SHAPLEIGH CRITICIZES PERRY OVER BOMB MISSTATEMENT

EL PASO -- Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent misstatements about car
bombs exploding in El Paso drew more heat Wednesday.

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, no stranger to criticizing Perry, added to
the chorus during an afternoon news conference.

"We cannot let the governor of Texas lie about us to get votes,"
Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said. "He is pandering to extremists. We are not
his political pinata."

Perry has been taking fire after saying during an interview on border
security on Fox News that bombs had exploded in El Paso. Perry later
made a similar comment in Laredo, saying a car bomb exploded in El
Paso, according to Pro8News.

Perry, a Republican, is running for re-election against Bill White, a
Democrat and former mayor of Houston.

Catherine Frazier, a spokeswoman for the Perry campaign, said the
governor was referring to a car bomb that killed three people in
Juarez on July 15.

"His point was to highlight that the violence that is going on the
other side of the border is real and it is not a threat that should be
taken lightly," Frazier said. "He understands our very strong trade
relationship with Mexico and is proud of the contribution that El Paso
and other border towns play in our state economy."

Drug violence in Juarez has claimed 1,700 lives this year, and
attacks, including the use of grenades, occur frequently against
police. But there have been no bombings in El Paso, where crime
overall is down 1 percent and there have been only two homicides in
2010.

"Here is the truth -- El Paso is safer than it has ever been,"
Shapleigh said.

Local government and business leaders have said misconceptions hurt
because even before Perry's comments they often had to dissolve
out-of-town impressions that El Paso is unsafe because it is on the
border. El Paso is ranked as the second-safest large city in the nation.

Police Chief Greg Allen said Tuesday that the governor was confused.
"Unfortunately, some people who live away from El Paso will believe
him," Allen said.