Tuesday, June 3, 2014

WILL HIZZONER DA MAYOR TONY MARTINEZ STEP DOWN?


By Juan Montoya
Unconfirmed reports (rumors) have reached us that City of Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez may step down before his term is up to spend more time with his terminally ill son in Houston.
Our sources tell us that Martinez may opt to step down from his office to spend time with hi son Jesuit Father T.J. Martinez, president of Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston.
We have been unable to ascertain the report, but if it's so, then a mad scramble may be underway to find a replacement among the sitting commissioners and an election may be in the offing. Da Mayor's term is up May 2015. And salivating in the wings is commissioner Rose Gowen and several others who would like to take his place.
Father Martinez was featured as one of four “new influencers” in Houston by local magazine, "Papercity," in its April 2012 issue. The Jesuit magazine, The Jeuist National News, also featured a story on him a month later in June.
On August 2013, the Brownsville Herald ran a feature on his work in Houston's Cristo Rey Jesuit Collegewhich noted the success of the new school in providing a top-flight education to the city’s underprivileged children through its innovative work-study program that pays the students’ tuitions.
Martinez was praised for his ability to galvanize donors and corporations to support the school’s mission of providing a rigorous college preparatory track to Houston’s youth.
For his part, Da Mayor has had a checkered record in his tenure as the city's chief elected official.
Besides encumbering the ratepayers of the Brownsville Public Utility Board with a $325 million bill (in addition to its existing $200 million in debt) to "partner" with Tenaska to construct a 800 MW gas-powered electric generating plant, Martinez has also indulged in some questionable real-estate speculation in downtown property.
Rate payers have already been hit with utility bill increases that will stretch into the foreseeable future to pay for the plant. In response to the heavy debt burden, Fitch Ratings has rated the PUB bonds as "negative."
BPUB CEO and General Manager John Bruciak said that PUB will pay for its 200 megawatts through a series of small rate increases over the next five years.
Those "small" increases were approved in December during a special meeting. The commissioners adopted upwards rate hikes that will see city residents pay a 36 percent increase in electric rates over the next three years, a 20 percent increase in water rates over the same period, and a 6 percent hike in waste water costs over two years.
Under the plan approved by both bodies, electric rates alone will go up by 14 percent by October 2013 and another 22 percent by October 2016.
Most questionable was the $2.3 million purchase of his friend Abraham Golansky's Casa Del Nylon Property at the corner of 13th Street and Adams through a deal negotiated by the mayor's law partner Horacio Barrera. Galonsky just happened to be Barrera's longtime neighbor. Several knowledgeable real-estate brokers have questioned the deal in addition to other speculative purchases of properties downtown which were made ostensibly to attract the University of Texas System to keep the UTB campus downtown.
Some city commission members said that Martinez had said the UTB would buy the Casa Del Nylon property from the city, but that UTB officials said they were not interested after the fact.
The graphic above shows the amount of debt issued under Martinez through Certificates of Obligation, a method of financing city debt without having to go to the voters for their approval. The debt will be paid from future taxation and fees to the landfill, etc.
As one wag said at a local coffee house,: "What does it matter if Martinez steps down? He's already done his damage."


29 comments:

Anonymous said...

We can appreciate Tony's concerns for his son and his family. This health tragedy seems to provided the opening some say he has been looking for to eject from city government. If and when Tony's should take such a step, he will leave a city racked by his failures....failures to be transparent, failures to protect the citizens from "special interests", failure to protect the citizens tax dollars and the selling out of the city to benefit his "friends". Tony has been a disaster as mayor and has never really considered the citizens in his actions...other than his friends, like Julieta Garcia.

Anonymous said...

AnonymousJune 3, 2014 at 8:15 AM

Estela Chavez Vasquez has not done a single thing as commissioner except travel. She travels with her commission budget, with the PUB budget along with her PUB appoinment and her fellow attorney comadre, Noemi Garcia, with her 4B travel budget, with her 4A homie Sandra Langley, etc. It takes a lot of us taxpayers' money to keep this bitch on consant travel. How the hell can she be effective at being a commissioner? At being an attorney? At being a mother and wife?!?! She just got in to get her free trip around the world and to get her buddies jobs at the city. She wants a new city attorney and a new municipal judge. Guess who's in line? Noemi and all her attorney friends who she owes favors to. Portillo is not far behind. As soon as she got in she had one foot on the plane to go to Austin, Dallas, Vegas, Georgia, LA, and now Denver and she's only been there one year! In the words of Bean Ayala, "WOW!" She is living the dream with 3 more years left in her term and while she has been there she has already paid her friend Galonsky for the rent money at the casa del nylon she could not afford to pay with a cushy position on the PUB board. Someone with a successful business could not possibly have that much time to travel. She's getting money from somewhere else. Oh yeah, from us!

