By Juan Montoya
If Joe Rodriguez, Carlos Elizondo or Cesar Lopez are still around in 2018 and thinking of running for reelection to the board of trustees of the Brownsville Independent School District, they must be shaking in their boots to know that Head Cheez Erasmo Castro is shooting for one of them.
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In fact, Castro is pointing to his showing in the last BISD election where he came up short by 960 votes behind Plce 5 winner Laura Perez-Reyes. Castro is one of those guys who likes to think of the results in that race as a vindication of his soaring popularity. He says now that it was only the fact that his opponents supporters gave her more money. By that measure, incumbent Catalina Presas-Garcia would have beaten Castro soundly, but didn't.
So something else was in play here. One, of course, was the fact that many people saw Presas-Garcia's $1 million lawsuit against the
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BISD and some of the trustees as something a trustee doesn't do when she's on the school board. Others probably thought she had been there toto long and had outlasted her welcome. And 2016 being a presidential election year with a record turnout didn't hurt him either. Pssst. Cheez, 2018 is not.
But Castro is feeling his oats and probably didn't believe that 10.900 voters actually darkened the oval on the ballot for him. In fact, he finished with 1,211 votes out of 8,227 cast for mayor in the 2015 City of Brownsville elections, third behind winner Tony Martinez and even despised Pat Ahumada.
Well, some people see a glass half full and others see it half empty. But Erasmo keeps going to the well anyway.
He lists his profession as a "cancer information specialist" with the American Cancer Society and says he has a bachelor's degree in Christian studies. That makes some sort of sense. During his run for mayor he stated in no uncertain terms that he was on a crusade with his goal was to eradicate corruption just like cancer:
"We as a community have never come this close to putting a dent in the corrupt political machine that is a cancer in our beautiful city. Aren’t you tired of the compadre system and backroom deals that put money in the politicos pockets? Shouldn’t we stop giving away our children’s inheritance for pennies on the dollar?"
The cancer metaphor worked wonderfully (even as he lost) and he is prepping the anti-corruption message for his run at the BISD in 2018.
But sometimes Castro can't help himself and attacks legitimate businesses based on anonymous complaints. He had a good run some time in the past when people would send in photos of what they said were unhygienic conditions at some mom-and-pop panaderias and restaurants and then the Cheez brigade would show up asking whether they wanted to contribute to the cause or be ambushed
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by the cameras wielded for the Cheez by obnoxious Channel 4 reporter Brian Wolfe.
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That continued until Wolfe's bosses at Channel 4 grew suspicious of the too-neat complaints generated by the Cheezmeh bunch. One Mexican bakery on Southmost told all about the group's tactics and the scheme fizzled.
Til now, that is. It seems that Castro, from his home in faraway Austin, has started to assail local businesses again. The latest foray into the "Keep it Clean" campaign to eradicate dirty and scuzzyness has been directed at the family-owned Wing Barn, allegedly for having a backed-up drain at the business, a common occurrence in a restaurant kitchen.
Owners Daniel Pompa and chided Castro and said it was sad that "a local voice (Erasmo Castro) stoops so low to tarnish a reputation that a whole team has worked so hard to build. A lot of employee families depend on Wing Barn to support their own needs and I don't take that for granted."
Chris Gonzalez backed up Pompa saying ti is a common occurrence at food preparation kitchens.
So much for those votes in your upcoming race, Cheez.
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However, since the race he is contemplating is for the BISD, it is only logical that his new whipping boy would be the BISD Food and Nutrition Service, a department that has undergone public scrutiny and – we have been told – is still under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other investigative law enforcement agencies. If you remember, FNS under its former director, the late Silverio Capsitran, was blamed for purchasing rotten barbacoa meat from Valco, a vendor of processed meat which was processed in Mexico. Since USDA rules prohibit the use of federal funds to be used to purchase non-US food products, the feds came down on the Region 1 vendor and the purchases stopped.
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There are other major problems with the FNS and at least one local vendor and another in San Antonio have come under scrutiny for being fronts for unidentified investors with cloSe ties to some board members. The details of these investigations have not been made public, and this is where Castro is hooking his political hopes. He says he is awaiting the results of public information requests to divulge how skimping on tamale portions for the kiddos in Pre-K is ending up with money going into the pockets of board members.
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In fact, there has been a whole dialogue over the portions of tamales being fed to the kids. In one post, Castro gets into a tizzy because pre-K students are being given half portions when grown kids are given the whole tamal. If people know hoe tamales are made (the lard content is incredible), they would be grateful the kids don;t start clogging their arteries at such a young age and demand that the BISD stop giving them those lar-filled morsels or the equally grease-laden barbacoa.
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Todd Aten took issue with the post and said that local parents should step up to the responsibility to feed their own kids and asked Castro fro the facts behind his comment that the half-portions were a result of the money ending in the pocket of BISD board members.
Well, if he thinks it it works for him, but he does display an awfully-thin skin when he is questioned. In response to people belittling the tamal and kitchen drain post, he responded by inviting them to leave his page.
Castro has enough problems with his candidacy that he may want to reconsider "stirring the pot" to gain readership. During the BISD election, we heard that one of the candidates for Position 5 had in their possession proof that Castro had been convicted of a felony (forgery) in the past and that they would produce the documentation if by some miracle the Head Cheez should win. Apparently, Castro had never finished his probation and couldn't expunge the record. There were some additional charges on his record as well, we've been told.
