COUNTY JUDGE TAKES PROPOSITION A (VENUE) ON THE HUSTINGS: DETRACTORS TURN VILE AGAINST EDDIE, MAYOR COWEN, SEN. HINOJOSA AND UTRGV-BROWNSVILLE

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

In a previous in-depth audio interview with Steve Taylot, of the Rio Grande Guardian, Cameron County Judge Edie Treviño pointed out that property taxes will not be used to fund the project. Rather, he said, much of the money will come from an existing venue tax source.

“Let’s go back. In the November 2016 election, the voters of Cameron County approved what we call the venue tax. But I think it should more aptly be named the visitor tax,”Treviño said.

“Basically, that visitor venue tax is paid by anyone who stays in a hotel or short term rental or rents a motor vehicle here in Cameron County. That visitor taxes is collected by the short term owner and/or vehicle rental company, so that 2 percent is a visitor tax, it is not a property tax.”

Treviño gave two examples of projects that have come about as a result of the venue tax – the Isla Blanca Amphitheater on South Padre Island, and the South Texas Ecotourism Center Project at Laguna Vista.

He said the tax can only be spent on economic development or tourism related projects. “That’s it. You can’t use it to fix your potholes. You can’t use it to fix drainage. You can’t fix it to do anything that’s not tourism or economic development related.”

Treviño said there has been a lot of “misinformation put out there” that a yes vote is going to impact property taxes, etc.

“The resolution that the County Commissioners Court approved sets out that this particular project, while it may have other funding sources, the property tax will not be the source of that.”

Asked why the new arena is needed, Treviño said: “The reality is Cameron County is growing at a very, very extreme rate right now, thanks to the development and the expansion of SpaceX, thanks to the commitment at Starbase. And then now you’ve got the LNG industry taking full force at the Port (of Brownsville), along with other potential projects, steel industry related projects, other economic development projects and master planned development. Cameron County as a whole is growing by leaps and bounds.”

There has been an organized effort to defeat the proposition, mainly from local blogger Jerry McHale, and podcasters Robert Sanchez and Frankie Olivo and Trumpster Susan Ruvalcaba. And this opposition – financed by secretive anti-venue groups – has been far from a civil discourse on the merits of the proposition.

In classic McHale style, he has portrayed the pro-venue supporters in pornographic terms and  implied Mayor John Cowen as a "prostituting pol," accused Texas State Senator Adam Hinojosa of "whoring" for the venue, and accuses Cowen of embracing "political bedfellow Trevino under blood-stained and sperm-yellowed sheets."

And he has one of his many alter egos say that: "Trevino and his tricksters spew nothing but bullshit to enrich themselves, their families and the special interests. Shit in, shit out. We're tired of the diarrhea that pours out of their mouths and stinks up the entire county, Ya!!!"

A bit over the top, yes, but shock-and-awe has always been their "style." 

Interestingly, all four – McHale, Sanchez Ruvalcaba, and Olivo – have run for the city commission and/or the board of the Brownsville Independent School District and have been roundly rejected by the voters.

On the other hand, the elected officials on the City of Brownsville, the Cameron County Commission and the University of Texas-Rio Grade Valley have come out publicly for passage of the proposition.

 Who will the voters listen to?  Political observers say that nearly two-thirds of the votes are cast during early voting with the other third (33 percent) casting their ballots on election day.  

Early voting concluded Tuesday, April 29, and Election Day is this Saturday, May 3.

To read rest of Taylor's story in the Rio Grande Guardian, click on link: https://riograndeguardian.com/trevino-the-case-for-a-cameron-county-arena/