By Juan Montoya
With the board of shadow government United Brownsville deciding that the public subsidies from eight publicly funded entities had dried up and they could no longer afford an executive director, Mike Gonzalez has disappeared from the radar screen.
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About the only indication that he may be back in Kyle, Texas, where he was mayor, is that his wife, Linda Teneyuque Gonzalez, is operating a certified public accounting firm in San Marcos. According to her website, she has had her accounting business since 2005 in San Marcos. Gonzalez was elected mayor of Kyle in 2005 and resigned in Dec of 2009 to make an unsuccessful run for county commissioner.
He was named United Brownsville's CEO in April 2011 and was let go this last September.
Even after he was hired at United Brownsville, Gonzalez and wife Linda kept their homestead exemption in Kyle and remained registered to vote there. They never registered to vote in Cameron County despite United Brownsville's stated adherence to civic engagement.
Gonzalez said at the time of his hiring that the greatest challenge was that “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
A primary aim, he said, is creating jobs. He was right, apparently, because so far United Brownsville cannot claim that it has produced the jobs promised despite a six year subsidy from at least eight publicly-funded entities at $25,000 a pop.
Those were the city of Brownsville, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Brownsville Navigation District, Brownsville Independent School District, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
With the board of shadow government United Brownsville deciding that the public subsidies from eight publicly funded entities had dried up and they could no longer afford an executive director, Mike Gonzalez has disappeared from the radar screen.
About the only indication that he may be back in Kyle, Texas, where he was mayor, is that his wife, Linda Teneyuque Gonzalez, is operating a certified public accounting firm in San Marcos. According to her website, she has had her accounting business since 2005 in San Marcos. Gonzalez was elected mayor of Kyle in 2005 and resigned in Dec of 2009 to make an unsuccessful run for county commissioner.He was named United Brownsville's CEO in April 2011 and was let go this last September.
Even after he was hired at United Brownsville, Gonzalez and wife Linda kept their homestead exemption in Kyle and remained registered to vote there. They never registered to vote in Cameron County despite United Brownsville's stated adherence to civic engagement.
Gonzalez said at the time of his hiring that the greatest challenge was that “the needs of a community are always greater than the capacities that are available.”
A primary aim, he said, is creating jobs. He was right, apparently, because so far United Brownsville cannot claim that it has produced the jobs promised despite a six year subsidy from at least eight publicly-funded entities at $25,000 a pop.
Those were the city of Brownsville, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Brownsville Navigation District, Brownsville Independent School District, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, Brownsville Community Improvement Corp. and the Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation.
Just last month the City of Brownsville voted not to continue budgeting their $25,000. As of last count, only three other entities continue to subsidize the organization. The United Brownsville Coordinating Board has not named a replacement, instead naming a United Brownsville secretary Laura Matamoros as interim director.