"Law (and politics) and sausage are two things you do not want to see being made. No one should see how laws or sausages are made. To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making. The making of laws like the making of sausages, is not a pretty sight."
Otto von Bismark
By Juan Montoya
With more than a dozen people indicating that they will vie for the four positions open on the Brownsville Independent School District election this November, the candidates – declared and undeclared – will pile into the district's boardroom at 5 p.m. today who decide whose seat they will seek and learn who their opponent(s) will be.
The drawing for a place on the ballot will follow at 5:30 after the the final filings.
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This much we know.
Position 3 currently held by Otis Powers is up for grabs with the incumbent facing former trustee local attorney Philip T. Cowen, and BISD staffer Argelia Miller.
Position 5 currently held by Catalina Presas-Garcia is facing Laura Perez-Reyes and Erasmo Castro. Perez-Reyes is a political newcomer and is the court coordinator of Cameron County Court-at-Law #3 under Judge David Gonzales III. Castro has run unsuccessfully for mayor and for county Democratic party chairman and has been identified with social media and his Cheezmeh group Facebook page. Presas-Garcia is completing eight years on the board and is running for her third term.
Position 6 is currently held by Minerva Peña and she is being challenged by Roberto Uresti, Anna Elizabeth Hernandez Oquin and Ken Wittenmore. Uresti has run for city commission before. Peña retired from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Wittenmore is a retired 30-year BISD administrator who has worn a number of different hats ranging from elementary school teacher to employee benefits administrator and finance administrator for the district's food service administrator. This is Hernandez-Oquin's first foray into electoral politics. She is a local businesswoman who owns two McDonald's Restaurant franchises.
Position 7 is currently held by Jose H. Chirinos and is being challenged by Dr. Sylvia Perez Atkinson, Rigoberto Bocanegra and Orlando Carlos Treviño. Atkinson has held positions as superintendent in several school districts, including assistant superintendent in the BISD and is currently employed as an assistant superintendent in the Rio Hondo ISD. Treviño is currently a security guard with the district. Bocanegra is a Brownsville firefighter and an officer in the firefighters' union. He is well known in local political circles and has been actively engaged in numerous political campaigns in the past.
Uresti had first filed for Position 7 but withdrew from that race and filed for Position 6 against Peña.
And, lurking in the shadows is 404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez who has named a treasurer (her husband Leo) but who hasn't vie hat position she will vie for.
But take this with a grain of sand. Candidates have been known to switch positions at the
moment for the ding on who files for what position. This happened last time when Presas-Garcia ran and the move resulted in a win.
This year Presas-Garcia has said she will remain in Position 5 regardless of who files. And during a recent meeting of the Cameron County Democratic Party, Cornejo-Lopez told some of those attending that she will run for whatever position Presas-Garcia files at the end. There is obviously bad blood between the two fueled by Cornejo-Lopez's resentment against the administration over the alleged mistreatment of one of her daughters attending high school and blames the board – and Presas-Garcia personally over the alleged slights.
And you can't count out a stealth candidate who may decide at the last minute to jump into a race, either on their own volition, or as part of a strategy by other candidates to take advantage of gender, ethnic or cultural differences between the candidates in any given race.
The board's majority before this elections was composed of former BISD Athletic Director and trustee Joe Rodriguez. His bloc included Carlos Elizondo, formerly president of the firefighters union and now Brownsville Fire Department chief and trustee Cesar Lopez. Chirinos, the incumbent for Position 7, formed the fourth vote of the Rodriguez majority. Chirinos has not filed for reelection and has lent an air of uncertainty to the process. Insiders say he will file but will wait until 5 p.m. to decide whether he will or not or what position he will seek.
Whatever Chirinos decides, the Rodriguez bloc needs Chirinos or one other of their backed candidates to win to retain control of the board.
Cowen, running against Powers in Position 3, is seen as a Rodriguez ally and could form the majority if he can overcome the incumbent and Miller could decide the outcome of that race if she draws enough of the female Latina vote and swings it one way or another. Powers is related by family to the Atkinsons and is a indefatigable campaigner. So this race is up in the air as is the sealing of the majority with Cowen by the Rodriguez-led majority.
In fact, Treviño, in the Position 7 race against Chirinos, is Powers' uncle and has told many that one of the reasons he is running is to avenge the removal of his nephew by the Rodriguez majority to replace him with Peña as board president.
There are other considerations here, too.
When Elizondo became fire chief, many of the firefighter union members interpreted that as him selling out the union for personal gain. This may be one of the motives driving Bocanegra, one of his principal allies in union activities and political activism, to run for the board.
Both Bocanegra and Elizondo are city employees as firefighters and – if the city and the BISD administration chose to question their candidacies and ability to hold elective office – could possibly make them ineligible to serve. The city's personnel policy manual specifically prohibits a city employee from holding an elective office in city government or other jurisdictions if it is determined that it would constitute a conflict of interest.
