OLIVEIRA'S LAST DANCE; WINING AND DINING ON OUTSIDERS' MONEY AND CARRYING THEIR WATER

By Juan Montoya

This Sunday's political ads gave the local daily a flavor that it usually lacks on most Sundays when the grocery store ads are the only pages with real meat in them.

On the ad placed by Alex Dominguez, candidate for the District 35 Texas State Representative slot occupied by Rene Oliveira for the last 28 years, the challenger pointedly referred to the piss-poor record of bills introduced and passed by the "Dean of Hispanic legislators" in Austin while he racks up huge bills wining and dining his "constituents."

On Feb. 8, the Brownsville Herald reported that "Oliveira reported contributions of $53,050 and expenditures of $109,240 for the six-month period of July 1 through Dec. 31, 2011 — the most recent statement of such figures that he has filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
During that period, Oliveira spent $12,028 on mostly lunches, drinks, appetizers and dinners in Austin, South Padre Island and Brownsville.
The statement shows that he spent an additional $1,262 during that period buying beverages at Ben’s Liquor, Feldman’s, Jones Liquor, Statewide Beverage and Twin Liquors."

In the report for the 30-day period prior top the election covering the period of January 1 through April 19, the Oliveira campaign reported that the candidate had received an additional $60,840 from diverse contributors, the great majority from Political Action Committees representing lobbyists, investment concerns, energy companies, communications giants, contractors and other interests from outside Districit 35.

Oliveira reported that he had spent $78,989 during the same period and had another $84,934 on hand.

By contract, his opponent, former teacher and local attorney Alex Dominguez reported $6,600 in contributions, $2,350 in expenditures and $2,773 on hand. He also listed a debt of $2,000 for a personal loan to his campaign.

Of the six contributors that he listed on his Texas Ethics Commission reports, only one – from Antonio Domingez, a relative who is a high school principal – was form outside the city, in Austin. The other five were all from Brownsville, ranging from a high school principal to the owner of a working-class lounge.

In fact, Oliveira spent more wining and dining his constituents than the combined total of what Dominguez has collected in contributions during the entire campaign. In Sunday's ad, the amount Good-Time Oliveria spent entertaining supporters or constituents was $13,290, or about $74 a day.

Yet, the telling part of all is this: If the residents of District 35 elect a representative to pass legislation that will benefit their area, then they don't seem to be

getting that much for the big bucks that Oliveira is throwing into this race. In Sunday's newspaper ad, Dominguez listed the legislation tallies for all South Texas state reps and found that:

– Compared with Reps. Aaron Peña, J.M. Lozano, Veronica Gonzales, Eddie Lucio III, Armando Martinez, Segio Muñoz, Oliveira not only had authored or co-authored less bills than any one of them, but that he was below the group's average of 39.9 bills authored by the rest.

– Oliveira authored only 27 and coauthored 7, his 34 bills not even racing the group's average of 39.9.

Mind you, for a legislator who has bee there for 28 years to be shown up by the likes of Eddie Lucio III (85 bills authored, 16 co-authored) or first-termer J.M. Lozano (66 authored, 43 co-authored) is a telling indictment of where his focus has been in the 2011 legislative session.

The killer is that of these bills, the number of bills that Oliveira authored or co-authored that directly benefited education, teachers, nurses, firefighters or veterans is a fat round 0.

It's probably not profitable to Oliveira to spend his time filing legislation from these groups. When election time comes around, it's not going to be his lower-middle class or low-income constituents who are going to be giving him the big bucks. It's going to be the good people with deep pockets from the interest groups that look very well after their man in Austin, isn't it?