OLIVEIRA: "I DON'T WANT TO STOP THE 34-YEAR PAAAARTY!

By Juan Montoya
Here we go again.
After 34 years as the state representative for the Texas District 37, which covers most of East Brownsville and South Padre Island, Rene Oliveira says he wants to "continue the fight for working families" in his district and wants you to send him back for another try at improving your life.

Oh, yeah. Look around you. If not for Rene, we'd be worse off, he'd like you to believe.

He, like his compadre in the Texas Senate Eddie Lucio Jr., has, of course, unfinished business he must complete for "the people" of his district and will probably toss and turn in his sleep if he doesn't finish it. We wouldn't want to disturb his beauty sleep, would we?

Toward that end, in just the last 14 years he has spent upwards of $1.5 million to keep his grip on the job that pays $7,200 a year with a $190 per diem when the legislature is in session. After a hard day of heavy lifting, one can't blame the poor guy from raising a few glasses and tossing down a few bites at local drinking and eating establishments.
https://ballotpedia.org/Texas_House_of_Representatives_District_37

After all, he has to worry about the 39 percent of the people in his district – including 13,239 families – who live below the poverty level. That's compared to 17.7 percent in Texas. That would make anyone toss and turn, we guess. That and the fact that even after 34 years of working on educational issues against the nasty reps from up Nawth, a full 22 percent – or 34,776 – do not speak English well or at all compared to 8 percent across the state.

Yup. It's the stress that kills you. No wonder he has spent a good portion of his campaign contributions on libations In Brownsville, the Island, and in sinful Austin. The Texas Tribune reported that:

"From his campaign coffers to his valued associates, Rep. Rene Oliveira likes to keep the alcohol flowing.

An examination of campaign fund expenditure...shows that the Democrat from Brownsville spent at least $16,105 at liquor stories between Jan. 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2016, with descriptions that include “beverages for capitol office” and “beverages for district office for constituents.”

Those expenditures, which include $6,228.33 at Jones Liquor and $5,730.54 at Ben’s Liquor, both in Brownsville, are part of a total of more than $250,000 Oliveira has spent out of his campaign funds over the past decade on extravagant living for himself and gifts for his constituents."

And...

"Back home in Brownsville, Oliveira has treated his constituents and associates to plenty of campaign-funded meals. Cobbleheads Bar & Grill tops the list, with $41,609.02 spent on 531 occasions. Other

Brownsville restaurants where Oliveira has paid for meals include Madeira ($13,281.81) and Toscafino’s ($13,134.35.)"

Considering the fact that the median income for a household in the city was $24,468, and the median income for a family was $26,186, it's no wonder he want to go back to Austin where the political action committees and influential people keep him wallowing in high cotton.

"I'm excited. I have the same energy, drive and ambition, when you couple that with seasoned experience, seniority and institutional wisdom of how the process works, I believe I can continue to do a good job for all of our communities," said Oliveira.

The Texas Monitor examined the campaign expenditure reports of each member of the state’s House and Senate, looking for expenses for such items as exotic travel, fancy Austin accommodations, car leases and swanky gifts for people in their districts. Oliveira’s tally ranked him fifth (out of a total of 150) in the Texas House of Representatives during the past decade.

Oliveira’s greatest expense over that time span was for car leases. He has spent more than $66,000 leasing vehicles since 2007, with a monthly lease payment of $570.09 in 2016. Oliveira may have leased at least five different cars in the past 10 years, based on the different payees who appear on the reports, as well as expenses listed as down payments or turn-in fees.

Oliveira also reports tens of thousands of dollars in vehicle-related expenses, including nearly $23,000 for car insurance,
$5,677 for maintenance and repairs, $690 for navigation services and satellite radio, $431 for car washes and $375 for vehicle registration fees.

Oliveira also spent nearly $90,000 for meals and accommodations in Austin since 2007. Expenses show that Oliveira rents an apartment at AMLI Downtown at 201 Lavaca St. in Austin for $1,456 a month, and has spent nearly $10,500 on furniture, linens and other supplies for his apartment.

Oliveira is really just keeping up with the Joneses — in this case, the Joneses being fellow lawmakers — who often rent lavish apartments in Austin although they only have to be there for 140 days, plus assorted committee meetings and other duties, every other year.

Most of Oliveira’s Austin expenses pertain to dining around the city’s downtown. He has spent more than $65,000 at local restaurants and bars, including $10,869.94 at Eddie V’s and $6,701.17 at Perry’s Steakhouse. The largest single dining expenditure, $697.28 at Eddie V’s, was listed as “food and drink for constituents while at meeting to discuss officeholder issues.”

Oliveira has showered gifts on constituents in other ways. He regularly hands out graduating certificates to high school graduates in his district, spending $4,775 on these since 2007. As these students reach voting age, the legislator lauds their studious accomplishments.

Staff and supporters got $1,728.10 in gifts purchased at Nordstrom in 2015, and Oliveira has spent nearly $7,000 on gifts from Lone Star Legacies in the past 10 years, including $1,482.07 in 2011 for “end of session gifts.”

Of course, there's plenty where that came from. 

Oliveira’s contributions skew pretty heavily toward groups such as political action committees, law firms and corporations and away from individual donors. Larger entities have made 1,096 contributions for a total of nearly $1.29 million, or more than 82 percent of his total. Individuals, on the other hand, have made 323 contributions for a total of just under $280,000, or less than 18 percent of Oliveira’s total contributions.

Edwin Bender, executive director of the Institute on Money in State Politics, told The Texas Monitor that groups tend to expect access with their money, so there are more strings attached to those donations.

“Those totals are indicative of someone who’s going to be paying attention to those 1,100 donors,” Bender said of Oliveira’s contributions.

Bender said Texas’ lack of contribution limits incentivizes candidates to go first to the people with the most money. This results in fewer total donors and generally less competitive races.
“They’re going to the big check writers and not focusing on the individuals,” he said.

A school friend of  Rene's remembers when they were in Austin together and – like most college students – they used to talk about their upcoming careers.

"His life was all mapped out for him," he recalls him saying. "After getting his law degree he was going to run for state representative and stay there until he retired. His mom (the late Gloria Oliveira) was a Democratic party heavyweight and she was paving the way for him. He felt that the office was his by birth right."

Take a look at the district map at left. If you live in that district (outlined in red), we should remind people like Oliveira and Lucio that the office belongs to the public, not to self-annointed representatives of the overclass.