TSC RUNOFF: DE LEON HAS OUTWORN HIS WELCOME ON THE BOARD

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Six years ago, in 2018, when no one gave J.J. De Leon a chance of getting elected to the Texas Southmost College board of trustees, he readily accepted the helping hand of board chair Adela Garza.

That was because, in 2016, he tried, without success, to run for Place 3 on the board left vacant by Ed Rivera. In that race, Tony Zavaleta  drew 2,556 votes, Evelyn Cantu 1,835, Dr. Tony Juarez drew 1,097, and de Leon came in dead last with 923. Zavaleta eventually won the runoff against Cantu.

Then, in 2018, De Leon, with Garza's help, voters elected De Leon to replace Dr. Reynaldo Garcia to the board. 

That is not the first time that De Leon has gotten help from powerful women. In fact, he thrives in it, being the protege and right-hand-person for Brownsville Independent School District administrator Rachel Ayala. There, she provided De Leon with a protective mantle at the BISD over the years, and propelled him to his role as the Coordinator for State Compensatory Education. 

In May 2011, Ayala came to his assistance when BISD sources assured social media that there was a police operation at the Central Administrative Building (CAB) off Palm Boulevard in the parking lot between the CAB and Sam's Stadium.

They said that a drug-sniffing dog hit upon a car in the parking lot and  the owner was found it turned out to be an employee (De Leon) of the central office. With Ayala's interference, the school cops turned tight-lipped at revealing the identity of the suspect and cited the ongoing investigation as a justification for their discretion. 

The building housed the office of Area Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Rachel Ayala, who allowed De Leon to drive away from the scene. Ayala was not the object of the probe herself. 

Since his election in 2018, De Leon has nurtured an image of himself which has taken a priority over advancing the interests of the community college and has openly defied the college administration. Together with former trustee Eva Alejandro and abetted by Alejandra Aldrete, they have hounded TSC President Jesus Rodriguez and have tied to micromanage the administration of the school. Alejandro came in last in the TSC primary, didn't make the runoff, and left the board.

The late Ruben Herrera saw J.J. De Leon as a petulant, petty, and arrogant prima donna board member who teamed up with trustee Alejandro constantly trying to micromanage the administration and driving the staff crazy with their overbearing character and demanding manner. 

Even though Ruben helped to get them elected six years ago, they soon got too caught up in themselves for the board to work together as a team for the betterment of TSC. Before his untimely death, Ruben publicly endorsed Camarillo to replace De Leon.

His guile and two-faced character are graphically depicted when he and his propagandists paint his opponent Edward Camarillo and Dr. Norma Lopez-Harris – running against his running mate Hilda Silva – as "puppets" of TCS board chair Adela Garza, and the same time heaping praise on the board president. 

It should be noted that – despite having carried him into office, Garza has publicly has endorsed his opponent Edward Camarillo to remove De Leon's overbearing personality and  bring stability to the board. 

(Some critics say that elected officials endorsing candidates is a "blatantly unethical move," ignoring the fact that presidents endorse congressional candidates, state governors do the same, as do county and city officials. They further state that "Only in comatose Cameron County would such an ugly move by a community college board chairman be tolerated.") 

Unethical? "Ugly move?" Kind of makes you wonder what universe these people live in. 

In fact, De Leon's arrogance was clearly displayed during a committee meeting when he protested that Herrera and board president Adela Garza had had the audacity to attend without getting prior permission from him to be able to be present.

He actually stormed out of the committee which he chaired when they arrived to learn about the committee's decisions on the agenda items which would be then forwarded for consideration by the full  board.

In short, his false pride, conceit, and perceived self-grandeur were more important than the business of the college.

Fortunately, his opponent in this race is former City of Brownsville Commissioner Edward Camarillo, whose roots are deep in the Brownsville community, and who pledges to work together with the board to the betterment of the college and bring his experience in elected office and administrator. We believe he would be a better choice after enduring De Leon's interminable and infantile berrinches.     

Early voting begins today until Tuesday June 11. Election day is Saturday, June 15. 

CLICK ON LINK FOR EARY VOTING LOCATIONS FOR RUNOFF:

 https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/elections/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Early-Voting-Locations-for-the-June-15-2024-Runoff-Elections-IAG-5242024xlsx-1.pdf