IN THE COUNTY JUDGE'S RACE: CHARGES OF VIOLATIONS

By Juan Montoya

Here we go.

The campaign for the Cameron County Judge's race between Democrat incumbent Eddie Treviño and Republican Carlos Cascos is gearing up.

Aside from the cyber Tempest in a Teapot revolving around a Cascos fundraiser where all the bloggers' dander was raised over seemingly inconsequential issues, other disputes have arisen.

On the one hand, Cascos supporters claim that incumbent Eddie Treviño is using county-paid engineering photographs of Los Tomates (Veteran's Bridge) to aid him in his reelection. (See picture at lower right).

And on the other, Treviño's supporters say that Cascos is blatantly disregarding the City of Brownsville's political campaign sign restrictions by displaying the banner over the I-69 expressway directly across from the US 77 Flea Market. (That's not a billboard. It's a sign).

(At first we thought they couldn't see the mono for the trees, but it was the size they were complaining about.)

In both instances, they both seem to be right. In the case of the Treviño campaign ad, the photo was taken by the SBI Engineering firm paid by the county for its work. Is is appropriate for a candidate to use taxpayer-funded work product to seek reelection? Our gut reaction would be no.

On the other hand, as Treviño's supporters say, Brownsville city inspectors have came down hard on signs much smaller than the one Cascos is displaying. In fact, the city's sign ordinance is quite specific.

The ordinance chapter states that the signs must not be illuminated. They must be “no larger than 36 square feet” and “shorter than eight feet in length.”

Signs must also “be placed at the consent of the owner on private property. Private property also means that if you have an easement up front for utilities, etc., you can’t place signs in that easement.

Signs also cannot be displayed in the public’s-right-of-way. Placement of signs in these areas along with signs containing moving elements will result in the sign being removed.The Cascos banner-sign is obviously a little larger than the 36-square foot limit.

That said, Cascos' supporters say that while sign size is a minor issue, Treviño's photograph shows details at the bridge that the Dept. of Homeland Security and ICE authorities frown upon, that is, revealing security weaknesses to potential enemies.

In time, the issues between the two candidates will become sharper as the campaign goes down to the final lap in November. For now, however, it would behoove both candidates to direct their supporters to observe the niceties of the law.