PUBLIC GAGGED BY GUNSLINGER SOSSI, COMMISSIONERS

By Juan Montoya
"Is this on? Mr. Sossi…If you ask me… I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Sossi!" Mr. JOSE PUBLICO, Brownsville, Texas
The tail is wagging the dog now in Brownsville.
Suddenly, on the advice of a part-time contract attorney, the city commission has moved to license masseuses, gag the public and keep criticism from the public eye, and to otherwise exercise more power that the elected officials themselves.
This state of affairs has now reached the point where Mark E. Sossi, who has made an industry of defending the city against lawsuits in the past, is now virtually controlling the direction of public policy-making in the city.
Within the space of a few weeks he has nudged the majority of the commissioners to pass ordinances regulating masseuses and charge them $250 to do business in the city or face prosecution, shut off the broadcasting of public comments through the city's public channel, and defended the commissioners in their quest to issue $11.3 million in certificates of obligation without consulting the voters.
That last action has triggered a lawsuit from eight local residents who want a court to declare that the city commissioners must abide by the city charter, legal opinions from the Texas Attorney General notwithstanding.
To plaintiffs who have sued the city on previous cases, the Sossi style is predictable: Look for anything to denigrate the character and morals of the plaintiff, preferably without even looking at the merits of the cases.
The majority on the city commission - most notably his trustworthy ally Charlie Atkinson - count on Sossi to give them the legal justification for their whims.
How else would one explain them hiring him to defend them in court in 2007 for continuing to take health insurance, salary, and other benefits after voters in a charter amendment election soundly turned those propositions down?
In the charter election, of the 14 propositions forwarded to voters, the propositions to allow the City Commission to set its pay, more easily remove appointees to city boards and committees and add a member to the Brownsville Public Utilities Board board of directors, were unceremoniously rejected by the voters.
Proposition 8 would have deleted a provision that City Commission members be paid $10 for each meeting they attend, and allowed them to establish salaries for themselves. The other - Proposition 9 - would have allowed the City Commission to pay people who serve on appointed boards and would allow people to serve on more than one board at a time.
Opponents say the futile effort by Sossi and the majority on the city commission to defend their taking benefits in court cost the city a pretty penny - almost $40,000 - but gained him their favor. He was picked as legal counsel by the losing majority after that fiasco.
Sossi, if you remember, was hired by the majority on the commission at $10,000 a month. That's $120,000 smackers a year to advice the commissioners. Then we understand that he also serves as lead counsel to the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation at and additional $5,000 a month. Add that to the $120,000 and that makes $180,000 for his services.
He was also appointed by the losing majority to the city charter review committee and sought to include insurance, medical and other benefits in the charter.
However, he as also unsuccessful there.
Emma Perez-Trevino documented that the city paid more than $300,000 since 2000 to insure most former and present elected officials and their families. That sum did not include medical claims.
In the past, Sossi also represented former city commissioner Carlos Cisneros' wife in the 2005 defamation lawsuit against his former challenger and former Brownsville Public Utilities Board member Robert Sanchez.
The Herald pointed out in a previous story that Sossi also represented the city before the Texas Attorney General's Office in the January public information request that resident Moses Sorola made requesting information about payments related to Cisneros' travel.
Sossi requested AG open records ruling, contending that Sorola's request was similar to issues raised in the benefits litigation and that he was trying to bypass the discovery process. Despite the delaying action, the city had to release the records to Sorola.
His comment after he was handed the defeat in court on the benefits lawsuit?
"I think the public wins when there is clarity on the issue," he glibly told the local daily.
But it is these latest moves by Sossi that have spawned the most resistance.
Ask Teri Rendon, who runs a spa-salon what happens if you complain about the city's heavy-handedness.
She got a city inspector knocking on her door checking her permits. The director of the health department said the inspection was "routine" even though the inspector asked Rendon whether she was the person who had complained about the ordinance in the newspaper.
Many contend that city commissioners freely use the city channel to push for their pet projects.
"Rick Longoria (who it is rumored wants to be the next mayor) has a lengthy program where he is the lone character who introduces the viewer to the Southmost Branch Library," said a city worker.
"The mayor pushes for animal rights and parks in his own program, never mind in times of disasters like tropical storms. Edward Camarillo is featured in anti-graffiti and clean-up campaigns. Rose Gowen pushes for the Framers Market. Charlie Atkinson has had lengthy programs to push for his Sports Park. Just about everybody wants the public to hear them out. Could it be he's trying to muzzle criticism against Charlie, his benefactor, before the election? Even then, why does the majority of the commissioners want to shut out the voice of the people?"