EL PASO COUNCIL DOUSES CALL FOR DRUG DEBATE

EL PASO - The council sought to override Mayor John Cook's veto of
the controversial resolution the council approved last week. To
override the veto, six of the eight city representatives needed to
vote against it.

In the end, after more than three hours of discussion, the vote was
4-4.

"If we would have voted yesterday on this item, I would have voted to
override because I feel that there needs to be a serious discussion
on what is working and what is not working in the war on drugs,"
East-Central city Rep. Emma Acosta said. "But when (U.S. Rep.
Silvestre) Reyes sends a letter telling us that federal funding is
going to be cut if we continued, then I had to step back and do what
is right for El Paso at this point."

Voting with Acosta were Northeast city Rep. Melina Castro, East Side
city Rep. Rachel Quintana and East-Valley city Rep. Eddie Holguin.

All said Reyes' comments that federal money would be cut made them
change their mind about continuing to support the resolution.

Reyes didn't attend the meeting, but in a letter and several phone
calls to individual city representatives, he warned about the
consequences of the council's support of the resolution.

"As our nation faces one of the worst economic crises since the Great
Depression, (U.S.) Congress is currently crafting an economic
stimulus package in which El Paso stands to benefit," he said. "This
is where our focus must be at this critical time, and it is
important that our message reflect priorities that will provide real
gains for the community."

The five state representatives to the Texas Legislature from El Paso
also sent a letter to the council telling it that state money for
local law enforcement and other program could be lost if the
resolution received continued support. State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh
refused to sign the letter.

South-West city Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who drafted the wording of the
resolution, asking for the debate on the legalization of drugs,
called the letters "threats" that came without any substantial
information to back them up.

"I have not heard a specific amount that we may lose, or the name of
a senator or congressman or congresswoman who says they will vote
against giving El Paso funding," O'Rourke said. "It's a sad day in
America, when you are threatened by wanting to have an open debate on
an issue that is affecting our country and our region."

In addition, O'Rourke said of Reyes, "I know the congressman to be a
man of conviction and I admired his vote against the Iraq War. I
don't think that he would have changed his vote against the war if
the Republican Party had threatened to cut funding for El Paso."

Salvador Payan, Reyes' deputy chief of staff, said no specific bill
has funding for El Paso that could be threatened, but news of the
resolution could have been used by opposing members of Congress to
vote against bills that would benefit the area.

In a separate statement sent to the Times, Reyes said, "I felt this
resolution was counterproductive to ongoing efforts to project a
unified voice in the community, as we are advocating for federal
projects that will likely be included in upcoming legislation to
stimulate the economy. I also felt the timing of resolution was
inappropriate, particularly as President (Felipe) Caldern was
meeting with President Bush, President-elect (Barack) Obama, and
Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi this week."

The council's unanimous vote last week in support of the resolution
made national headlines. A week after the vote, El Pasoans were still
talking about the legalization of drugs.

Nearly 30 people signed up to speak to the council on the issue
Tuesday, and the e-mails and calls the city representatives said they
received seemed to show a split over their support of the
legalization of drugs.

"I've had two relatives who have died because of drug use, and I have
other relatives who are addicts," said Northeast resident Carl
Robinson. "Legalizing drugs is not the answer."

But UTEP student Nubia Legarda said the issue of legalization should
be studied as a way to end the drug-related violence that led to
1,600 slayings in Juarez last year.

"Our sister city has been under siege for almost a year now," she
said, and pointed out that she has not visited relatives in Juarez
for months. "We need peace and for that to happen, we need to have
all options on the table."