By Juan Montoya
People have gotten to talk of United Brownsville as IBC President Fred Rusteberg's Shadow Government with good reason.
No one elects the United Brownsville Coordinating Board. No one holds them (Rusteberg, Julieta Garcia, and Irv Downing) accountable. And those three self-elected Board members "elect" the United Brownsville executive director at a cool $80,000-plus salary.
To do that (plus office and secretary), they charge eight public-funded entities a $25,000 "membership fee" to "have a seat" at their table. The members of those entities don't have a say on who the director is, just the Big Three.
The entities they hit up for the bucks are the City of Brownsville, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, the Brownsville Navigation District, the Brownsville Independent School District, Texas Southmost College, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
In return, these entities get...well, that's hard to tell what they get for their $25,000.
In fact, when its executive director Mike Gonzalez Jr., the former mayor of cosmopolitan Kyle, Texas, (population 25,000) is asked point blank by skeptics about the role of United Brownsville in the different missions of their entities, Gonzalez drifts off into a sort of techno-babble sprinkled with a healthy dose of "synergy, infrastructure industrial corridors, diversification, commercial hubs, sustainability, and Brownsville's role in the global market place."
How that helps the BISD fight illiteracy, the college graduate able professionals and technicians, the port increase tonnage, Rose Gowen build bike trials, Mayor Tony Martinez give away city assets, and the GBIC generate jobs is never told.
When he presented an "ambitious" agenda for TSC for the legislative session, he had to be schooled by Rep. Rene Oliveira that higher education was not funded that way. So much for TSC's $25,000 for a "seat at the table."
The idea behind United Brownsville and its "coordinating" board was to "provide a public forum for projects" and to "lessen the burden of governing on elected officials."
Well, we never heard of an elected official complaining that hey need to be relieved of the "burden of government" or that they petitioned Rusteberg, Garcia or Irving to lighten their load. Why run for office if you don't want to bear the responsibility it carries?
But lately, it appears that Gonzalez has struck a more public persona. When the BISD announced last week that it planned a restructure of its property tax and debt obligations through an election, Gonzalez suddenly appeared to announce his approval.
"By simply doing an administrative adjustment, you'll be bringing in millions of dollars and the best part is it's sustainable," he thundered.
Not long after that he reappeared at Port Isabel where a public hearing on the LNG projects was held to say that United Brownsville was in favor of the massive industrial development. He spoke on behalf of...well, himself, we guess.
Intergovernmental organizations like the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, the South Padre Island, Harlingen, Los Fresnos and Brownsville chambers of commerce all supported the idea.
So does the BEDC, the GBIC, and the other alphabet soups that "foster economic development and quality of life projects."
Gonzalez chimed in and said that one of the LNG projects, the "Anova project would diversify the Valley's economy and secure its place as a South Texas energy hub."
You gotta love this guy!
One of the anchors of United Brownsville is the nurturing of civic-mindedness in the local population. Pay your taxes and vote, its members tell local residents.
And they should, of course. All the members of the BISD board eventually have to face the voters and explain why they want to raise of change taxes, as do the members of the city commission and the Port and TSC trustees.
Gonzalez does not.
In fact, up until last year, Gonzalez was listed on the Kyle tax rolls and he and wife Linda were registered to vote there.
So when Gonzalez steps forward and gives his approval on the way that the BISD charges its property tax, when he steps in the LNBG fray and says he's for bringing in the polluting, CO2-belching petrochemical development to our shores, it's no skin off his nose. He still has his crib in Kyle to go to when the smelly industry gets here.
When he first came to Browntown, he told Emma Perez-Trevino that: “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
People have gotten to talk of United Brownsville as IBC President Fred Rusteberg's Shadow Government with good reason.
No one elects the United Brownsville Coordinating Board. No one holds them (Rusteberg, Julieta Garcia, and Irv Downing) accountable. And those three self-elected Board members "elect" the United Brownsville executive director at a cool $80,000-plus salary.
To do that (plus office and secretary), they charge eight public-funded entities a $25,000 "membership fee" to "have a seat" at their table. The members of those entities don't have a say on who the director is, just the Big Three.
The entities they hit up for the bucks are the City of Brownsville, the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, the Brownsville Navigation District, the Brownsville Independent School District, Texas Southmost College, the Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
In fact, when its executive director Mike Gonzalez Jr., the former mayor of cosmopolitan Kyle, Texas, (population 25,000) is asked point blank by skeptics about the role of United Brownsville in the different missions of their entities, Gonzalez drifts off into a sort of techno-babble sprinkled with a healthy dose of "synergy, infrastructure industrial corridors, diversification, commercial hubs, sustainability, and Brownsville's role in the global market place."
How that helps the BISD fight illiteracy, the college graduate able professionals and technicians, the port increase tonnage, Rose Gowen build bike trials, Mayor Tony Martinez give away city assets, and the GBIC generate jobs is never told.
When he presented an "ambitious" agenda for TSC for the legislative session, he had to be schooled by Rep. Rene Oliveira that higher education was not funded that way. So much for TSC's $25,000 for a "seat at the table."
