TAX DODGER BISD TRUSTEE MINERVA PENA DELINQUENT SINCE 2023

By Juan Montoya

Brownsville Independent School District trustee Minerva Peña - one of two vocal opponents on the board against the passage of bonds in this election - owes more than $73,000 in delinquent and current taxes, according to public records obtained by El Rrun-Rrun.

A search of records of the Cameron County Appraisal District and the Cameron County Tax Assessor and Collector's Office under the names of Guadalupe and Minerva Peña show that at last five accounts - including the couple's homestead at 3201 Coffee Port Road - have been delinquent for 2023 and 2024, and that this year's 2025 taxes also remain unpaid.

Some of the properties are listed under Guadalupe Peña and Peña's Wrecker Service at 195 N. Iowa Ave.

The amounts include penalties, attorneys' fees, and special interest charges on the properties.

This year's tax statements have been mailed to county residents and the current (2025) tax bill for the couple is included in the $73,000 figure.

Peña, who never tires of reciting to anyone within earshot that she was a member of the Porter H.S. Belles, her former employment as a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, her late father's military service, and pious, evangelical platitudes about her religious beliefs, has repeatedly (ad nauseam) claimed she is there to defend the interests of the "little people" in the district.

But if she was really concerned about the poor taxpayers of the district, she wouldn't pass the burden of taxation to other district residents while shirking off her own responsibilities to pay her own taxes.

"Maybe if she paid her taxes BISD wouldn't have to go for a bond issue," wrote a commenter to this blog 

El Rrun-Rrun has learned that Peña has been trying to negotiate with the tax office and the delinquent-tax attorneys for the City of Brownsville Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP to reach a payment agreement, but as of late Friday, no agreement had been confirmed.

When reached for comment Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Eddie Garcia said his office is always open for taxpayers to make payment arrangements, but that up to now, the Peñas have not inked one with the county.

"Our office is always open for everyone, no matter who they are they are all treated the same," Garcia said. "We treat everyone the same. There is no 'special' treatment for anyone." 

As far as court records show, also as of late Friday, there have been no tax-delinquent case filed against the couple by Linebarger or by the BISD tax-delinquent company Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins Mott LLP.

The tax entities which the Peñas have stiffed for the last two years include the BISD, South Texas ISD, the City of Brownsville, Brownsville Navigation District, Cameron County, Drainage District #1, and Texas Southmost College.