Last week I received a tip from a reader that wishes to remain anonymous. The reader shared with me information about a new consulting group offering consulting services to political candidates. According to the reader, Hector Montes and Stephanie Townsend Allala are providing consulting services to some candidates in the upcoming election in May.
The reader was not able to provide me with specifics about which candidates were contracting with Townsend Allala and Montes. According to the information I have, both Townsend Allala and Montes are helping at least one unidentified candidate with honing their message to the voters. The reader stated that the consulting duo provide instruction in debating, on-camera interviews and speech presentations.
As many of you know, Stephanie Townsend Allala is currently in litigation against the city about the city refusing to release records under the Texas Public Information Act to Townsed-Allala. The case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court. Stephanie Townsend Allala has been a leader in forcing government entities, especially the City of El Paso, to comply with the Texas Public Information Act. In addition to her advocacy in government transparency, Townsend Allala is a practicing attorney and a former on air television personality who previously worked at KVIA.
Hector Montes, who is best known for exposing the beating of the elephant Sissy at the El Paso Zoo, is a former radio personality. Montes is currently a public relations consultant.
I was unsuccessful in my attempts to contact Hector Montes in order to get a comment from him prior to my publishing deadline. Stephanie Townsend Allala responded to my requests for clarification with a “no comment.” She added that as an attorney it is customary for her not to comment on her clients unless specifically given permission to do so by the clients.
The reader, that sent me the information, was unable to provide me any details about what clients they may be consulting for but the reader believes that they are currently consulting at least one candidate. The reader added that it is their belief that both are providing consulting services to those candidates that support greater government transparency.
That makes sense to me, because of the open government advocacy that both have been pushing forth for some time now, especially Townsend-Allala. If my reader’s information is correct, it seems that some of the candidates currently running for office may be willing to support greater transparency in the city government. It will be interesting to know which candidates are taking advantage of the consulting services being provided by Stephanie Townsend Allala and Hector Montes.