Pat Ahumada

Anonymous said...

Haha..why don't you look at your county judge candidates travel. He has spent more in travel than these people combined and all under the guise of county clerk. Puro pedo.

Anonymous said...

What a racket these critters have. It's better than the Cosa Nostra simply because it is done "legally". Sweetheart real estate deals, contracts. Fixed rigged bids. Kickback (referral fees) inflated purchases, etc.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Galoping Guzenzko, the smuggler kingpin.

Anonymous said...

No wonder we have the Earth warming climate . This is due to the Puro Pedo in Nacoville, Texas.

Anonymous said...

Racist jerk....go away please; you're boring us with your naco bullshit.

Anonymous said...

Is this the same Igor Guzenko who defected to the U.S. ?

Anonymous said...

Some travel is necessary....but the city commissioners don't get paid....so they take their benefits from the travel opportunities. Solomon Ortiz was called the "Marco Polo of Congress"....because he put himself on every trip possible on the tax payers dime.

Anonymous said...

I am a Racist. I believe in the Naco race. That is why I reside in Nacoville; beats living in N. Korea.

Anonymous said...

Naco B.S. Is good ! Gives us a better perspective of Nacoladia.

Anonymous said...

When someone is pure evil as Tonia Martinez has been karma shows it ugly head and it hits you where it really hurts you. What goes around comes around. Too bad his son will die because of his evil father bad karma.

Anonymous said...


Tony "Soprano" Martinez cannot leave soon enough. What a dismal failure. Higher taxes, crappier streets, a leaderless council. The man who made his money off scooping up one-third from the pain and suffering of others has had not positive effect on our little community. Sorry to hear about junior, but go and go fast.

Anonymous said...

I moved from another state . I got interested in Naco jerks comments. I asked my neighbor about Nacos. He told me that Nacos founded Nacoville. I am interested in Nacohistory. They told me that the Mayor is of Naco origins. Very interesting .

Anonymous said...

"Naco B.S. Will set you Free". Diogenes

Anonymous said...

Tony will finish his term, run again and win.

Anonymous said...

The city commission all went disguised as the Fiddler. Da Mayor attended as the Joker wearing his unusual G-string.H

Anonymous said...

I am writing an essay about Nacos in Nacoville, Tx.; could very well evolve into a novel. Who knows? It could be a NY Times best seller. It will be about Nacos in Society and in Politics; it could be compared to the Naco Tea-Party; denying climate change, taking a bath every 3 months. Making pregnancy illegal, deporting people with foreign names, etc. Movie rights will be sold. The actors will be the city commission, BISD board, county elected officials, and the most powerful Naca in the world, according to CNN.

Anonymous said...

Fuck you and your essay......go away you boring idiot!

Anonymous said...

Aha ! I assume you are like the Holy Inquisition. Killing people and burning books just like the beloved Naziz did. You need to read up on Naco history and Nacoville. This will give us a better insight as to our origins. Fret not mon frère, don't be in self denial!

Anonymous said...

You sound like so pissed off, I wonder if you have any skills or talent other than speaking your mind with such flat words...

Anonymous said...

Speaking of flat words....do you know any other besides "naco"?..give it a rest.

Anonymous said...

I don't, I bet you surely do, to a greatest extent, you surely breath and live its meaning; look at yourself then you'll understand better

Anonymous said...

Indio is the foundation for Naco

Anonymous said...

I see you have been studying geology. You have found the foundation of Naco. (Indio)

Anonymous said...

The other day I took a shot cut. To be exact, Sloss St. And Price Rd. to my aghast I saw the construction of these horrible, horrible , "apartment housing" units being constructed. Who allowed the building permit be issued. An honest building permit officer would have never allowed this building atrocity to proceed. I smell Maytag funds being spent.

Anonymous said...

Get a life you naco illiterate nerd!

Anonymous said...

We are now an American City, we all should take pride of.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a 3rd world poblado to me! Yes. We have running water. A plus.

rita