ASARCO: El Paso’s Past, Not Its Future
by Mayor John Cook

The City of El Paso is in the midst of an unprecedented boom. The federal government recognized the city’s many quality of life attributes when it focused on El Paso as an area of growth during the Base Realignment and Closure process in 2005.

The State of Texas recognized El Paso’s potential when it approved the construction of the country’s second new medical school in more than 25 years and the first on an international border. Housing starts are exploding. Commercial construction is at near-record levels.

El Paso is racing into the new century as a major metropolitan player. With its sister city of Ciudad Juárez, El Paso is emerging as a shining beacon of the future. The combined international population is approaching three million.

The sun is shining on El Paso. Our city’s future is indeed bright.

However, all of the good work that got us where we are today, and which promises to take us even further, is threatened by a single proposal: The reopening of the ASARCO smelter.

Some have asked why there is such strong opposition to ASARCO. If you’re curious, I am pleased to announce that you can go to the city website, www.elpasotexas.gov, and view a new video that makes it clear why ASARCO is not right for El Paso. I am especially proud of the municipal employees who worked with our legal counsel to tell the city’s story in such a compelling fashion.

Until you have a chance to view the video, the short story is that ASARCO is a part of El Paso’s rich heritage. But so is the horse cavalry of the U.S. Army. Both are to be celebrated as part of the fabric that made El Paso what it is today, but neither is a part of the modern El Paso. Lead and arsenic emissions in Downtown El Paso are as out of place in 2007 as a saber-led cavalry charge through the streets of our modern city. The 800-foot ASARCO smokestack is a historical monument to the past. Copper smelters are not the centerpiece for modern American cities.

ASARCO should not be allowed to reopen because of the threat it poses to public health, its record of repeated non-compliance with state environmental statutes, and widespread public opposition, including international opposition. ASARCO has already lost its case before two state administrative law judges, where the City of El Paso proved that ASARCO’s record of non-compliance made it unworthy to hold a state air emissions permit.

It is difficult to take seriously ASARCO’s sunny predictions of how it will economically benefit the city with new jobs, tax revenue, etc. when the company is in such poor financial condition that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

El Paso is proud of its industrial economic base and supports the businesses that are such a vital part of our community and our future prosperity. El Paso welcomes and embraces industry, but it must be industry that plays by the rules and makes a positive contribution. ASARCO is not one of those businesses.

Let the message be clear: Please don’t allow ASARCO to restart.

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Help Wanted: Latino Teen Followers
by Bill Coon, CPO Boys & Girls Clubs of El Paso

Do you remember the game Follow-the-Leader? You have one person walking, jumping over things, skipping, etc.; they are trying to stump or mess up the “followers”. Everyone wanted to be the leader to see how they could torture the others. But this game is our first real-life experience of what a leader and what a follower are. In this world we have followers and leaders. Each aspect has its own benefits, responsibilities and trials. But many of us see following as a negative or as a weakness. We must have followers and leaders, if not this world would be in deep trouble!

How many help wanted ads have you seen? “Help wanted: followers?” I would venture a guess that we all think we want to fill positions with leaders in their field; but what about the followers, are they not very important as well? In the game of football, how many centers are on the field at one time? They are never the team captain, but they are just as important as the quarterback. The ball must be given to the quarterback and the center must block for the quarterback. Each position on the football field is a key position. If they were not, football would do away with those non-leader positions.

Are leaders and followers trained? Does their training differ? I often see and prefer on the job training. Sure you can go to seminars and be trained by leaders, but what do we learn? They share their own philosophies, their ideas, their ways. Many times this will not work because we are different individuals. There is only one President, one Bill Gates, one Mayor John Cook, etc. We can learn from them, but in the end, we must be ourselves. Each person must know when to lead, when to take charge and when to follow.

Boys and Girls Clubs of El Paso has received a $252,000 grant to help build our city’s Latino youth. At the onset, we are not looking for leaders, we are looking for followers. We are looking for followers of an idea who want to improve their skills and ability and who want to get more out of life. Great followers become the best leaders. True, leadership comes from developing our strengths, realizing our weaknesses and learning to build on the strengths of others. Jack Welch, past president of General Electric found leaders who complimented his weak areas. He was not threatened by their skills and promise of leadership capabilities, he encouraged these traits. Jack knew how to lead his team, but also he knew when to follow his team. Each follower has skills that must be encouraged to be developed and shared with the group. A true leader knows when to lead and when to follow. Boys and Girls Clubs want to develop followers who learn to recognize their strengths and weaknesses and know when to lead and when to follow.