Waste Not, Want Not

So District 4 Commissioner candidate Edward Camarillo recycles used UTB-TSC bond committee signs. I applaud his frugality. And bond committee chairman, David Oliveira, is happy they're being re-used. Good for him, too.

Landfill space is (temporarily) saved, as well as precious campaign dollars from Camarillo's campaign. So all's well that ends well, right? Not so fast, my friend.

Our esteemed District 1 Commissioner, Ricardo Longoria, posited:

...using recycled signs was “a violation” unless they belonged to a candidate who was running for re-election. “In my personal opinion, it would be wrong to use UT (UTB-TSC) signs that were used for the bond election,” Longoria said.

Please enlighten us, Commissioner. Precisely how does taking plastic signs, destined for the dump and unwanted by their previous owners, violate your inner moral compass?

Camarillo opponent, Justin Ramos, even went as far as contacting the TEC to find a precedent to stop the re-use.

[Ramos] was told that the signs could have violated the law if they belonged to UTB-TSC. They do not. “That is very important right there,” he said...“a lot of people” were concerned.

Huh? What's "important right there"? Justin, a lot of people are concerned, indeed. They're concerned that errant M&M you inhaled cut off oxygen to your brain for a bit. Get back to business and drop the non-issue. You look silly.

Irony of the Newshound

As a commenter recently mentioned elsewhere, the Herald really must be short-staffed. Because according to today's edition, the Newshound is online and ready to go. From 1/1/05:

Later this month, The Herald’s “Newshound” will be unleashed to sniff out the stories that you ask for. Problems on your street? Questions about your district’s representative on the City Commission? Concerns in the classroom? Ask the Newshound, a link to The Herald’s news staff that will allow readers to report problems, ask questions and get answers.

The Herald "allowing" readers to report problems? Isn't that their the Herald's job? Who's really doing the sniffing? Is it any wonder we can't expect reporters to attend candidate debates anymore?

Passing of a Friend's Best Friend

Astro served his master and community well. He will be missed by many.

"Robert's Rules of Authority"

Looks like more sign shenanigans from the Shrimp Captain.

A City Commission candidate and a Brownsville grandmother filed conflicting criminal charges against each other based on a Saturday afternoon dispute over a political sign.

Here's the site in question, as of yesterday afternoon, at the intersection of Greenbrier (Greenbriar) and Expwy 77/83 frontage. Kudos to Commissioner Cisneros for striking while the iron (and the Captain's temper) is hot.



And speaking of temper, is this alleged occurrence of using vulgarities in front of a 51-year old grandmother and her three young grandchildren (as well as this) representative of the kind of temperament we've come to expect from prospective candidates for City Commissioner?

I kind of doubt it.

Is It Time to Put Down a Rabid Junk Yard Dog?

Let's see if he got this right:

Former mayor Pat Ahumada responds in today's edition to a 3-week old editorial that rightly criticized his caustic, antagonistic tactics to divide the PUB board. Here are some of his howls:

"...it appears I have become the issue by those who refused to abide by City Charter Article 6, Section 1(c), which prohibits ex-officio Eddie Treviño from voting on appointments to PUB, which has lead to the present divisiveness. The charter clearly states the six commissioners make the appointments..."

Wrong, Mr. Ahumada. You became the issue by your own behavior. In the online version of Article VI, Sec.1(c) states:

The board shall be composed of six members. The mayor of the City of Brownsville shall ex officio be one of the members of the board. The remaining members of the board shall be appointed by a majority of all five city commissioners of the City of Brownsville...

Five city commissioners. That's little "c", not big "C", see? As in, members of the city commission. There were five members of the city commission before single-member districts came about (now there are seven). The mayor could vote on PUB issues then, why not now? This is a dead issue. Even your fellow PUB Board member, Cris Valadez is satisfied with existing AG opinions on it.

Next we have:

"Article 6-1(f) mandates an election for chairman and vice chairman be held, which was not done."

Wrong, again. As anyone can see, elections WERE attempted on January, 31st. They resulted in a tie. Board counsel stated what happens when there's a tie, officers keep their positions. What's more, at the March 9th special meeting and after several tie votes (including one nomination/than nay vote by the same person!), officers were elected.

Then, this:

"Yes, legal fees were incurred because the ex officio and two other board members refused to abide by the charter and rules, but this legal proceeding was not about who will be president of the board, but about adhering to laws... To ignore them is to allow people like Cadriel and Hernandez who think they are above the law to represent a select few at our expense."

