to fit your narative at least think about the details within the process you are describing. You make for a bad propogandist when your stories are so easy to shoot holes in.
Three pissy drama queens on CC. What a class act. Lucky us.
Sounds like the Stephanie T Allala incident, “Don’t Touch Me” incident on News 7 Extra. Some people don’t like to be touched, or grabbed.
Limon was an educator, correct? Didn’t she learn the “keep your hands to yourself” rule? Maybe she needs to go back to kindergarten.
maybe courtney didnt want limon to know her arms were fatter than hers. they both could lay off the tacos.
Maybe Niland was trying to avoid a controversial boob grabbing photo op
Please keep the personal stuff out of the comments. I don’t want my blog to degenerate into flame war chaos. I would appreciate it if your comments focused on the issue.
Thank you,
Martín
Are the meetings recorded? If so, where can we view it?
Martin, we know that you are a person that sides with the Eddie Holguin group, Robinson, Acosta and Limon, so it is hard for the rest of us to see that you are being fair to both sides. Rep. Niland has a legitimate concern and yet you seem to blame her for the whole deal. Ms. Limon is a former educator who should know how to deal with others in a professional manner.
Mark,
Thank you for reading my blog and for your participation. I realize it is easy to make the statement of me “picking sides” however you might want to read a previous post I wrote about Lilly Limon. It is titled “El Paso: What’s another $250K Among Friends?” (Link: http://www.elpasonews.org/2013/08/el-paso-whats-another-250k-among-friends/)
I received many angry messages about that article and many individuals were taken aback. I write based on information I research and of information I receive and verify. Believe it or not I write about the telenovela that is El Paso politics and from my point of view everyone is fair game.
I have been told that my disrespect for every politician is what makes me dangerous and why most politicians are afraid to be seeing as reading my blog. Very few politicians admit reading my blog and no one will admit using the information I provide as a basis for further investigation. Even community activists will disavow my blog as it might offend “friendly politicians”.
I regularly get calls “I’d like to share this with you but PLEASE don’t tell anyone I’m talking to you”. Even the newsmedia! I have written this many times and it is worth repeating I write because I’m angry that El Pasoans pretend to be the third-safest city in the nation, always blame Juárez for everything that is wrong in El Paso and in my opinion El Paso is defined by the hypocrisy of those that are not in jail for public corruption although I personally believe El Paso is corrupt to the core. Because of this I detest the hypocrisy of “I’m better than you” emanating from certain politicians.
I am a blogger and not a news reporter and thus I am not required to be “fair”. However I try to be as fair as possible with everyone. You can choose to take my word about that or you can choose to not believe me. That is your choice and believe it or not I respect that.
Regardless, I welcome you and your comments and I encourage you to share your point of view whenever you like. Regardless of how you feel about me you can’t deny that at the very least I stimulate the conversation and you get to learn about things here that you don’t get to find out about somewhere else.
Oh, and yes I realize that many “community leaders” hate me not for what I write about but for “airing the city’s dirty laundry” publicly. I’m used to it though as I’m too Mexican for many in El Paso. I love my country and I will always argue with people when they equate my nation to a third-world country. That doesn’t make for friends anywhere in El Paso!
Martín
Well who can tell that you’re being fair when everytime I read your blog ranting off on the same people over and over and constantly cheering on the others..
Since when is touching on the arm an assault? For the life of me I see no legitimate concern here on the part of Rep. Niland, who is intelligent and often makes good points. It seems to me Rep. Niland is sometimes in love with the sound of her own voice and didn’t like to be reminded that someone else had the floor.
exactly!
“Even community activists will disavow my blog as it might offend “friendly politicians”.
me no disavow….”sue the bastards” as the saying goes… ‘stuff suited politicians’