Now that the City of Brownsville Commission is one short with the brusque departure of carpetbagger Estela Chavez-Vasquez and jaunting Mayor Tony Martinez, it is becoming apparent that no one has a majority that can guide the city.
Martinez and his shadow government called United Brownsville have been allowed a free hand to do just about everything they pleased. Not only that, but United Brownsville bully IBC President Fred Rusteberg and former UTB President Julieta Garcia continue to pull the strings behind commissioner Rose Gowen, Deborah Portillo and Martinez. In fact, Portill was named to be one of United Brownsville's three directors and before that she was a secretary to United Brownsville Executive Director Mike Gonzalez.
This group single-handedly basically gave away the farm to Rusteberg and his cadre of thieves who basically usurped elected bodies like the city, TSC, the Port of Brownsville, the BISD, and other publicly-funded entities to give themselves pubic money with which to manipulate the assets of the city.
This group has raided the general funds of entities like the Brownsville Economic Development Council through the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, (untold thousands to their cronies for expensive studies and their pet projects) the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (Sports Park with Charlie Atkinson and now, with Gowen, chisca trials), and at least $25,000 in "membership" to eight public entities to fund the United Brownsville staff to do their mischief.
A part of the plan was to give – at cut-rate prices – prime real estate belonging to the citizens of Brownsville to the UT System which has been subsidized by the poorest city in the United States since they alighted here like buzzards in 1991. The UT knows a good thing when they see it and after being subsidized to the tune of $1 billion over the life of the so-called "partnership" with TSC in the form of annual "transfers," they had to part ways when the TSC board said "no" to Julieta Garcia's plan to dissolve the community college and give UT all its assets.
Not to be denied the life's blood of the community, they turned their eyes to the city and found willing sycophants in the persons of United Brownsville's Martinez and Gowen buttressed by the likes of Deborah Portillo, Chavez-Vasquez, and until recently Jessica Tetreau, John Villarreal, and even Ricardo Longoria.
So far, the UT System through United Brownsville has gotten everything they desired. With elections coming up and the electorate mad about the Lincoln Park giveaway and the enrichment of Martinez's friends and the splurging of public funds for Gowen's health kicks friends at the expense of the taxpayer, this just might be the summer of our discontent.
And now that we have seen what we can expect from the sitting commissioners, no one can blame us for not wanting a rerun of their performance, The mayor's race is a throw-away vote if you go with Pat Ahumada, a fling if you go with Willy Garza, and consensual rape if you submit to Martinez again.Martinez will have Portillo and Gowen to look out after United Brownsville's interest in drining public funds to fund their "partnerships" (remember the TSC-UTB fiasco?)
with the likes of Tenaska ($325 million), Bi-Ned (about $1 million in studies doled out to the proteges of the UB principals) and whatever scheme Calos Marin concocts to tap into the public trough.
Who will look out for the public interests?
With Ahumada and Garza sure to split the anti-Martinez vote and Da Mayor almost a shoo-in if they do, then the only alternative is to deprive Martinez of a majority and vote for four new commissioners, unless you think one of the existing ones can be rehabed. But you know what happens to people in rehab, they are liable to fall of the wagon and leave us in the lurch.
So, as the Templar said in the Indiana Jones movie: "Choose wisely."
7 comments:
We have these problems because our elected officials focus more on their own agenda and interests and very little about the majority of the citizens of Brownsville. Tony Martinez and Rose Gowen continue to be pawns to the interests of Julieta Garcia....the "Wicked Witch of Brownsville". Juliet has taken a very low profile of late, but continues to make sure her "babies" are given key jobs at the Port, PUB, the new power plant, etc. Julieta's daughter has run Lola's...Tony Martinez's downtown restaurant....into the ground. The business has floundered because Juliet's daughter has no idea what "work" is or should be, and because Tony has been willing to overlook bad service, bad food and rising prices, obviously to stay on Julieta's good side. The city commission is a dysfunctional group and so we can only stand on the sidelines and watch the city swirl down the toilet.
Gallon sky for Mayor.
Tony will not get my vote this time,or my friends or family...
His subjects await him disguised in his Imperial Royal rags. His royal portrait will hang alongside with Louie XIV. Carlos V , andEmperor Napoleon at the Louvre.
Where is Da Mayor ? The N.A.C.O. Intelligence Agency has been informed that he fled to Havana with his bogeyman, Igor Galonsky to freedom. They went to the Sierra Maestra for Sanctuary from the peasants.
Out with the old, and sticky fingers Mayor. We need someone who is going keep citizens' and the actual city growth and advantageous advances. Not personal ego agendas. We the people need to make this change by power of vote.
According to the NACO Intelligence Agency it was revelaled that Da Mayor was smuggled to Brownsville via the Río Bravo disguised as Baby Moses.
Post a Comment