Special to El Rrun-Run
When the first snippets of a four-hour taped conversations first started appearing on the Internet, they were heavily edited and focused on statements made by City of Brownsville Commissioner Cesar de Leon and on his use of the "N" word for which he has apologized.
The selective snippets have led to nationwide notoriety of the commissioner and for Brownsville.
But there is more than one side to this story.
In this unedited version that former Brownsville Fire Dept. Chief Carlos Elizondo allegedly recorded to coerce the Brownsville City Commission to keep his position as chief in the fire department, Elizondo is heard commenting on a variety of Brownsville Independent School District issues where he is a trustee and on city issues that run the whole gamut.
If you listen closely, you will be able to hear the Elizondo was using his cell phone during the taping, indicating that he was taping it with a digital recorder. The intent was to hold the recording as a weapon to coerce De Leon to protect him from being demoted or fired. When De Leon couldn't protect him from getting demoted, Elizondo got his revenge by putting his edited segments on the Internet and social media.
He never expected that someone would post the entire tape online, including his own statements which showed a crass conflict of interest in several passages, including one where he promised to vote against BISD general counsel Baltazar Salazar in return for protection from De Leon. If this isn't a conflict of interest in Elizondo being a city employee and a BISD trustee at the same time, we don;t know what is.
We had been offered this link at least half a dozen times, and now that it is all over the Internet, we will allow you to make up your own mind. Take time to listen to this and make up your mind for yourself.
Complete Recording - Click Here