For weeks now, insiders at city hall, her fellow members of the commission, and administrators have known all along that Brownsville City Commissioner At-Large Estela Chavez-Vasquez has been commuting from her new home in Los Fresnos to Brownsville to practice her lawyering and sit on the city commission during meetings.
They knew it would just be a matter of time as the May elections approach before Chavez-Vasquez would have to resign because of the city charter provisions that the representative of the residents of Brownsville also live here.
Yet, even after her new home in Los Fresnos had been built and her black Caddy could be seen parked in the driveway, no one said anything.
It wasn't until last Friday that the charade could not be kept hidden anymore and Chavez-Vasquez told the local daily that due to "circumstances beyond her control" she would be unable to complete her term that ends in May.
So now the city is left with a vacancy that will have to be filled – in accordance with the Brownsville City Charter – by a majority of the remaining members of the city commission at the first regular meeting provided they agree on a replacement for her until the upcoming May elections when the person will have to run for the office if they desire.
However, there is a question about the vagueness of the city charter which may be superseded by the Texas Constitution which call for an election if the election falls within 120 days within the time of a seat's vacancy.
However, there is a question about the vagueness of the city charter which may be superseded by the Texas Constitution which call for an election if the election falls within 120 days within the time of a seat's vacancy.
Since Mayor Tony Martinez has been able to corral a majority in the past to pass such dubious projects as the giving away of prime real estate to the University of Texas System, multimillionaire real estate speculation in the downtown area that has benefited his pals, and the relocation of the 48-acre Lincoln Park to in front of a stinky sewer plant to sell the existing pristine public park to the UT System at bargain-basement prices, it is probable that he will strong-arm them to appoint a candidate of his choice without the niceties of an election.
If that proves to be the case, we can expect Martinez, also up for reelection in May, to support him or her then.
But there have been grumblings at the grassroots level over the high-handed ways to King Tony and his autocratic mannerisms. This May election could be the Year of the Peasant Revolt against the King. Already, various candidates are prepared to announce for office. Among them are Pat Ahumada, who is said to want to return as mayor, former city commissioner William Garza, also for mayor, and attorney Mike Gonzalez and college instructor Roman Perez who are aiming to replace Ricardo Longoria as District 1 commissioner.
Few observers give Ahumada a chance to beat Martinez with the split vote between him and Garza. Even his few remaining close acquaintances (he has no friends) say that he would serve the city better if he chose to run for commissioner where he would have a better chance of winning. But Pat being Pat, it is doubtful that anyone can convince him otherwise.
A majority of the city commission is set for reelection. They are Martinez, Chavez-Vasquez, At Large-A, Longoria, and Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa, in District 2. Rose Gowen, John Villarreal and Deborah Portillo's terms end in May 2017.
The qualifications to run for commissioner are pretty simple. The candidate must be a United States citizen without any felony convictions who lives in the district or the city depending on the position he or she is seeking. Candidates must be at least 18 years old, a Texas resident for 12 continuous months and reside in the district for which they are running in for six continuous months prior to the filing deadline. Commissioners serve four-year terms.
Candidates may file their intent with the Brownsville city secretary’s office between January 28 and February 27, 2015.
Candidates may file their intent with the Brownsville city secretary’s office between January 28 and February 27, 2015.
In the case of Chavez-Vasquez's At-Large replacement, the candidate can live in any part of the city.
The only restrictions on the proposed appointee are outlined in the charter that states:
Section 4: The mayor, commissioners, and other officers and employees shall not hold any other public office of emolument and shall not be interested in the profits or emoluments of any contracts, job, work, or service for the municipality, or interested in the sale to the city of any supplies, equipment, material, or articles purchased.
In her letter of resignation, Chavez-Vasquez that she looked forward to "providing public service whenever the opportunity arises." Given her record of blindly going along with Martinez's agenda, it is doubtful that the electorate will be clamoring for her return from her self-imposed exile in the wilds of Los Fresnos.
Now we will see who Martinez has in mind for us come the next city meeting.
14 comments:
Knowing the corrupt Mayor' tactics he will want to appoint one of his Bagman' relatives for that position .
WELL WE CAN SAY THAT ONE PENDEJA IS GONE. THE COLLECTIVE IQ OF THE COMMISSION WENT UP IN AVERAGE, BUT THAT IS NOT SAYING MUCH. THERE ARE STIL SIX PENDEJOS THERE.
No doubt Mayor Martinez will choose another "pet"...probably Nuri Galonsky, who is now on the PUB board. She is very intelligent (A Stanford Univ Law School grad) and will make a great commissioner if she can unteather herself from her father and distance herself from the Mayor. Not easy.
LMAO, on Jan 13 1:19's comment. I definitely second what you said; you’re 100% correct. This is why Brownsville is not booming like McAllen. Each of these individuals has absolutely no business being where they are today. Like I have said before and will say again, we need business lions / warriors sitting in those chairs. People that are business savvy and understand what this city is really lacking. Individuals that have a good command in business and that will put a good mechanized system in place in order to achieve what we are missing. We need men and women that are aggressive and that will work very close with the BEDC. Not individuals that are like…. “Oh, let’s make a bike trail for Brownsville” Oh, let’s make a Sport Park” Oh, let exercise so we could all be healthy”. Damn people, really!! Let me just clarify that these things are good to have, but must be placed way back on the burner. If there is time and money, then fine…let’s do it. But not as first priority when the city is missing other way more important things. We should be doing better than McAllen. We have the Port of Brownsville, SPI, Mexico, geez….we have everything as leverage and we are not using it at all to our advantage. Then again, how can we if we have the wrong people as city CHAMPIONS. Commissioner, I commend you for being honest with yourself and realizing that you were in the wrong place all this time, and that you stepped down. Great Job!! Proud of you!! Now let’s get a Donald Trump / Kevin O'Leary / Carlos Slim kinda person in that chair so the other quacks could step down as well. I’m sure these individuals are good and nice people, but they are most definitely in the wrong place. I wish I could be in one of those chairs to really take this city to the level it belongs at. Unfortunately, I do not know enough people to vote me there. I do know business though, and I am a warrior at it.
I can say as an attorney, she is not very good attorney and her departure from Brownsville is good riddance.
QUITTER. You will never hold elected office again.
She didn't want any part of Tony Tormenta's crooked ways.
You're an attorney? Wow!!!
geez, if she is an attorney, i could be the president of the united states of america.
Nice tits though
Robert U….please don’t try to take this seat. You are definitely not a candidate either. You don’t know anything. Just stay at your car wash and continue washing cars my friend. If cars need to be washed during the meetings, I’m sure someone will call you and grant you that opportunity. So please, I say again, stay away and do not embarrass yourself. Letty G., the same goes for you. I know you don’t wash cars so you might be able to clean the offices once the meetings are over. This is not an opinion, THIS IS A FACT!!!! Neither of you have the skills nor the qualifications to stand as a commissioner or take any kind of leadership role in this city. If you really and truly care for this city and want the best for it, you will stay away and let this chair be occupied by someone that has a very good command on business and knows what is really needed and that knows exactly how to achieve it.
She took off like a Bandit. She discovered that Da Mayor's new disguise was of Willie Sutton.
Can't you come up with something else besides the disguise lines? Thought we were rid of you.
When did Chavez-Vasquez move to Los Fresnos? Did that move render her votes in Brownsville null and void? If so, what votes did she participate in that are not valid, AND, was her vote crucial? Just saying.
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