The idea behind United Brownsville and its "coordinating" board was to "provide a public forum for projects" and to "lessen the burden of governing on elected officials."
Well, we never heard of an elected official complaining that hey need to be relieved of the "burden of government" or that they petitioned Rusteberg, Garcia or Irving to lighten their load. Why run for office if you don't want to bear the responsibility it carries?
But lately, it appears that Gonzalez has struck a more public persona. When the BISD announced last week that it planned a restructure of its property tax and debt obligations through an election, Gonzalez suddenly appeared to announce his approval.
"By simply doing an administrative adjustment, you'll be bringing in millions of dollars and the best part is it's sustainable," he thundered.
Not long after that he reappeared at Port Isabel where a public hearing on the LNG projects was held to say that United Brownsville was in favor of the massive industrial development. He spoke on behalf of...well, himself, we guess.
Intergovernmental organizations like the Rio Grande Valley Partnership, the South Padre Island, Harlingen, Los Fresnos and Brownsville chambers of commerce all supported the idea.
So does the BEDC, the GBIC, and the other alphabet soups that "foster economic development and quality of life projects."
Gonzalez chimed in and said that one of the LNG projects, the "Anova project would diversify the Valley's economy and secure its place as a South Texas energy hub."
You gotta love this guy!
One of the anchors of United Brownsville is the nurturing of civic-mindedness in the local population. Pay your taxes and vote, its members tell local residents.
And they should, of course. All the members of the BISD board eventually have to face the voters and explain why they want to raise of change taxes, as do the members of the city commission and the Port and TSC trustees.
Gonzalez does not.
In fact, up until last year, Gonzalez was listed on the Kyle tax rolls and he and wife Linda were registered to vote there.
When he first came to Browntown, he told Emma Perez-Trevino that: “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
A primary aim, he said, is creating jobs.Well, he's been here since 2011 and it's hard to discern the impact that job-creating engine called United Brownsville has had on our local economy. About the only jobs created by this group has been lucrative contracts for studies and jobs for themselves and their buddies.
And it's easy to encourage local elected officials to get on the United Brownsville bandwagon when one doesn't have to be accountable to anyone or face the electorate come election time. If things get tough, Kyle here we come!
11 comments:
Mike Gonzalez Jr. is a TURD!
Saldana was the only so called "Business leader" who either had the audacity to be interviewed on this LNG pollution bullshit being good for Brownsville or he was was pushed in front of the cameras by the cowardly chambers, business leaders and commissioners on the Port of Brownsville board of directors who have yet to show their face on TV or anywhere to shill this snake oil, to promote this fucking lie called LNG as good clean energy and that besides we should just shut the hell up because we're so fucking poor that we'll take it up the ass for Annova LNGs 160 jobs, half of which we do not qualify for.
The greatest heist in the history of Brownsville to the tune of $300,000,000, was the looting of TSC by Aunt Jemima and et eux.
There is no doubt that the LNG companies are greasing palms and Mike Gonzalez seems to have greasy palms these days. He and others are being paid to promote the LNG companies and to dissuade the public of the horrific environmental problems those companies bring to Cameron County. Mike Gonzales is willing to take any money he can get and doesn't give a shit about the people here. He isn't the only one who doesn't vote in Brownsville....Freddy Rusteberg lives in Rancho and can't vote in B'ville. This shadow government that is United Brownsville is dangerous and is not interested in what the public thinks....just what they feel is important to improve their financial status and that of their families.
Sounds like a pepperoni peeler to me, all of these marketing stuff is done by the city, Brownsville edc, chamber of commerce, Brownsville visitors bureau. etc etc etc. for those of you who don't understand the peeler part, he is just another waste of taxpayers money. our tax dollars to be exact. Really folks what has UNITED BROWNSVILLE done to bring in new jobs, or new industry or well ANYTHING? Nice dog & pony show but that's about it folks, oh well here come another tax season property values went up and so will new tax rates, good thing this gonzalez dude doesn't have to worry about the protesting tax payer public, good day, CCA
Do you think he could be on his way back to Kyle?
When are the crazy people from brownsville going to wake up, and ask these mother fuckers to suck on someone else's tit. Wake up, Brownsville, elect responsible people. No more disc jockies, fake blondes, overweight attorneys,or tortilleria employees.
Brownsville has to be the Zepellin capital of the world . No wonder the physicians are raking the Shekels.
The U.S. chamber of Commerce is the biggest front that the Republican Party has in order to represent their Right-wing interests.
ok so let me see and I am trying very hard figure it all out, the Texas legislature does not meet again until 2017, that's two years away right, so what does Gonzalez who has these 2 years off do during all of this time besides claim a paycheck? Remember we hope that he will hopefully go back to work in 2017. can he wait until 2017 to pick up a payroll check and that way United brownsville can grow a nice healthy bank account during this 2 year period? El Pelador or what?
What the fuck are you trying to say ?
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