Mayor Cook: “City Government Will be Less Friendly Than Ever”

Chucolinks has obtained an e-mail sent from Mayor John Cook to El Paso Times columnist Joe Muench dated August 5th. In the letter, the Mayor seems to have nothing but negative things to say about the plan to demolish city hall to make way for a Triple A baseball stadium.

I spoke with Joe Muench yesterday and he confirmed the veracity of the e-mail.

Here is that letter....

Keep in mind, this was just before the City approved the plan to destroy city hall. For whatever reason, Mayor Cook decided not to veto the City Council's decision. We knew that the Mayor had some misgivings about the plan, but this e-mail shows just how deeply he was opposed to it. For instance, he writes about how terrible this will be for citizens who will have to conduct city business in multiple locations.

It also doesn't sound like Mayor Cook, at the time of this e-mail, had much faith in the prospects of this plan being a success. Judging by the tone of the following quote, it seems the Mayor is scoffing at the folly of the entire project.

These seem to be the exact same reservations expressed by those who think this decision has been made too hastily and without enough input from the public. Yet, Mayor Cook decided against using his veto power.

I asked Joe Muench what he thought might have changed the Mayor's mind. Joe told me he doesn't think the Mayor has changed his mind. He is still opposed to the plan and for the same reasons he stated in the above e-mail. He was convinced, however not to stand in the way of..."progress"?

Most El Pasoans agree having Triple A baseball is a great idea. Many of us would also like to open our own business, too. How much luck do you think we would have convincing the city to tear down a building on it's property and paying to construct our business for us? Fairly slim, I would guess. Apparently, you have to be wealthy enough that you don't need that kind of assistance in order to get it.