Strike 3. You're disingenuousness is appalling, sir. Money, both rate-payers' and tax-payers', was spent precisely to force a change in officers. And when exactly were Mr. Cadriel and Mr. Hernandez serving on PUB? I missed that one.

Finally:

"As per Treviño’s financial adviser, an additional 20 percent rate increase could be implemented if we are hit with a disaster like Florida..."

Oh, but we were hit with a disaster, on December 7th last year, in fact. Hurricane Pat, as I think people refer to it. I'm curious to know how our rates will be impacted with your time-and-resource-wasting diatribes?

May 7th, folks. That's when we hold accountable the public officials responsible for unleashing these rabid dogs onto the public.

District 4 Debate - Chew Your (Sound) Bites Carefully

Click for larger map.

I've got to ask, is the Herald's political desk asleep at the wheel? Where was their coverage of last night's debate between candidates for City Commissioner District 4? Why are they shying away from their duty to inform the public about the candidates and their platforms? A day or so ago, an excellent question was posed by an anonymous commenter regarding the perceived lack of viable candidates for local government positions. He/she asked:

Who has the stomach to run for office? ... Where are our independent, hardworking (employed), problem solvers, that are ready to offer fresh new perspectives and ideas?

In theory, the Herald's supposed to tell us who said what where and when, and then we citizens can endeavor to answer the above two questions. In this case, they seemed to have dropped the ball. Well, I was there last night for the debate between incumbent Ernesto De Leon, and his two challengers, Justin Ramos and Edward Camarillo. Once again, South Texans for Good Government hosted it. With nary a reporter in sight, I attempted to capture some of the highlights of the evening via video, shaky camera and all, and find some answers for myself.

The recent passage of the $68 million UTB-TSC bond issue and where the candidates stood on it was a primary topic of the evening. When it was Commissioner De Leon's turn at bat, he offered his view (click for video, 68 secs long):

Edward Camarillo, former Student Government President at UTB-TSC, touted his service in AmeriCorps and relayed what he's learned from that and the pursuit of his Masters degree.(click for video, 95 secs long):

Justin Ramos, current Brownsville Citizen's Advisory Board member (appointed by Commissioner De Leon, in fact), missed much of the debate trying to recover from an errant M&M down his windpipe (no, I'm not making this up). He seemed to fare best during his introduction, I guess. (click for video, 110 secs long).

I'm not sure I came out of this debate any wiser, and I realize the video bits I provided don't really flesh out the candidates much. But, honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of meat to this one. Just pieces of broken candy and a sparse sandwich here or there. Here's hoping things improve a bit (my camera-work included) for the District 3 debate in three weeks.

Another Ahumada Apologist Appears

City Commissioner Ricardo Longoria wrote a rambling, scattershot letter to the editor on page E2 of yesterday's Herald. In it, he criticizes Bill Hudson's proposal to wipe the PUB board clean and appoint five new, politically-untethered members. In conclusion, he adds:

... I ask for two things. For Mr. Bill Hudson to do adequate research before commenting and suggesting on the makeup of boards that have been established by a city charter. And, that our mayor accept that which has been established and to be part of the solution, not the problem.

This shows a selective memory at best, or raw hypocrisy, at worst. Honorable Commissioner Longoria voted for, nay seconded, the appointment of PUB's biggest problem.

As for adequate research, perhaps he's forgotten that his constituents count on him, as Commissioner, to perform due diligence in research, as well. There have already been Texas Attorney General opinions supporting the mayor's voting power as an ex-officio. And the Mayor has done nothing but adhere to that.

Cafe Brownsville Demystified

Well, this blog seems to have garnered a bit of attention lately and with it came some reader questions, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to explain some of the features of it, as well as its purpose.

Last things first, the description under the blog's title says it all, "Blogging All Things Brownsville". I want to use this site to speak publicly about the people and events, both social and political, of my hometown. I was born here, I grew up here, and after college I came back here to work and raise a family. So I have a stake in the success of the people and City of Brownsville. I, and probably others, will post about issues important to us and we welcome readers' feedback. To differentiate this site from just any online newspaper or message board, many of the posts here will link to videos, documents, or online articles & sites that deal with the issue at hand. I encourage fellow commenters (is that a word?) to do the same.

If you don't care for the analysis, than at least consider this site as a place where you can find links to most of your local government entities, their principals, and their agendas. I guiltily admit that I only recently stumbled upon how much info is out there and I can't think of another place on the web (or elsewhere, for that matter) that has such a gateway to it.