Specifically, it states":
Section 702: Political Activity
"B. Specifically, City Employees may not engage in the following activities:
4. Hold an elective City office or hold an elective or appointive office in any other jurisdiction where service would constitute a direct conflict of interest with City employment, with or without remuneration. Upon assuming such office, an Employee shall resign or shall be dismissed for cause upon failure to do so."
There is some precedent for this to happen.
In El Paso, a fire department lieutenant was given the choice of keeping his job with the city or the seat on the board of the school district that he had just won in an election. In that case, the firefighter gave up his seat and retained his job. A replacement was appointed by the board's majority.
http://archive.newspapertree.com/news/2450-updated-newly-elected-socorro-trustee-cannot-take-office-and-keep-city-job
When Elizondo won his election to the board in 2014, no one brought out the prohibition, possibly because he was not in a supervisory position with the city as a union president. But now, as chief, that has changed. Bocanegra is a lieutenant on the force and also theoretically subject to the prohibition.
The policy, it would appear, was adopted by the City of Brownsville for a reason.
We have been told that the district's administration is mulling over the Elizondo issue and looking for a resolution to the potential conflict of interest.
Now, who will take the bull by the horns? There is ample doubt that the City of Brownsville administration with its ethically-challenged counsel Mark Sossi will call forth the issue. And we also doubt that the BISD administration – which counts on his vote with the majority – will do anything about this either.
But just suppose that someone calls forth the issue in a courtroom. Would the city personnel policy on its employees (especially a department head) not holding elective or appointive office in another jurisdiction survive the test?
And is this the ace-in-the-hole being held by the Rodriguez majority in case one of their candidates wins or Elizondo decides (or is made) to resign after the election? The local rumors are that he would be replaced by the Rodriguez majority by his ally and soul mate– and former BISD trustee – Graciana de Peña to maintain his control of the board.
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Political science teachers and researchers, if you want to show your students how the sausage is made in Brownsville, have them attend the drawing tonight for a place on the BISD ballot.
With control over a $540 million budget, 7,000 employees and almost 50,000 students, a seat on this board will affect the lives of thousands of city residents, local commerce and businesses.
And with other interests involved in the elections such as the messianic OP 10.33 group led by Mike Hernandez III and United Brownsville's Carlos Marin looking for at least one win on their bonnet, and vendors of everything from barbacoa to windstorm insurance, the deceptively calm surface of Brownsville politics is fraught with roiling and nasty undercurrents below that rival those that have drowned countless illegal crossers in the Rio Grande.
Oh, yeah, wasn't this election about educating the children of Brownsville? Somehow, that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle.
By Juan Montoya
With more than a dozen people indicating that they will vie for the four positions open on the Brownsville Independent School District election this November, the candidates – declared and undeclared – will pile into the district's boardroom at 5 p.m. today who decide whose seat they will seek and learn who their opponent(s) will be.
The drawing for a place on the ballot will follow at 5:30 after the the final filings.
This much we know.Position 3 currently held by Otis Powers is up for grabs with the incumbent facing former trustee local attorney Philip T. Cowen, and BISD staffer Argelia Miller.
Position 5 currently held by Catalina Presas-Garcia is facing Laura Perez-Reyes and Erasmo Castro. Perez-Reyes is a political newcomer and is the court coordinator of Cameron County Court-at-Law #3 under Judge David Gonzales III. Castro has run unsuccessfully for mayor and for county Democratic party chairman and has been identified with social media and his Cheezmeh group Facebook page. Presas-Garcia is completing eight years on the board and is running for her third term.
Position 6 is currently held by Minerva Peña and she is being challenged by Roberto Uresti, Anna Elizabeth Hernandez Oquin and Ken Wittenmore. Uresti has run for city commission before. Peña retired from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Wittenmore is a retired 30-year BISD administrator who has worn a number of different hats ranging from elementary school teacher to employee benefits administrator and finance administrator for the district's food service administrator. This is Hernandez-Oquin's first foray into electoral politics. She is a local businesswoman who owns two McDonald's Restaurant franchises.
Position 7 is currently held by Jose H. Chirinos and is being challenged by Dr. Sylvia Perez Atkinson, Rigoberto Bocanegra and Orlando Carlos Treviño. Atkinson has held positions as superintendent in several school districts, including assistant superintendent in the BISD and is currently employed as an assistant superintendent in the Rio Hondo ISD. Treviño is currently a security guard with the district. Bocanegra is a Brownsville firefighter and an officer in the firefighters' union. He is well known in local political circles and has been actively engaged in numerous political campaigns in the past.
Uresti had first filed for Position 7 but withdrew from that race and filed for Position 6 against Peña.
And, lurking in the shadows is 404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez who has named a treasurer (her husband Leo) but who hasn't vie hat position she will vie for.
But take this with a grain of sand. Candidates have been known to switch positions at the
moment for the ding on who files for what position. This happened last time when Presas-Garcia ran and the move resulted in a win.
