EL PASO - We've received dozens of calls to our newsroom asking why Mayor John Cook hasn't made a public appearance during the blackouts and water shortages.
We called his cell phone today and he's been in Austin with his family on vacation the entire week. He says he planned this trip months ago and didn't want to cancel.
"Did they want me to restore their water? I'm not a plumber," Mayor Cook said in a phone interview today. He said even if he was here, he wouldn't be much help.
"All I can do, being the mayor of the city is talk about it, and direct people and I'm doing that long-distance," he said.
But not everyone agrees. On our website, one viewer writes, "If he is so worried then why is he on vacation? Must be nice." Another writes, "Mayor Cook is on the EPWU Board and should have done something to prevent this from happening."
"At this point I'm not ready to point fingers at anybody," Mayor Cook said. He said he called city manager Joyce Wilson and asked her if she wanted him to fly back, but she told him they had everything under control.
"I think I've been very accessible," he said. "As a matter of fact I'm driving right now outside Johnson City doing an interview with you."
He said city leaders will start holding someone accountable, but not until after the storm clears.
"After we get everything restored, which is our main priority right now, we're going to sit back and try to find out what went wrong, and if there is anything that we can do," Mayor Cook said.
But the mayor remains on the open road for a short while longer.
"We're hoping to get in town by eight thirty this evening," he said. We asked the mayor if he knew his own pipe situation at home, and he says he'll find out when he gets there.
Actually, it would be best if Mayor Cook would take a permanent, unpaid vacation from El Paso. He can take his defunct crew with him.
The mayor's flippant and sarcastic comment about being a plumber is unprofessional and completely unsympathetic. It's unbecoming of someone in a place of power to be sarcastic while the city is suffering. I've been a die-hard democrat my whole life, but if the mayor's way to handle this situation is to be sarcastic then maybe, if he runs again, I'll vote republican. We don't want you to be a plumber Mayor Cook, we want you to lead us after this city has completely shut down!!