O'BELL HIRING BY THE GBIC AT A $140,00 SALARY RAISES QUESTIONS

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

What started off as questions from some of our readers into the recent hiring by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation of Ruben O'Bell, a longtime political operative/fixer who worked for former Texas Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. and state representative Eddie Lucio III – then for state senator Morgan LaMantia – has resulted in an unresponsive one-page missive from the the city and the GBIC.

(The GBIC just underwent a "rebranding" and announced that it will begin operating under a new name, the Greater Brownsville EDC. O'Bell does not appear as a member of the "team" in their website and we found no record in the GBIC's board's meetings minutes minutes that shows that his hiring went before the board for approval.)

Some of the questions that we asked the city was for the job description, salary, date of hire, etc. In response, the GBIC submitted a one-page answer which did not include answers to many of the pertinent questions and said "The uploaded document is the only responsive record located in the City’s possession, custody, or control. No additional responsive records were identified."

The request for information into O'Bell's hiring was sent to the city and the GBIC.

It read:

Request #PR-2026-127

"Dear Sir., Ms. Please consider this a formal information request. I am inquiring into the recent hiring of Ruben O'Bell for a position in the GBIC. I would like to know: 

1. The hiring date for for Ruben OBell 

2. Salary amount 

3. Job description 

4. How long was the position posted, where, and how many other applicants were considered? 

5. Ruben O'Bells resume and work experience. 

6. Who does Ruben OBell answer to or his supervisor? 

7. What budget account does his salary come from?"

But the one page response letter did reveal that O'Bell was hired by GBIC CEO Gilbert Salinas, apparently without review by the GBIC board or the city's Human Resources, Finance Director, or any Asst. City Manager at a whopping $140,000 annual salary – or $3,640 biweekly, and $67.31 an hour – as a full time/temporary employee effective February 2, 2026. It does not include the job description, extent of  duties, or funding source.

In his position as the Lucios' assistant, O'Bell, who is also a registered lobbyist, he "facilitated" meetings between the senator and state representative and vendors who were trying to do business with the various governmental entities in their respective districts. 

His name came up during the influence-peddling and bribery investigation into former Brownsville Independent School District board member Sylvia Atkinson and was listed as a witness in the federal case against her which resulted in her conviction for bribery and prison sentence. O'Bell did not have to take the stand against her during her trial. He was not charged with any crime. 

What exactly O'Bell's duties include is never stated in the GBIC response and can't be made out from the one-page missive submitted by Salinas is his response to El Rrun-Rrun's information request. Is he still a paid lobbyist who can charge potential clients a fee aside from his GBIC salary? Will his employment be contingent of jobs produced or contracts signed? What exactly does he do for the public money?

We have made another more detailed information request to the city/GBIC specifically asking these questions. We will keep our readers informed on their response.