Now that the Cameron Commissioners Court is set to pass the Transportation Reinvestment Zone (TRZ) for the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority, questions are arising on the role that Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez has played (and is playing) in this affair.
Sanchez, if you'll recall, announced he was running for the Democratic Party nomination for Cameron County judge last Tuesday during a so-called Veterans Day celebration he held on the steps of the Cameron County Courthouse. Those attending didn't know he was going to make the announcement.
However, by making his intentions public, Sanchez automatically forfeited his seat on the court.
The Texas Election Code requires that Sanchez – an elected official with more than a year and a half left on his term – requires that he step down from his position. It further states that he be replaced by someone from his precinct by County Judge Pete Sepulveda.
However, there is no time requirement set in the code except a vague "as soon as possible."
Section 65 of Article XVI of the Constitution of Texas makes it the mandatory duty to fill a vacancy. In a conflict between a state statute and the Texas Constitution, the Constitution prevails. In this instance, the Constitution directs the county judge to fill the vacancy as soon as possible for public policy reasons consistent with not allowing such a candidate to be re-appointed to fill that vacancy.
However, Sepulveda's feet-dragging in appointing a replacement left many wondering whether the county judge was biding his time to have Sanchez remain as a "holdover" until the TRZ was passed by the court. The TRZs are to be operated by the CCRMA and will allow that entity to issue bonds with the proceeds of the TRZs as security on the bonds.
Sanchez is a staunch supporter of the TRZs and spoke forcefully in their favor during the last two meeting they were being considerd by the court for adoption. Sepulveda – besides being an appointed county judge – also happens to be the CEO of the CCRMA. He is making a $230,000-plus salary and his budget will automatically increase as a result of the adoption of the countywide TRZs.
Does anyone see a conflict there?
To his credit, after it was pointed out that he could not discuss the TRZs or speak for or against them or vote on the issue, Sepulveda removed himself from the public hearing held Tuesday.
Sanchez, on the other hand, has attended two meeting and voted on issues after his announcement that he is running for county judge.
As such, he is taking advantage of his bully pulpit and has been televised to thousands of viewers on the county meeting channel. After all, he does have two opponents who are not getting the same chance to posture for thousands of viewers. The last time (Tuesday) he was wearing his campaign button.
The vote on whether to adopt the TRZs is coming up soon, maybe as soon as next Tuesday. Will Sepulveda (who can't vote) allow Sanchez to vote on the issue even though he is officially resigned from the court and his vote could impact the finances of the commissioners courts for the next 30 to 50 years?
Does anybody else see the 800-pound gorilla in the room?
6 comments:
If I had done what Mr. Sanchez did or what someone did for him, I would have been fired and a criminal investigation would have been started to see if I misused government computers to distribute a mass email to county employees for my personal benefit. Sanchez thinks The Veterans and county employees are stupid. We know Sanchez tricked us into being at his campaign announcement by staging an event that was supposed to be honoring Veterans. We won't forget that Sanchez just thinks we were all idiots. Mr. Sanchez disrespected Veterans, the Veterans Day, and the county employees by making that day about him and not about the Veterans. Sanchez campaign truck was the focus of the event and his bullying tactics helped him place the truck in the middle of a blocked street that is blocked for safety reasons. Will anyone do something to investigate who sent that email from county computers to all county employees? Is everyone just afraid of Sanchez bullying? Abuse of official capacity is when someone on behalf of Sanchez commits an offense if with intent to obtain a benefit he intentionally or knowingly misuses government property that has come into the public servant's possession by virtue of the public servant's office. The only thing that helps Sanchez is that he is not a public servant. He only serves himself.
OTRA MIERDA CABRON!!!!
It's bothersome that the county wide TRZ is being set up to circumvent the current law/AG opinion that prevents borrowing by separate TRZs. On the heels of a $22M lawsuit lost by the County, you'd think the legal advisors would be a bit more gun-shy approaching a legally questionable work around. Also disappointed that Comm. Garza has forgotten all about the very conflict of interest he raised during the vote to appoint Mr. RMA/Sepulveda. Isn't this funding scheme exactly what an CCRMA Director would be advocating except we get to watch him, as County Judge, "nudge" the Commissioners to get his way.
What happened to the 30 day advance public notice? Is it okay with me if you commit more than a billion dollars for the next 25 years, after having discussed it publicly for maybe 20 minutes? I don't think so! Better to wait till our commissioners court is led by someone actually ELECTED by taxpayers to represent their interests. I don't think that's what's happening here.
Dan "Sasquatch" Sanchez aspires to return Cameron County to the "old days", where corruption was rampant and the public accepted corruption as a part of the government operations. Dan is yet another lawyer who prefers sucking on the public tit, to working for a living.
Only way this community will ever progress is if we get a hurricane to hit the area and wash away all the elected officials . ....puros muertos de hambre !
(Dan "Sasquatch" Sanchez aspires to return Cameron County to the "old days")
Should've seen the fat fuck getting groceries at the Paredes HEB last Sunday. And he goes early, so no media will get any pics. I give him another year, or less, before he has a massive heart attack.
Dags.
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