BROWNSVILLE CAN BE SHINING CITY ON THE RIO BANK AGAIN

(Continued from Part I)

We also need to address the issue of how Brownsville is continuously being taken advantage of. 

We need to stop allowing companies to come to Brownsville, save millions of dollars on tax abatements with nothing being given back to the community. For all of the times the mayor mentions his business acumen, and investors, and stakeholders, and money, you’d think he would want these companies to start investing in the PEOPLE of Brownsville. 

Titan Tire, that Italian tractor company, and SpaceX are just a few examples of companies that have come into town, taken millions in tax abatements, and haven’t given Brownsville a whole lot of anything

SpaceX has broken promise after promise after promise. They said there would be hundreds of well-paying jobs created for Brownsville locals. 

They said there would be many more jobs created because of all the people visiting to see these rocket launches. To date, none of these things have happened. They’ve even screwed over the county and the people of South Padre Island. 

They thought building an amphitheater so people could see all these rocket launches would benefit them. Now there aren’t any launches and the amphitheater was still built.

All these companies have done is leave Brownsville’s landscape dotted with half-abandoned warehouses and broken promises (like the stacks of tires left behind at the old Titan Tire warehouse at graphic on right).

Soon, if SpaceX have their way, they’ll probably close off access to Boca Chica Beach permanently and displace a beachside community that has existed for generations.

Education should also be a priority for the mayor. 

 The UTRGV debacle should have NEVER happened, and it happened while the mayor was a member of the TSC board. The entire TSC campus could have moved to the Amigoland Mall and the UT System could have paid TSC for all the property on their current campus and UT Brownsville could have remained UT Brownsville. 

The majority of the undergraduate programs and almost all the graduate programs are being run out of Edinburg. The day will soon come when UTRGV completely relocates to the old UT-Pan Am campus and leaves Brownsville high and dry. I’m sure if the university leaders had their way, the move would have happened a long time ago. 

Local politicians should be doing their best to bring as many institutions of higher learning to Brownsville, not asking them to leave and never come back. The mayor’s connections to TSC would make him the perfect person to try and fix the problems with the university and the college.

You also have to work with the local school district to improve relations between the community and the district to preserve Brownsville’s rich history. 

Brownsville is the most historically significant city south of San Antonio, and it should be treated as such. I am glad to hear the mayor is interested in doing something with the original site of Fort Brown, because it is in a sad state today. It would be a pity to lose more of Brownsville’s history to the passage of time.

It would be good if the mayor could intervene and put all the drama that is currently going on at the Brownsville Historic Association to rest. 

We need to put all of the petty bickering and hidden agendas aside and move forward in educating the community just how historically significant Brownsville is. Brownsville has played a major role in the development of Texas and in the development of the United States. 

We have a rich history that spans all kinds of ethnic groups, and we should honor that. We are very fortunate to be at the crossroads of several different cultures. We should celebrate those cultures coming together. The city needs to take a more active role in promoting Charro Days as that cultural celebration. We do not need a new annual celebration in February. We already have one.

We need to make Charro Days what it once was instead of what it has become. We need less beer festivals and less wine tastings and more celebrations of our history and our cultural uniqueness.

I understand that the mayor has a vested interest in seeing downtown flourish, but the simple fact is there are more important things to worry about rather than hike and bike trails and beautification pet-projects. 

He should be working to bring legitimate companies to town that are going to be a part of the community, lay down roots, and bring good paying jobs to the people of Brownsville. Politicians often forget their job is to serve their constituents and do things that are in the community’s best interest. Being mayor is not a vanity exercise.

Brownsville needs fixing. Brownsville needs healing. Brownsville needs a leader who is capable of listening to the people and doing the right thing to fix all the problems that currently ail us. Brownsville was once the crown jewel of Deep South Texas.

We were the anchor of the Magic Valley. We can be that once again. If you are willing to set your business interests and gentrification projects aside, we can fix and breathe life into the city. 

Brownsville can absolutely be beautiful — Brownsville can absolutely be strong.

Listen to the people. Listen to Brownsville’s native sons and daughters. Listen to the people who are crying out for real, legitimate change.

Put down the fiddle. Lead us. We can be the Valley’s shining city upon a hill once again.