As for how this blog works: It's run on Blogger software (owned by Google) and it's free. Anyone can start one of these up if they so desire. All I paid for was hosting the site at a unique web address and some file (video and photo) storage.

The most recent posts are at the top of the main page, eventually working their way down the page, and finally off the main page to the monthly archives on the lower right. The links to the right are pretty self-explanatory and may be upgraded routinely. After each post there's a link for readers to click to read and/or leave comments. Please feel free to do so, anonymously or not. Alternatively, folks are welcome to e-mail me using the top-right link under my name.

Enjoy.

PUB Board Members Sound the Retreat

Perhaps realizing the error of their ways, PUB board members Cris Valadez, Robert Sanchez, and Pat Ahumada filed a "non-suit" to their ongoing PUB case today, voluntarily dismissing all their claims without prejudice. (As I understand it, "without prejudice" means without barring the plaintiff from returning later with the same underlying claims.)

Also of note, a "special meeting" for the PUB board had been called for this evening by members Ahumada and Valadez, probably aware that Mayor Eddie Trevino was out of town and a voting majority on action items was theirs for the taking. Their luck worsening and after such short notice (posted only this past Tuesday), members Oscar Garcia and Billy Bradford were also unavailable to attend. Ergo no quorum.

The meeting has been rescheduled for the evening of Tuesday, March 8th, providing an opportunity for all members to be present. Let's hope the board can get back to business without these pointless, costly, and fruitless distractions.

All Hail the King

Looks like the Herald missed the boat in covering last night's first of several debates hosted by the South Texans for Good Government. I can find nary a mention in today's paper. And it's a shame, too, because some of the soundbites hurled between incumbent city commissioner Dr. Joseph Zavaletta and challenger Ernie Hernandez were memorable. I was there and got to hear this particular nugget with my own ears:

The local community "should crown Pat Ahumada as 'King of Brownsville' " after all he's done on the PUB board. - Dr. Joseph Zavaletta, 3/02/05

Anyone else see this? Anyone else not surprised [video]?

PUB Update: All Smoke, No Fire

Emma Perez-Trevino only got it half-right. Not only was a temporary restraining order against the PUB board dissolved, but in a failed "coup de'tat" where a wayward tail of the board attempted to wag the dog of the City, board members Robert Sanchez, Pat Ahumada and Cris Valadez were thoroughly repudiated. What's worse (for them) is, in issuing a second pleading to the court, the three "in their official capacities as members of the PUB board" inadvertently nullified their first motion, as well as the TRO it was based on. Pat Ahumada had this to say after defeat:

"Obviously, the other side doesn't want to follow rules, and that is why we have chaos," Ahumada said.

I beg to differ here, Mr. (former) Mayor. Those that act on behalf of the PUB board without board sanction, as you, Mr. Valadez, and Cap'n Sanchez have done, aren't following the rules. And any honest individual who viewed the debacle that was the last fifteen minutes of the last PUB meeting (video) knows why we have chaos. It's because of your unwillingness to act like an adult and become the community leader over half of the city commission misguidedly thought you'd be (Ahumada appointment video).

You Know... For Kids.

In other Park news, the Children's Museum of Brownsville is now open to the public! Congratulations go out to everyone who, both in their public and/or private capacity, helped bring this wonderful city facility to fruition.

*Special thanks should go out to my wife and Education Director Monica Davis, Museum Director Mary Rowe Hall, and tireless founders and proponents Mellena Conner and Beth Pace. Their dedication and efforts were and still are inspiring.

Park No Worse For Wear After Sombrero Fest

As reported this morning, the Dean Porter Park suffered no significant damage from this past weekend's Sombrero Festival. I presume that's due to both the Sombrero Committee taking extra care for their first time there, as well as attendance being down an unfortunate 65% from prior years, given the rainy days and Mr. Musso's figures.

I was there with my wife and daughter and although the weather was cool, overcast, and at times drizzly, we had a very pleasant time strolling the grounds. Indeed, there weren't a bunch of folks out there at the time, but driving by later that night, the parking lots appeared fuller. I especially like the layout of food and beverage booths. They fit well within the asphalt parking spaces and weren't at all as spread out from each other as I had feared they'd be. And by all accounts, the FrijOlympics was a continued success under the open-air pavilion with room for all entrants and audience.

We still don't know how well the new park would handle a typical Sombrero crowd. But I'm more than willing to wait until next year to find out. From the little I saw this year, it may be a very good fit. Congratulations to Mr. Musso and the Sombrero staff on their 20th well-run festival! I sincerely hope they're around for another 20.