FROM AUSTIN TO NEW YORK: STRANGERS BEARING GIFTS?

By Juan Montoya

Well, aren't we the lucky ones?

For you information kind citizens of Brownsville (On the Border, By the Sea), a new company has awarded our fair city a "community showcase" opportunity to "show the city of Brownsville's economic vitality and the support of our business community."

How's that, you say?

Well, according to David McCarthy, President and CEO of Community Showcase Banners, of Warsaw, N.Y., "recently the City of Brownsville's Mayor, Tony Martinez, was awarded a community showcase at the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Nationally, there were only 15 Showcases awarded out of thousands of cities and towns across the country."

Now, Hizzoner Da Mayor Tony Martinez did attend the 80th Annual Conference of Mayors in Orlando June 13-16 where this great once-in-a-lifetime prestigious "award" was said to have been made. But try as we might, we can find nothing on the city agendas since that the city commission had "accepted" the award.What we do have on hand is a nice letter from City Manager Charlie Cabler addressed to "Dear Brownsville Business Owner" stating (again) that "the City of Brownsville was selected for a nationwide program that aims to showcase both the public and the private assets of the city. We (who's we?) have accepted the services for, and will participate in, a three-year promotional campaign conducted by Community Showcase Banners." The letter includes a nice photo of Charlie with a Mountain Man identified as David McCarthy, President and CEO of said firm.

We have put in an information request to the City Secretary and inquired at the City Manager's office for the exact wording on the agreement or "acceptance" without success. We will keep trying.

What the letter from either man doesn't say is that the city's "opportunity" to participate in McCarthys' uplifting campaing to highlight the civic and business assets in the city carries a price tag. Cabler's letter to locla businesses states that "the company which selected the city for the program, Community Showcase Banners, will be reaching out to you and others in the community to participate."

Local businesses have been approached by McCarthy (along with a buxom female assistant) and sporting a Super Bowl ring which he said he earned as a backup quarterback for Jim Plunkett when  the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl.

We're not exactly avid football fans here at El Rrun-Rrun, and that's probably why we were unable to locate his name on the Superbowl roster. But what the heck, they probably don't publish substitute rosters in those programs.

Whatever the case may be, local business owners can opt to buy into the showcase banner plan for as little as $695 a year which will get you one Bronze customized sponsorship, one street banner and a preferred pole (light pole from PUB?) site. For $1,095, the lucky participants will get what's called a Bronze+ customized sponsorship with two street banners and two preferred pole sites. You get the idea.

The Gold sponsorship (at only $3,3395 a year) will get you a customized sponsorship, five street banners and five preferred pole sites. The company will be able to use a City of Brownsville logo and "brand" the city's website, according to McCarthy's letter.

This is not the first time that people from the "outside" have come to our fair city bearing "gifts" that we just couldn't possibly pass up. Our Brownsville Economic Development Council gurus have gotten taken to the cleaners more than once and more times that they care to remember.

And just recently, a number of political candidates have heard the siren song from Austin where Cheezmeh's Erasmo Castro has convinced that he has a constituency on his Facebook page that just might improve their stab at public office.

The latest we've heard is that Castro has convinced Donald Clupper and Linda Gill Martinez that they should make use of his political persuasive services for their run at the board of trustees of the Brownsville Independent School District. It's difficult to tell how Castro can accomplish this feat knowing that he resides in Austin and he has been known to boast that his reach extends from the capital to all parts in the Lone Star State.What does Erasmo have to do with McCarthy? Aside from the obvious physical resemblance, both are from the outside of Brownsville and both have to some degree succeeded in convincing some of the locals that they hold a magic wand that will uplift their fortunes and better their opportunities of success.

Cheezmeh has had limited success in the political field, but any smidgen of a victory for candidates that they have been identified with is blasted from the rooftops. The groups that started ostensibly as a community watchdog is now in the employ of the likes of Ernie Hernandez and his political vote-harvesting machine. The victory of Ernie's daughter, Erin Hernandez Garcia for the JP 2-2 position was tainted with documented charges of massive voter fraud. Alas, the watchdog has now become the lapdog and is happy to mire in the cesspool of voter fraud and abuse of the elderly and mentally-impaired from which they harvest votes.

It's not as if he and his family don;t have enough troubles. They have been named in a RICO scheme in a case in federal court where their victims allege they were led to believe that Erasmo and others could help them fill immigration forms only to have their applications turned down. That case is still to be heard. 

And we have just learned that as of October 3, his Political Action Committee (Bringing Brownsville Change), with a listed address of 1216 E. Madison, Ste. D, Brownsville, TX 78520, had been fined $500 for being delinquent on their filing. By State law, the treasurer of a PAC is the responsible party for payment of fines assessed. Castro is listed as treasurer, so he owes the state 500 big ones.

With this spate of strangers bearing gifts to uplift us poor citizens of Brownstown, who's could be next on the horizon?