Yesterday we were the first to announce that Rep. Cassandra Hernandez is running for Mayor in spite of her reprimand for stealing gasoline from the taxpayers and her miserable record of voting for six property tax increases, more than $500,000,000 in non-voter-approved debt, and handouts for corporations.
Soon after she filed her form appointing her campaign treasurer, she posted her campaign announcement on her Instagram, touting herself as “an experienced leader and committed public servant” and bragging about “balancing seven city budgets.” In the accompanying photo, she seems to be standing in one of our urban barrios, like Duranguito, which she tried to demolish for a multipurpose basketball arena.
She is rebranding herself as a woman of the people, a real paragon of virtue…
What is interesting to us is how our local English-language media reported Cassandra’s announcement.
ADAM POWELL OF THE EL PASO TIMES
Powell tells the basic facts of her candidacy in a lucid and concise manner. In the fifth and sixth paragraphs, he cites her reprimand and the illicit $6,700 in fuel card purchases in 2022, and then goes on to discuss the citizen-led effort to recall her from office.
Esquivel digs into Hernandez’s “string of controversies” starting in her fourth paragraph and does a good job of covering the salient facts.
KVIA has the highest-rated television newscasts in El Paso but in this case they dropped the ball, devoting only 90 words to their story and failing to mention the controversies surrounding the candidate.
LUISA BARRIOS AND CASSANDRA HERNANDEZ OF KTSM-9
Incredibly, the credits beneath the title of the digital KTSM story indicate that Luisa Barrios and Cassandra Hernandez co-wrote the text. We are not joking!
It is, quite honestly, one of the most incompetent news reports we have ever seen. It reads like a press release, complete with phrases such as “distinguished seven-year tenure,” “poised to elevate her vision, dedication, and extensive track record of accomplishments,” and “profound commitment to fiscal responsibility and economic prosperity.”
With all due respect, KTSM’s General Manager needs to understand that he is managing a news station and not a political consulting firm and that this is no way to cover politics.
