KVIA aired an absolutely exceptional report at 10:00pm last night, showing that Rep. “Gassandra” Hernandez lied outright about her City-issued gas card, which was used to purchase $6,691 of fuel in 2022.
She had told KVIA that she was the only one who uses her card, but KVIA published a surveillance video from February 10 showing Jeremy Jordan, Hernandez’s husband, pumping $17 worth of City gas into his personal vehicle at an Alon gas station on Alameda Avenue.
Reporter Rosemary Montañez caught up with Hernandez at her community meeting and asked her a series of very pertinent questions, but the visibly nervous City rep refused to comment about her lie or her husband’s usage of her card.
We must all be grateful to Erik Elken, Stephanie Valle, and Rosemary Montañez for their outstanding reporting yesterday.
Our media have a sacred duty to expose government malfeasance, especially when the integrity of an elected leader is called into question, and KVIA has shown our community exactly why our Founders ratified the First Amendment to our Constitution in 1791.
Some might feel that robbing the taxpayers of a few thousand dollars is only a minor infraction, but they are mistaken.
Our City Council manages a $1.17 billion budget and their honesty and integrity must be beyond reproach.
Hernandez should accept responsibility for her intolerable behavior, apologize to her constituents, and resign immediately before she does further damage to the reputation of our City.
Former City Rep. Claudia “Fill’er Up” Rodriguez should also accept responsibility for what she did and apologize publicly.