Incumbent at-large city commissioner's challenge to her opponent Robert Uresti may have backfired.
Gowen wants to debate Uresti on her own turf, at a forum in a hall at the University of Texas at Brownsville campus. And she doesn't want any of the other candidates to District 3 or 4 there to share the spotlight.
After mulling over the challenge, Uresti says he will set some conditions of his own. Not only will he debate the woman at UTB, but he will also insist that all the candidates be included. And, the caveat, he will insist that the candidates hold another debate, this time in a meeting room in the Southmost are, in Spanish.
"Let's take this where the people are," he said Saturday as he campaigned in the crowded 77 Flea Market. "I think that people in the barrios deserve to hear what explanations the sitting commissioners have on the issues that affect them most."A Uresti supporter said that although some college students do have an interest in local politics, for the most part they live at home with their parents, the real taxpayers who foot the bill for what many local residents think are excesses and commissioners personal agendas.
"There's old ladies carrying grocery items in their hands because they forgot their reusable grocery bags or they can't afford to buy another at the store," said a flea market customer. "If you look around, you will see that there are still as many plastic bags lining the ditches and snagged on trees as before. Why should those of us who don't litter have to put up with the inconvenience?"
Some local residents have called for a review of the plastic bag ordinance saying ti does not go far enough to ban the bags, but instead provides the city with yet another slush fund paid for by the customer, that is, the citizenry.
Gowen has been very vocal about the plastic bag ordinance as well as the ordinance banning smoking in local bars. She has also been pushing for the banning of selling hotdogs, hamburgers and other "junk" foods in city stadiums.
"We don't come here for our health," said a smoker standing outside of the Sportsman Lounge downtown. "Instead of banning smoking outright, they should have allowed bar owners to decide whether they wanted to permit it or not. If you don;t like smoke, don;t come here. It should be a matter of choice, not something that a city commissioner decides for the rest of us."
Will Gowen accept the challenge from Uresti? And if not, why?
8 comments:
Gowen will NOT accept the challenge. She is a Zavaletta/Zavaleta and they believe they are superior to all others. She will hide behind her work, her schedule....but she will not meet Uresti twice. Because she sees herself as above Robert and his constituents....she will seek shelter and avoid any confrontation or debate.
Uresti is wrong about the bags and smoking ban, but his challenge is right on - Gowen will never agree to meet with the people - Challenging her to meet in Southmost was brilliant - I suspect Gowen has never been to Southmost - which in my opinion is the cornerstone of the great traditional culture Brownsville has to offer
Bobby WC
A la mo!!! I hope Rose Gowan accepts Robert Uresti's counteroffer. Why is UT considered Rose Gowan's turf? And who is she to exclude the candidates in the other commissioner's races? We all pay taxes, it is eveyone's turf. I want all of them to be invited and all of them to attend. That Southmost debate is a gem of an idea.
There is nothing wrong with the bag and smoking ban. Get over it. There are plenty of other reasons for not voting for Gowen, much more important than plastic bags or smoking bans.
Y no chingen, los de Southmost don't participate in civic discussions either. They are always being lead, they just need leaders concerned with running the city the best it can be with the available resources.
Ay Dios MIO
Un bruto y una Bruta. There is no winning this one. Didn't this guy just run for TSC trustee. I guess lo que salga es bueno.
Why is anybody surprised that Gowan supports health related issues. After all, she is a doctor and she knows about health care. I mean, wouldn't you expect an engineer to have a special interest in engineering issues or a developer to be interested in land use issues? So its time to stop bitching and accept that health is her interest. You elect someone with special knowledge you ought to be prepared for them to use it. You don't have to agree but you ought to quit being surprised that it is her issue.
By the way, if you don't think the plastic bag ban isn't effective you are just not paying attention. There are substantially fewer bags as litter in our community. Sure, there are still some, of these some may be relics from before the ban and a testament as to how long these things remain in our environment and some are new. That there are new ones just shows how important the ban is. If there are as many as there are now in the trees and fence lines what would it look like without the ban. And finally, when you say that it is not convenient for people to remember to take a bag with them when they shop you demean the people. Why would you have such low expectations of the residents of our city?
If she is so concerned about healthcare, the fat bitch should worry about her own health before worrying about mine!
I support the bag ban. I live about a half mile down wind of a walmart, and before the ban, my ebony trees were always full of walmart bags. now, when i drive up the valley, i notice all of the bags all over the place. they are especially evident across the freeway from charlie clark in harlingen. the ordinance could be fine tuned, however. the smoking ban could also be fine tuned. that said, i think southmost is a wonderful location to debate. i wouldn't do it 100 percent in spanish though. a bilingual debate would be more appropriate. gowen seems to be snooty..probably too snooty to go to southmost.
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