WILL THE KINGMAKERS HAVE THEIR SAY IN CITY ELECTIONS?

(Ed.'s Note: If a picture is worth a thousand words, the fivesome above probably have gone through several $100,000s in public money.

At left is Oscar Garcia Jr., the son of the former UTB-TSC President Julieta Garcia. Little Oscar, whose resume includes attending Red McCombs School of Business in San Antonio, has specialized in raiding the various public-funded entities like the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, for $180,000 twice; once for a plan to make fiber optics Internet connections to the poor in the barrios (Not), and another $185,000 for the first installment of a small site economic development plan. When he came back with the so-called plan, it included 50 pages (half of it) of index cards photostats used for taking notes at the "stakeholder" meetings. The GBIC decided not to bite and Little Oscar had to go the Brownsville Economic Development Corporation, whose members declined and also passed on his offer.

What can we say about Da Mayor Tony Martinez? He came in under the Catholic church mantle and set about to use public money to speculate in downtown real estate. The gem of his diadem is the still-vacant hulk of the Casa del Nylon which occupies half a block in downtown and which he convinced his city commission to purchase from Abraham Galonsky for $2.3 million. Compared to the $2.2 million that Cameron County paid for the six-story, block and a half property of the former Wells Fargo Bank, one can clearly see the Casa del Nylon purchase was not a good deal for the city, but only for the seller, Martinez's friend. It remains vacant and has become a warehouse and magnet for the homeless and their pets.

Next to Martinez is none other than Rose Gowen, the At-Large B candidate for reelection against Erasmo Castro. Gowen has transformed herself into Brownsville's version of the Wicked Witch of the West and has been able to funnel millions in public money to her pet project, the turning of Brownsville into a hike-and-bike mecca. Don't worry about the lack of sidewalks, the condition of the city streets, or the dearth of employment opportunities, if people would only ride around town in their designer bicycle duds and $300 bikes, we'll all be svelte and healthy. All we need now is a few more miles of bike trails and the continued funding of Carlos Marin projects and VIDA from the GBIC to make it a go.

Speaking of Marin, he is the founder of the Imagine Brownsville cum United Brownsville scheme designed to establish a shadow government that would steer public funds toward projects that benefit his idea of economic development on both sides of the border. With United Brownsville now defunct because of the growing disillusionment with the organization and the reluctance (and refusal) of the eight public-funded entities to fork over $25,000 each for a "membership" fee, Marin is seeking greener pastures. We expect his money and influence to be felt in the May 6 elections where he will try to maintain Martinez's majority on the city commission.

If this isn't a rouges' alley, we don't know what is.)