As local tongues wag about the frequency of instances where some local politicians have been caught on recordings demanding their quid pro quo, some local wags remember conversations around local eateries where the subject was discussed openly and and in jest.
Former City of Brownsville Commissioner and Brownsville Independent School District member Pat Lehman was one of those frequent visitors to the coffee shops where he would often get kidded about being the 15 percent man.
"No, you've got that wrong," he would retort. "I'm the 20 percent man," and laughter would erupt.
Now, we're not making light of graft or bribery, but, c'mon, $1.2 million in fajitas stolen over nine years from the Cameron County Juvenile Probation Department is a bit much to chew off.
Same applies to the $100,000s in barbacoa purchased by the BISD for meat processed in Mexico which would have gone unnoticed had not the company who sold them – Valco – delivered a load that had gone bad. Only the vigilance of the kitchen workers prevented the meat from being consumed by the kids in the district's schools.
That incident, by the way, is still under investigation by the sleuths of the federal government and the United States Dept. of Agriculture. Apparently, USDA rules prohibit the purchase of meat not produced or processed in the United States. Additionally, the probe is also investigating whether the company had any questionable dealing with Food and Nutrition Service administrators or district trustees.
Pat, who by the way has never been accused, arrested, or indicted for any wrongdoing in his various elected positions, would marvel at some of the shenanigans that have been reported in the local press and in the social media. How, he wondered, had the BISD been able to justify its solid waste recycling programs when they would not pay even though the efforts had plenty of waste to recycle.
"There's something wrong somewhere," he would opine.
We understand that Lehman is now in the second half of a two-week jaunt to Ireland with wife Rosie, a local Girl Scout leader. The last time we spoke he was on his way to Dublin after having returned the rental car at the airport. We all told him to be careful because people drive on the left side of the road there and to not rent a car with a standard automatic transmission because the hills were murder there.
Well, it seems he has survived the rental car ordeal and is not content to let other people run him around the island.
He said the weather was a bit wet, but mild, with temperatures hovering in the upper 60s. But we're happy to report that 20 percent Pat has been casing Eire during his stay.
"Everything is nice and green," he told us.