Former El Paso city rep reprimanded for alleged misuse of city-issued gas card
Published: Thu, 11/09/23
Former El Paso city rep reprimanded for alleged misuse of city-issued gas card
El Paso City representative Claudia Rodriguez (credit: City of El Paso)
KFOX14
by Staff
EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — A former El Paso City Rep was reprimanded by the city's ethics review commission for her alleged misuse of her city-issued gas card.
Claudia Rodriguez spent $5,300 on her city gas card in 2022, which was thousands more than all but city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, who spent $6,700.
Rodriguez is no longer in office, but a city ethics commission scheduled a hearing anyway, which she didn't attend.
Wednesday, Rodriguez decided not to attend, calling the ethics hearing a "charade."
In a statement, Rodriguez said she invites those accusing her to bring their claims to our district courts, adding, "this was never about gas usage this was about destroying my reputation."
The gas card scandal took hold earlier in 2023.
In May, the city auditor released a review of gas card charges showing Cassandra Hernandez and Claudia Rodriguez outspent other members of the council by thousands of dollars.
In July, the interim city manager terminated the gas card program and announced plans to replace the gas cards with a vehicle allowance.
Then, that same month, an ethics hearing was held for Hernandez -- and she was issued a reprimand for her spending.
A recall effort was then launched against Hernandez in September, but it failed as organizers were unable to get enough signatures.
Below is Claudia Rodriguez's full response to the hearing:
After long consideration, I do NOT trust the process and I will not participate in this charade of “fairness.” If Mr. Tom Laign, Max Grossman, Art Fierro, Edmundo Calderon, and the City of El Paso really think they have a valid case against me, then I invite them to bring their claims to our district courts. After all, discovery is a BEAUTIFUL thing. This was NEVER about gas usage this was about destroying my reputation. Go ahead and issue your reprimand, I am not impressed.