Replacement Constable Selected for Precinct 2
A person has been selected to replace Constable Michelle Barrientes-Vela and it’s brilliant. Leticia Vasquez from the BCSO was the top candidate. Vasquez comes to the position with 25 years of experience in the BCSO. She has experience in various departments handled by law enforcement, including experience working in the jail.
The brilliant part is how it undercuts Barrientes-Vela’s constants claims of being targeted by male elected officials because she is not part of the ‘good old boys’ network, and because she was investigating their corruption; though she never says what that corruption is. While Barrientes-Vela has been playing Go Fish, Judge Nelson Wolff has been playing 3-dimensional chess.
The following question and answer were made in a video on KSAT 12 (go to the 3 minute 42 second mark):
Reporter (possibly Dillon Collier?): We’ve uncovered issues with the chief deputy and the captain. We are about to do another story in a few days, uncovering more issues with her administrations. Will they remain in place even after someone else has been (inaudible)?
Judge Wolff: Well, assuming that everything goes through and we do make the appointment, that person who’s appointed, I’m sure will review the staff that they have. It’s possible that some may resign. It’s possible that some may prefer to work somewhere else in county government. It’s possible that she may prefer they work somewhere else in county government.
When I first heard the video I found it strange that Judge Wolff said, it’s possible that SHE may prefer… She? Was he talking about Barrientes-Vela? That didn’t make sense. The question was obviously about what would happen after Barrientes-Vela had been replaced. Earlier in the video Wolff said, “Today the applications will go out. It will be posted on the website.” The logical assumptions is that no one has applied yet so they can’t know who will be applying. If that’s the case, how can he know it will be a she who will be deciding about staff?
And we all know that when the gender is unknown, it’s more common to use a male pronoun than it is to use a female pronoun. No, I think this was a slip of the tongue on Wolff’s part. I think they (Commissioners Court) had already decided that they were going to pick a woman, to protect Bexar County from a lawsuit by Barrientes-Vela. Leticia Vasquez is the perfect selection. Female, Hispanic, and highly qualified. He’s left Michelle Barrientes-Vela without a leg to stand on. Judge Nelson Wolff is a wily politician.