For now, however, he seems heedless of this fact and is continuing his candidacy for the BISD in 2018. Will there be a new wrinkle in the campaign?
If Joe Rodriguez, Carlos Elizondo or Cesar Lopez are still around in 2018 and thinking of running for reelection to the board of trustees of the Brownsville Independent School District, they must be shaking in their boots to know that Head Cheez Erasmo Castro is shooting for one of them.
In fact, Castro is pointing to his showing in the last BISD election where he came up short by 960 votes behind Plce 5 winner Laura Perez-Reyes. Castro is one of those guys who likes to think of the results in that race as a vindication of his soaring popularity. He says now that it was only the fact that his opponents supporters gave her more money. By that measure, incumbent Catalina Presas-Garcia would have beaten Castro soundly, but didn't.
So something else was in play here. One, of course, was the fact that many people saw Presas-Garcia's $1 million lawsuit against the
BISD and some of the trustees as something a trustee doesn't do when she's on the school board. Others probably thought she had been there toto long and had outlasted her welcome. And 2016 being a presidential election year with a record turnout didn't hurt him either. Pssst. Cheez, 2018 is not.But Castro is feeling his oats and probably didn't believe that 10.900 voters actually darkened the oval on the ballot for him. In fact, he finished with 1,211 votes out of 8,227 cast for mayor in the 2015 City of Brownsville elections, third behind winner Tony Martinez and even despised Pat Ahumada.
Well, some people see a glass half full and others see it half empty. But Erasmo keeps going to the well anyway.
He lists his profession as a "cancer information specialist" with the American Cancer Society and says he has a bachelor's degree in Christian studies. That makes some sort of sense. During his run for mayor he stated in no uncertain terms that he was on a crusade with his goal was to eradicate corruption just like cancer:
"We as a community have never come this close to putting a dent in the corrupt political machine that is a cancer in our beautiful city. Aren’t you tired of the compadre system and backroom deals that put money in the politicos pockets? Shouldn’t we stop giving away our children’s inheritance for pennies on the dollar?"
The cancer metaphor worked wonderfully (even as he lost) and he is prepping the anti-corruption message for his run at the BISD in 2018.
But sometimes Castro can't help himself and attacks legitimate businesses based on anonymous complaints. He had a good run some time in the past when people would send in photos of what they said were unhygienic conditions at some mom-and-pop panaderias and restaurants and then the Cheez brigade would show up asking whether they wanted to contribute to the cause or be ambushed
That continued until Wolfe's bosses at Channel 4 grew suspicious of the too-neat complaints generated by the Cheezmeh bunch. One Mexican bakery on Southmost told all about the group's tactics and the scheme fizzled.Til now, that is. It seems that Castro, from his home in faraway Austin, has started to assail local businesses again. The latest foray into the "Keep it Clean" campaign to eradicate dirty and scuzzyness has been directed at the family-owned Wing Barn, allegedly for having a backed-up drain at the business, a common occurrence in a restaurant kitchen.
Owners Daniel Pompa and chided Castro and said it was sad that "a local voice (Erasmo Castro) stoops so low to tarnish a reputation that a whole team has worked so hard to build. A lot of employee families depend on Wing Barn to support their own needs and I don't take that for granted."
Chris Gonzalez backed up Pompa saying ti is a common occurrence at food preparation kitchens.
So much for those votes in your upcoming race, Cheez.
However, since the race he is contemplating is for the BISD, it is only logical that his new whipping boy would be the BISD Food and Nutrition Service, a department that has undergone public scrutiny and – we have been told – is still under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other investigative law enforcement agencies. If you remember, FNS under its former director, the late Silverio Capsitran, was blamed for purchasing rotten barbacoa meat from Valco, a vendor of processed meat which was processed in Mexico. Since USDA rules prohibit the use of federal funds to be used to purchase non-US food products, the feds came down on the Region 1 vendor and the purchases stopped.
There are other major problems with the FNS and at least one local vendor and another in San Antonio have come under scrutiny for being fronts for unidentified investors with cloSe ties to some board members. The details of these investigations have not been made public, and this is where Castro is hooking his political hopes. He says he is awaiting the results of public information requests to divulge how skimping on tamale portions for the kiddos in Pre-K is ending up with money going into the pockets of board members.
In fact, there has been a whole dialogue over the portions of tamales being fed to the kids. In one post, Castro gets into a tizzy because pre-K students are being given half portions when grown kids are given the whole tamal. If people know hoe tamales are made (the lard content is incredible), they would be grateful the kids don;t start clogging their arteries at such a young age and demand that the BISD stop giving them those lar-filled morsels or the equally grease-laden barbacoa.
Todd Aten took issue with the post and said that local parents should step up to the responsibility to feed their own kids and asked Castro fro the facts behind his comment that the half-portions were a result of the money ending in the pocket of BISD board members.Well, if he thinks it it works for him, but he does display an awfully-thin skin when he is questioned. In response to people belittling the tamal and kitchen drain post, he responded by inviting them to leave his page.
Castro has enough problems with his candidacy that he may want to reconsider "stirring the pot" to gain readership. During the BISD election, we heard that one of the candidates for Position 5 had in their possession proof that Castro had been convicted of a felony (forgery) in the past and that they would produce the documentation if by some miracle the Head Cheez should win. Apparently, Castro had never finished his probation and couldn't expunge the record. There were some additional charges on his record as well, we've been told.
For now, however, he seems heedless of this fact and is continuing his candidacy for the BISD in 2018. Will there be a new wrinkle in the campaign?