A "PERSONAL" ISSUE GETS POLITICAL REAL FAST

By Juan Montoya

The first thing that John Wood – currently Precinct 2 Cameron County Commissioner and candidate for county judge – said to the local newspaper was that the resignation of his administrative assistant Carlos Cisneros was something "personal" and "not political."
Cisneros was arrested and charged with domestic violence and driving while intoxicated over the Mother's Day weekend. On Monday morning, he met with Wood and supposedly offered his resignation from his county job, reportedly at his own initiative.
Now, as some have pointed out, Cisneros is not currently an elected official. Further, he has not been tried and convicted of either charge. He is, however, an "at-will" county employee and as such serves at the pleasure of his boss, Wood himself.
Now, you wouldn't think that Wood would have encouraged Cisneros to tender his papers because of the possible negative impact his underling's troubles may have in his ongoing bid for the county judge's seat that will culminate in the November election, would you?
In the case of Brownsville Pat Ahumada, the opposite is true. While the mayor is a public official, he, too, has not had the benefit of a trial on his DWI charge. Judging by the videos and photos disseminated throughout the local media, there are some valid doubts about the level of intoxication he exhibits.
In other words, a good attorney could raise the possibility that he was not legally intoxicated at the time of his arrest. The visual evidence shows him to be cooperative, cognizant, and – unlike the report written by the arresting officer – did not appear to "sway from side to side."
However, the local daily has played up the calls for him to resign his post. It has featured the comments of those who call for his resignation two days running with no end in sight.
The operative word here is "judging."
How many commenters in his trial over the $26,000 vendor check that ended up in his personal account had already tried, judged and sentenced Ahumada to political oblivion? In the end, a good attorney raised reasonable doubts in the minds of the jurors and he was acquitted of the charge.
Cisneros had no such opportunity. To say that his resignation as Wood's administrative assistant is a "personal" and not a "political" issue is to stretch the bounds of credibility. Cisneros resigned before he even got to trial because it would hurt his boss's chances of getting elected county judge. In fact, Wood probably indicated this fact to Cisneros when they met in private that Monday morning.
You will remember that Wood covered for Cisneros when questions were raised by his opponents to the city commission Moses Sorola and Melissa Zamora about falsified time sheets that indicated he had been at work when he was in fact, out of town. Wood stood by him then. But after he lost to Zamora, things changed.
Cisneros no longer has the constituency Wood needs to defeat Carlos Cascos for county judge. He became, in fact, expendable. A true friend would have stood by Cisneros until he went to trial, and then, if convicted, then could use the conviction to sever the bonds, personal or political as they may be.
But that would mean that Cisneros would be hanging like an albatross around Wood's neck, and that was one step too far for the wannabe county judge.