This year Presas-Garcia has said she will remain in Position 5 regardless of who files. And during a recent meeting of the Cameron County Democratic Party, Cornejo-Lopez told some of those attending that she will run for whatever position Presas-Garcia files at the end. There is obviously bad blood between the two fueled by Cornejo-Lopez's resentment against the administration over the alleged mistreatment of one of her daughters attending high school and blames the board – and Presas-Garcia personally over the alleged slights.
And you can't count out a stealth candidate who may decide at the last minute to jump into a race, either on their own volition, or as part of a strategy by other candidates to take advantage of gender, ethnic or cultural differences between the candidates in any given race.
The board's majority before this elections was composed of former BISD Athletic Director and trustee Joe Rodriguez. His bloc included Carlos Elizondo, formerly president of the firefighters union and now Brownsville Fire Department chief and trustee Cesar Lopez. Chirinos, the incumbent for Position 7, formed the fourth vote of the Rodriguez majority. Chirinos has not filed for reelection and has lent an air of uncertainty to the process. Insiders say he will file but will wait until 5 p.m. to decide whether he will or not or what position he will seek.
Whatever Chirinos decides, the Rodriguez bloc needs Chirinos or one other of their backed candidates to win to retain control of the board.
Cowen, running against Powers in Position 3, is seen as a Rodriguez ally and could form the majority if he can overcome the incumbent and Miller could decide the outcome of that race if she draws enough of the female Latina vote and swings it one way or another. Powers is related by family to the Atkinsons and is a indefatigable campaigner. So this race is up in the air as is the sealing of the majority with Cowen by the Rodriguez-led majority.
In fact, Treviño, in the Position 7 race against Chirinos, is Powers' uncle and has told many that one of the reasons he is running is to avenge the removal of his nephew by the Rodriguez majority to replace him with Peña as board president.
There are other considerations here, too.
When Elizondo became fire chief, many of the firefighter union members interpreted that as him selling out the union for personal gain. This may be one of the motives driving Bocanegra, one of his principal allies in union activities and political activism, to run for the board.
Both Bocanegra and Elizondo are city employees as firefighters and – if the city and the BISD administration chose to question their candidacies and ability to hold elective office – could possibly make them ineligible to serve. The city's personnel policy manual specifically prohibits a city employee from holding an elective office in city government or other jurisdictions if it is determined that it would constitute a conflict of interest.
Specifically, it states":
Section 702: Political Activity
"B. Specifically, City Employees may not engage in the following activities:
4. Hold an elective City office or hold an elective or appointive office in any other jurisdiction where service would constitute a direct conflict of interest with City employment, with or without remuneration. Upon assuming such office, an Employee shall resign or shall be dismissed for cause upon failure to do so."
There is some precedent for this to happen.
In El Paso, a fire department lieutenant was given the choice of keeping his job with the city or the seat on the board of the school district that he had just won in an election. In that case, the firefighter gave up his seat and retained his job. A replacement was appointed by the board's majority.
http://archive.newspapertree.com/news/2450-updated-newly-elected-socorro-trustee-cannot-take-office-and-keep-city-job
When Elizondo won his election to the board in 2014, no one brought out the prohibition, possibly because he was not in a supervisory position with the city as a union president. But now, as chief, that has changed. Bocanegra is a lieutenant on the force and also theoretically subject to the prohibition.
The policy, it would appear, was adopted by the City of Brownsville for a reason.
We have been told that the district's administration is mulling over the Elizondo issue and looking for a resolution to the potential conflict of interest.
Now, who will take the bull by the horns? There is ample doubt that the City of Brownsville administration with its ethically-challenged counsel Mark Sossi will call forth the issue. And we also doubt that the BISD administration – which counts on his vote with the majority – will do anything about this either.
But just suppose that someone calls forth the issue in a courtroom. Would the city personnel policy on its employees (especially a department head) not holding elective or appointive office in another jurisdiction survive the test?
And is this the ace-in-the-hole being held by the Rodriguez majority in case one of their candidates wins or Elizondo decides (or is made) to resign after the election? The local rumors are that he would be replaced by the Rodriguez majority by his ally and soul mate– and former BISD trustee – Graciana de Peña to maintain his control of the board.
With control over a $540 million budget, 7,000 employees and almost 50,000 students, a seat on this board will affect the lives of thousands of city residents, local commerce and businesses.
And with other interests involved in the elections such as the messianic OP 10.33 group led by Mike Hernandez III and United Brownsville's Carlos Marin looking for at least one win on their bonnet, and vendors of everything from barbacoa to windstorm insurance, the deceptively calm surface of Brownsville politics is fraught with roiling and nasty undercurrents below that rival those that have drowned countless illegal crossers in the Rio Grande.
Oh, yeah, wasn't this election about educating the children of Brownsville? Somehow, that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle.
