One member of the El Paso City Council is attempting to justify her vote to block a plan to stop a partisan video from playing at the El Paso International Airport.
West Side city Rep. Alejandra Chávez was one of four City Council members to vote against a plan to work with the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration to remove a video of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from screens at the El Paso airport. The video features Noem pointing fingers at national Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown, something some City Council members asserted in a letter violates the Hatch Act.
Chávez, along with city Reps. Ivan Niño, Art Fierro and Lily Limón voted against the plan. Mayor Renard Johnson cast the tie-breaking vote to kill the plan.
Chávez issued a statement Friday, Oct. 31, attempting to explain her vote on the plan, which came just over a week after she partnered with city Reps. Josh Acevedo and Deanna Maldonado-Rocha to send a letter to TSA Federal Security Director Jared Babin calling for the video’s removal.
In response, the TSA clarified that the video is being played in an area under federal jurisdiction, Chávez asserted in her statement.
“The equipment the video is playing on is TSA equipment, and we are required to play the video,” Babin wrote in response to City Council members’ letter. “TSA counsel has reviewed the video and determined it is not a violation of the Hatch Act. I acknowledge the concern, but the video cannot and will not be removed until I get further guidance from the department or the government shutdown ends.”
For Chávez, the directive from Babin “made clear that TSA is not currently willing or able to engage in further discussion or changes regarding the video’s display until they receive direction from federal leadership and the ongoing government shutdown is resolved.”
“It is important to note that this vote was not an endorsement of the video itself,” the statement from Chávez’s office stated. “Rather, it was a procedural step to explore a potential agreement with federal agencies. However, given TSA’s firm position and legal guidance, Rep. Chávez determined that pursuing (a Memorandum of Understanding) at this time would not result in meaningful change and therefore voted against the measure.”
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso City Council member defends vote on shutdown video at El Paso airport
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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