AGAIN: CITY OFFICIAL WORKING FOR COUNTY ELECTED OFFICIAL

By Juan Montoya
History is repeating itself once again in the appointment of a City of Brownsville commissioner working for an elected Cameron County elected official.
We refer, of course, to District 3 City Commissioner Melissa Zamora being hired as the Public Information Officer for incoming Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz.
The last time this happened was when former city commissioner Carlos Cisneros worked for Cameron County Precinct 2 commissioner John Wood.
You remember. Much ado was made of the fact that Cisneros – working full time for the county – would go on trips ot of town on behalf of the city and still sign and turn in turn in time sheets to the county which were approved by his boss for payment as if he had been working full time in the county.
It got to the point where Cisnero's detractors took the time to film him as he emerged from his home during working hours in his bath robe to pick up his newspaper. The film made the local news and in the controversy that erupted when his time sheets were compared to the times he was out of town, Wood stood by his employee by stating that he was performing public duties.
Yet, some point that there are more issues other than whether an at-will employee in a supervisory position was required to fill out time sheets. Wood and Cisneros claimed that they were not and that the reason the time sheets were filled out was because it was just a pro forma and bookkeeping function.
Some time after that, Cisneros self-destructed during an outing with his wife in South Padre Island that resulted in a domestic quarrel and subsequent arrest.
In fact, their relationship goes even further back after Zamora defeated Cisneros in a runoff election to attain her present position as city commissioner.
We don't doubt that Ms. Zamora will perform well as an information officer. An account executive for a local promotions company as well as a former communications coordinator with the Convention and Visitors Bureau for South Padre Island, her credential also extend to being the city editor for The Brownsville Herald and her work with the UTB-TSC publications department.
It was only a few years ago (November, 2006, to be exact) that then-Cameron County Judge-elect Carlos Cascos announced that he had made key hires as he prepared to step into the driver's seat.
He hired Melissa as one of his top assistants, part of a team that took office Jan. 1, 2007.
So this is not exactly her first rodeo in county government.
Yet, in the five months that remain in her term as city commissioner, she will undoubtedly be privy to executive session discussions in the municipal commission chambers that will include topics dealing with the county. Her boss will also have a working – if not an occasionally adversarial – relationship with the city. How will Saenz and Zamora handle these two distinctively separate functions for these two entities without raising the spectre of a conflict of interest?
This is not a trivial issue.
Currently, the two entities are engaged in negotiations with each other over the economic and contractual relationship they will have over the Flor de Mayo International Bridge project that involves both entities. Will Zamora have to abstain from discussions and voting on agenda items related to this project and other issues affecting the city and county?
This peculiar relationship constitutes a landmine that will have to be navigated carefully by the DA's Office, the county, city and – above all – Ms. Zamora herself.
On a happier note, she has also informed those who read her website that she will marry a local successful Brownsville businessman soon. Her new mate lists his address in the Brownsville Country Club area, which is inside her single-member district as was her previous address off Palm Boulevard.
At one time, the fact that she was renting a property that belonged to the wife of Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez was raised an issue by critics suggesting she was beholden to Hizzoner because of this fact. Now that seems to be off the table.
Congratulations to both.