AS NOVEMBER BISD ELECTIONS APPROACH, JOCKEYING BEGINS

Position 1 

(Currently held by Cesar Lopez )

Timmy Ramirez

Joe Valdez, Jr.

Position 2 

(Currently held by Carlos Elizondo)

Erasmo Castro

Position 4 

(Currently held by Joe Rodriguez)

Dr. Prisci Roca Tipton

Joe A. Rodriguez

Randy Gonzales

So far, this is the tentative lineup for the three positions that will be open this November for the board of the Brownsville Independent School District.

We say tentative because we have seen that in the past, some candidates waited until the 5:30 p.m. filing deadline (this year it will be August 20) and switched positions to one where they thought they had a better chance of winning.

Notice that neither Cesar Lopez nor Carlos Elizondo have indicated publicly whether they will be running for reelection. Herman Otis Powers, a past board member, has only filed his campaign finance report but has not picked a spot. In his report, he lists himself as a past candidate for position 3, which is not among the three in the contest.

Mark Anthony Cortez, the son of JP 2-1 Linda Cortez has only filed a treasurers' report, but has not indicated the incumbent he wants to face. He will have to explain to the voters how it came to be that his three traffic citations and a lawsuit for $2,300 in credit card debt have ended in his mother's court and she dismissed three of them and has been sitting on the last one since April without issuing a default judgment.

She, in turn, will have to explain why she did not recuse herself from sitting on the cases, a clear judicial canon violation of the Texas Constitution and the Texas Judicial Commission rules.

Just about every incumbent "tiene cola que le pisen" once the campaign gets going in earnest. All three have filed affidavits of conflict of interest because of their employment for companies doing business with the BISD and Rodriguez because one of the vendors (of legal services) in the district is his son.

Lopez is a BuyBoard representative who often cannot deliberate or vote on items of BuyBoard vendors. When he was a the chair of the Facilities Committee he was prevented from presiding over  a meeting where Paragon Sports was giving a presentation. A minor ruckus erupted with the Purchasing Department, but Lopez acquiesced to the directives of the procurement process and did not preside.

Today, Paragon has done multi-million dollar business with the BISD and was note vetted by BISD Purchasing because the administration had picked them from among the BuyBoard members and bypassed the bidding process.

What to say about problem child Elizondo? His star has been in  downward spiral since he was chosen fire chief with the City Of Brownsville and then got caught steering ambulance transfer cases to a company with which he was associated. Later, the fire union filed a theft complaint against him and the Cameron County District Attorney's Office was able to convince a jury that evidence existed to justify 11 true bills on felony charges for theft and breaching computer security of the city's emergency system.

He has filed an affidavit of potential conflict of interest for the company that provides EMT and firefighter classes at the BISD  because he works for them.

Rodriguez is listed as a vendor for BSN Sports, a company that has done $100,000s if business with the district for sports equipment under the Varsity Sports umbrella. Varsity Sports also lists ring maker Herrf Jones as  sister company to BSN Sports. Yet, Rodriguez was a vocal supporter of the administration's decision to award Herrf Jones the $31,000 contract to purchase $895 championship rings for the Porter Soccer team during open meetings without letting his company's relationship with that firm deter him from discussing or voting on items dealing with the issue. 

In the roughly three months remaining before the November elections, will the candidates challenging these incumbents throw caution to the wind and air the district's dirty laundry?