PUB SHOWDOWN AT BROWNTOWN CORRAL DUE WEDNESDAY

(The meeting of the Brownsville City Commission originally scheduled for Tuesday was changed to Wednesday. Two members of the PUB are scheduled to be replaced and insiders expect that a dog fight will take place pitting the candidates chosen by Mayor Tony Martinez and the rest of the city commission.)
By Juan Montoya
The terms for two appointed members of the Brownsville Public Utility Board will expire June 30, and the city has rescheduled its weekly meeting for Wednesday.
Insiders say that already a take-n-prisoners, no-holds-barred struggle is underway to decide not only who the two persons will be named to replace the outgoing board members, but also who on the commission will decide who will sit on this important policy-recommending seven-member board.
Will it be Da Mayor Tony Martinez?
Or will it be some sort of new coalition among the city commission that will include top vote-getter Cesar de Leon and another three commission members. The issue is important because it will signal which direction the city is heading. Will it continue the same spend thrift ways that it has been under Martinez and his rubber-stamp city commission? Or will it be a majority that strikes an independent chord from now on?
The two board members who are due for forced retirement are Martinez acolytes Manny Vasquez and Arturo Farias.
Farias, a former banker and consultant, was appointed by commissioner Rose Gowen as was Emmanuel "Manny" Vasquez, a retired Brownsville Independent School District adult education administrator.
Now we understand that Da Mayor is out twisting arms and suggesting sinuously (as is his wont) that he wouldn't mind seeing Gerardo Martinez, a losing candidate against commissioner Cesar de Leon be appointed to the PUB. Martinez already sits on the PUB as an ex-officio member.
That has raised some eyebrows because the younger Martinez was seen as the mayor's plant in the At-Large A commissioners race against de Leon and the other candidates. Candidate Martinez touted his engineering background and his attending TSC as well as his Southmost roots. Many felt that not only did Da Mayor back Martinez The Younger, but also because District 1 (Southmost) commissioner Longoria was backing him as a candidate from the hood.
But others wonder if de Leon will play along and cast his vote for someone who – by his mere entering the race – made him and his supporters spend money, time energy and resources to beat him at the polls.
Will Da Mayor get his way and continue his way unimpeded? Or will he face a determined majority who may want to send him and the city the message that that his method of autocratic governance is on the outs?
Date: Wednesday, July 1.
Place: City Hall (Browntown Corral)
BYOB