Judge Alfredo
District
Court
February
25, 2008
Honorable John Specia
70 NE Loop 410, Suite 1100
San Antonio, Texas 78216
Dear Judge Specia:
I am writing this letter as a courtesy response and to set
the record straight on the ÒcomplaintÓ sent to you by Max Higgs concerning the
contents of my campaign website. First of all, the letters in question were
mistakenly placed in the ÒEndorsementsÓ bullet and was an oversight by the
company preparing the website. The
error is in the process of being rectified and there was never any intention to
give the appearance of an endorsement by CASA. I know Mr. Joe Gagen through us sitting as members of the
ChildrenÕs Justice Act Task Force. Mr. Gagen paid a visit to El Paso last year
and personally observed various programs we have in our court. I am sure you are aware that El Paso is
a designated Model Court with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court
Judges. As a Model Court, we are
expected, if not required, to host visitors who wish to observe our Òbest
practicesÓ and our programs.
Furthermore, we must record and report to the National Council
concerning these visits and I use letters from visitors as documentation of
such visits. I personally requested a letter from Mr. Gagen and he willingly
complied but the rest of the letters were unsolicited and were voluntarily and
spontaneously written to or about our court. I believe that these letters attest to my leadership and
innovation skills and I find nothing wrong in using them in my campaign. If the authors of these letters request
that I not use them, I will gladly remove them from my website.
Finally Judge, I must inform you that Mr. Higgs is
personally involved in the campaign of one of my opponents and is personally
participating in a negative and smear campaign against me for obvious personal
reasons. He retired as a probate
judge and was upset because I would not use him in representing parents in CPS
cases because he obviously had not been involved with CPS for a very long time
and was obviously not qualified to handle such matters. Furthermore, it is my understanding
that he has been promised an Associate JudgeÕs position by the very person he
is working with and opposing me in this campaign. Any comments or complaints by Mr. Higgs should be construed
as biased, self serving and for personal gain.
Should you require additional information or have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Respectfully,
Alfredo Chavez
Judge, 65th Family District Court
Enclosure: Letter
of Max Higgs
CC: Mr. Joe Gagen, CEO Texas Casa; Paul Andrews, Ph. D.,
Tyler Texas; Estela P. Medina, Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Travis County;
Tom Stanton, Attorney at Law; Diana Barajas, CPS Regional Director; Cynthia
Carrasco, J.D., National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and Max
Higgs
Political Ad Paid For By
John L. Williams, Treasurer, 1119 E. San Antonio, El Paso, Texas 79901
In Compliance With the
Voluntary Limits Of The Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.