AFTER 34 YEARS IN OFFICE, RENE'S SEVEN DEADLY SINS (PT. 1)

By Juan Montoya

In the Catholic tradition of the Middle Ages, the church outlined Seven Deadly Sins. These sins are often thought to be abuses or excessive versions of one's natural faculties or passions (for example, gluttony abuses one's desire to eat).

In light of that, we have found that one of our public officials (District 37 Texas State Representative Rene Oliveira) has a well-developed and widely-known penchant for wallowing in these transgressions. Now in his 34th year as state rep, Oliveira is asking the voters of District 37 to give him two more years to finish what he hasn't been able to accomplish in more than three decades. But he has found the time to develop some bad habits such as:

1. Gula (gluttony)

In one his contribution and expense reports, District 37 Texas State Representative reported back in 2011 he had spent $40,063 and had received no contributions. However, he also reported that he had $159,519.27 left in his war chest for the coming primary election in 2012.

But J.J. Garza, his administrative assistant, foresaw dark clouds on the political horizon and wrote his boss: "I think you need to develop a satisfactory answer to the following facts of the (expenditure report)," Garza wrote. "In the 181 days (your account) paid for meals and/or drinks for supporters and/or constituents almost 200 times (actually 197) for a total of more than$13,000 (actually $13,360). In some cases these expenditures occurred as many as four times in a day, and make up one-third of your total expenditures.


"Fifty six of those times were Valley establishments – 50 times during the regular session and six times during the special session. This means that you entertained supporters and constituents in Austin about 150 times during the 140-day regular session. Considering that often the Austin week is less than a full week – the House met in session just 101 of those 140 days – that means means you were entertaining supporters or constituents an average of 1.5 times per day the House was in session.

"Over the 181 day reporting period, you averaged almost $74 per day in entertaining expenses.
"Why do you need to spend so much, when your Valley colleagues are spending as little as 10 to 20 percent of what you are spending on supporters and constituents?," Garza asks in his memo.
"I think you should prepare yourself for heavy criticism from them and their readers," Garza warns the festive rep.

But Oliveira, heedless of his assistant's warnings, continued his glutton's ways.

From 2007 to 2016, The Texas Tribune reported that "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.)

"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."

Next: Lust