HERALD GIVES LONGORIA SOPABOX TO SHOWCASE INEPTNESS

By Juan Montoya
This Sunday's Herald gave front-page treatment to the failure of the City of Brownsville Commission – particularly District 1 commissioner Rick Longoria – to provide hurricane protection for its most vulnerable residents.
Reporter Ty Johnson overlooked the public record and gave Longoria his soapbox to complain that his fellow commissioners and the administration had taken the money "from my people" and had given him money to pave streets instead just in time for his reelection.

Johnson outlines how the city administration blew its chances of building three domes in the city with more than $6 million in appropriations from FEMA starting back in 2012.
Yet, by the summer of 2014 – even with a two-year extension to complete them – the city couldn't meet the deadline. So the city administration scrapped two domes and finally axed the one for Southmost in March.
Plans to construct one at the First Baptist School on Boca Chica and Old Alice Road was abandoned after silk-stocking neighbors of the church (Rio Viejo) complained that a torrent of low-income residents would flood their swanky neighborhood and the dome would hurt the value of their homes.
Then, with deadlines approaching, City Information Director (Jerry Hedgecock) once again demonstrated his astounding ineptness by failing to nail one at the central campus as well. That was also abandoned and commissioners settled on one single dome at the Brownsville Sports Park.
And where was District 1 commissioner Longoria all this time that "his people" were getting the shaft?
This is the record Ty:

On May 25, 2013 – almost two years ago – the city commission, with Longoria present, voted on this item:

8. FIRST Public Hearing for the proposed 2012/2013 HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Funding allocation. (Stephanie Reyes – Grants)
The "substantial" part of that amendment was the proposal to shift $535,000 from a construction of the planned Southmost Community Center (Dome) to provide hurricane protection to that community and add $300,000 to John Villarreal's District 4 Oliveira Skate Park's $150,000 and another $235,000 to meet the needs of additional amenities to District 2 Jessica Tetreau's Portway Acres Park which was originally programmed for $107,692.
According ot the minutes of that meeting:
"Commissioner Estela C. Vasquez moved that the proposed 2nd Substantial Amendment to the
Fiscal Year 2012/2013 HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program Funding
allocation, be approved. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau and carried
unanimously.

Longoria had another chance to protect "his people" on December 12, 2014 when the commission considered delaying the construction once again. The minutes of that meeting state:

9. Consideration and ACTION to request that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant the City of Brownsville a 12-month extension to complete construction of  the Community Safe Room project (DR-1791-361), located at the Southmost Library. Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. moved that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant to the City of Brownsville, for a 12-month extension to complete construction of the Community Safe Room project (DR-1791-361), located at the Southmost Library, be approved. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Jessica Tetreau and carried unanimously.

On March 17,  the minutes will reflect that the commission voted on Item 27 on a motion by commissioner Rose Gowen that  the proposals received for the RFP #CSS-0301215 Texas Safe Shelter Initiative (TSSI) (DR-1791-361, DR-1791-362), be rejected. The motion carried unanimously.

Then, on Item 18 (the commission took action on these items out of order) Commissioner Rose M. Z. Gowen moved that City of Brownsville’s recommendation regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Community Safe Rooms, Proposals II, to reallocate funds for Southmost Library Dome to Street & Drainage Improvements, be accepted and approved. The motion carried unanimously.

However, at that March meeting, Longoria did speak out.
He spoke out in the form of issuing yet three more proclamations to recognize: to Gowen  in recognition of physicians’ contributions, the care they provide and advances made in the field of medicine; a proclamation in designating March 28, 2015, as Nuts 4 Nutrition Day, and a proclamation in designating March 24, 2015, as Diabetes Alert Day,

And just down the road, those hayseeds in Los Fresnos were given the same chance by FEMA to build  dome for "their people" at the Consolidated Independent School District's United campus just north of Olmito and achieved starkly different results.

LFCISD split its $600,000 local share of the $2.4 million dome with the cities of Los Fresnos and South Padre Island. FEMA provided 75 percent of the cost, or $1.8 million. The dome should be ready by this August.

Longoria is up for reelection in a runoff with Roman Perez, a candidate that has also failed to capitalize on Ricks sexual foibles, alleged illegal campaign contributions, and his demonstrated ineffectiveness. But compared to the documented ineptness shown by Longoria on this huuricane protection for "his people," anything would be better.