"Philanthropist: a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes."
By Juan Montoya
There is a passage (in the Bible, perhaps?) that says you should do good even when no one is looking.
I'm sure my friends who attended parochial schools can cite chapter and verse from memory.
I'm writing this as I read yet another front-page about former Brownsville resident (not St. Joseph graduate), car-lease mogul and millionaire Michael Hernandez III.
For all his claims of bringing dollars to his poverty-stricken hometown, about the only thing we've seen is the recent throwing money in the campaign of Port of Brownsville candidates Ed Rivera and Raul Villanueva. Those candidacies went over like a lead balloon and a majority of the Brownsville Navigation District voters rejected them – and Hernandez's gilt appeal for their support.
But like Donald Trump, the one thing that Hernandez has been able to achieve is to garner free premium coverage the Brownsville Herald, a formerly independent newspaper which has been transformed into the handmaiden of the economic and social elite of this city.
Money, the saying goes, follows money.
The quote above about doing good when no one is looking comes to mind because despite Hernandez's protests (the paper calls him Mike) that he has come back to save us from ourselves and lift the region out of poverty, seems to have a jaundiced view of what philanthropy means.
He is dangling a $10 million carrot in the next 10 years to make that possible.
He tells the Herald's Steve Taylor that he had "hoped" to kick start the renovation of the Hotel El Jardin but, after crunching numbers, he found that the project "lacks financial feasibility."
So much for philanthropy if there's no profit, hey Mike?
But not to worry, Mike (can we call you Mike?) says he's "exploring" other opportunities downtown.
He also told the newspaper (with s light degree of immodesty) that he has donated $1 million to a scholarship endowment to send Brownsville students to Texas A & M, his alma mater. Just what we need, more Aggies.
He said he also "plans" to donate "significant dollars" to the Brownsville Independent School District for a grab bag of programs to teach "soft" skills and technical education, he said though a spokesman.
He then touched son the OP 10.33 mantra of having"exploratory discussions" to establish manufacturing training opportunities to lure manufacturers here and create more high-paying jobs.
For a guy who says he's already found the way to financial nirvana, Hernandez seems to have a penchant for and spending a majority of the time "planning" this and "exploring" that.
Hernandez, through his association with certain unsavory individuals and organizations (Ed Rivera, Carlos Marin, United Brownsville, for example), has burned several bridges in the short time he has jetted in and out of town in his private jet.
He is the first to admit that OP 10.33's efforts to paint port trustees Tito Lopez and Ralph Cowen as corrupt and "detrimental" to economic development in the city – the standard he would hold all candidates to local boards and commissions – "did not pay off."
Damn, no profit there, either.
Now his underlings (there's always a screen of plausible denial with this guy), are hell-bent on placing Evelyn Cantu as TSC trustee and to defeat her opponent Dr. Tony Zavaleta to the position left vacant by Rivera, one of his duds in the port election, on the college board.
All she has to do is what Mike, Marin, and the OP 10.33 cadre tell her.
So when it comes to things like downtown renovation or political involvement, the OP 10.33 crowd have a skewered sense of philanthropy: We'll go for it only if there is something to be gained; monetary profit or political control.
He can call it pessimism. We'll call it experience with previous adventurers who have taken the city for a ride dangling meat before a hungry crowd.
The OP 10.33 operatives being paid to do this are not evil people. After all, money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is. And Mike (can we call you Mike?) they love your money.
5 comments:
Unfortunately for us, Hernandez is no different that others who pretend to be able to lead this city to prosperity. Most voters believe the campaign bullshit of Tony Martinez....who has never been a mayor of the people, but a mayor of the Brownsville elite. Tony, like Mike Hernandez tried to form a coalition of candidates for office that would do what they were told if elected. None of these people represent the citizens....they all represent themselves, their elitist friends and their own personal agendas. So, Hernandez is just another man with money who wants things his way.
The dumb-ass claims "I came looking for villains and there aren't any "..........what the fuck does he think Carlos Marin is? Eddie Trevino ? Tony Martinez ? United Brownsville ? Those greedy,soul-less vultures are the villains that continue to steal from the taxpayers over and over again ! Fuck you "Mike" and your philanthropy !
The little people of the village will do their Life Impulse...
Whoever wrote the second comment needs a chill pill. Instead of screaming and having a heart attack, why not just be grateful someone like Mike is willing to fund projects to help our community (even if it helps himself). We live in an age where it is very unlikely for anyone to just give away, without earning anything. Just look at Chuck Norris
Like a thief can help a corpse. While we are at it, lets thank Marin for United Brownsville, BISD for green meat, PUB for needlessly borrowing $325 million dollars that we are paying for right now,the CC Commission for incestuous appointments, and Juliet Garcia for creating a crushing debt burden on the community and a whole generation. Lets also thank Dallas for the people we have been afflicted with and Kyle as well.
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