By Juan Montoya
Just when you thought that City of Brownsville District 2 commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa would keep a low profile and try to serve out her second term in relative obscurity, BAM!, she strikes again.
If she's not talking about this or the other on her Facebook page such as buying expensive jewelry from her bod Deborah Portillo, a used Tesla car from her buddy Elon Musk, leading the cheering section for a local boy Joel Treviño on Univision's La Voz, being blessed by Pope Francis as he scooted around Washingotn D.C. in his Fiat, or agitating for the prosecution of the woman who – as a result of her child falling into the moat – led zookeepers to plomear a Hambere, the silver-back western lowland gorilla in Cincinnati who was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo, she tries her hand at being commissioner.
Now she is making recommendations on her Facebook page on which vendor to hire to provide the city surveillance equipment.
Remember when Da Mayor Tony Martinez had just sailed into office on his first term in 2012?
One of his first acts in office was to take a trip to Orlando, Fla. to represent the city in the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Meeting.
Well, Tony came back with a little something for the city.
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He ran into David McCarthy, President and CEO of Community Showcase Banners, of Warsaw, N.Y.
As a result of that fateful meeting, McCarthy wrote Hizzoner Da Mayor that , "recently the City of Brownsville's Mayor, Tony Martinez, was awarded a community showcase at the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Nationally, there were only 15 Showcases awarded out of thousands of cities and towns across the country."
Well, weren't we the lucky ones?
His company, CEO of Community Showcase Banners, he went on to say, awarded Brownsville a "community showcase" opportunity to "show the city of Brownsville's economic vitality and the support of our business community."
Martinez agreed to give the Mountain man a nice letter from City Manager Charlie Cabler addressed to "Dear Brownsville Business Owner" stating (again) that "the City of Brownsville was selected for a nationwide program that aims to showcase both the public and the private assets of the city. We (who's we?) have accepted the services for, and will participate in, a three-year promotional campaign conducted by Community Showcase Banners." The letter includes a nice photo of Charlie with McCarthy.
What the letter didn't say was that the city's "opportunity" to participate in McCarthys' uplifting campaign to highlight the civic and business assets in the city carried a price tag. Cabler's letter to local businesses stated that "the company which selected the city for the program, Community Showcase Banners, will be reaching out to you and others in the community to participate."
Businesses could opt to buy into the showcase banner plan for as little as $695 a year which would get them one Bronze customized sponsorship, one street banner and a preferred pole (light pole from PUB?) site. For $1,095, the lucky participants will get what's called a Bronze+ customized sponsorship with two street banners and two preferred pole sites. You get the idea.
The Gold sponsorship (at only $3,3395 a year) will get you a customized sponsorship, five street banners and five preferred pole sites. The company will be able to use a City of Brownsville logo and "brand" the city's website, according to McCarthy's letter.
Now, we could forgive Martinez, after all this was his first year in public office and he didn't know any better than to encumber the city with obligations to a private vendor without going through the city's purchasing process or vetting the firm for legitimacy.
Over time, the banners never appeared and the idea was dumped like an embarrassing relative.
Just when you thought that City of Brownsville District 2 commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa would keep a low profile and try to serve out her second term in relative obscurity, BAM!, she strikes again.
If she's not talking about this or the other on her Facebook page such as buying expensive jewelry from her bod Deborah Portillo, a used Tesla car from her buddy Elon Musk, leading the cheering section for a local boy Joel Treviño on Univision's La Voz, being blessed by Pope Francis as he scooted around Washingotn D.C. in his Fiat, or agitating for the prosecution of the woman who – as a result of her child falling into the moat – led zookeepers to plomear a Hambere, the silver-back western lowland gorilla in Cincinnati who was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo, she tries her hand at being commissioner.
Now she is making recommendations on her Facebook page on which vendor to hire to provide the city surveillance equipment.
Remember when Da Mayor Tony Martinez had just sailed into office on his first term in 2012?
One of his first acts in office was to take a trip to Orlando, Fla. to represent the city in the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Meeting.
Well, Tony came back with a little something for the city.
He ran into David McCarthy, President and CEO of Community Showcase Banners, of Warsaw, N.Y.
As a result of that fateful meeting, McCarthy wrote Hizzoner Da Mayor that , "recently the City of Brownsville's Mayor, Tony Martinez, was awarded a community showcase at the U.S. Conference of Mayors National Meeting in Orlando, Florida. Nationally, there were only 15 Showcases awarded out of thousands of cities and towns across the country."
Well, weren't we the lucky ones?
His company, CEO of Community Showcase Banners, he went on to say, awarded Brownsville a "community showcase" opportunity to "show the city of Brownsville's economic vitality and the support of our business community."
Martinez agreed to give the Mountain man a nice letter from City Manager Charlie Cabler addressed to "Dear Brownsville Business Owner" stating (again) that "the City of Brownsville was selected for a nationwide program that aims to showcase both the public and the private assets of the city. We (who's we?) have accepted the services for, and will participate in, a three-year promotional campaign conducted by Community Showcase Banners." The letter includes a nice photo of Charlie with McCarthy.
What the letter didn't say was that the city's "opportunity" to participate in McCarthys' uplifting campaign to highlight the civic and business assets in the city carried a price tag. Cabler's letter to local businesses stated that "the company which selected the city for the program, Community Showcase Banners, will be reaching out to you and others in the community to participate."
Local businesses were approached by McCarthy (along with a buxom female assistant) and sporting a Super Bowl ring which he said he earned as a backup quarterback for Jim Plunkett when the Oakland Raiders won the Super Bowl.
Businesses could opt to buy into the showcase banner plan for as little as $695 a year which would get them one Bronze customized sponsorship, one street banner and a preferred pole (light pole from PUB?) site. For $1,095, the lucky participants will get what's called a Bronze+ customized sponsorship with two street banners and two preferred pole sites. You get the idea.
The Gold sponsorship (at only $3,3395 a year) will get you a customized sponsorship, five street banners and five preferred pole sites. The company will be able to use a City of Brownsville logo and "brand" the city's website, according to McCarthy's letter.
Now, we could forgive Martinez, after all this was his first year in public office and he didn't know any better than to encumber the city with obligations to a private vendor without going through the city's purchasing process or vetting the firm for legitimacy.
Over time, the banners never appeared and the idea was dumped like an embarrassing relative.
But Tereau is already on her second term and should know better.
In posts on her Facebook page she recommends that the city consider buying surveillance equipment from one Fernando Lazo and pointedly forwards the post to the Brownsville Police Dept.
Knowing how sensitive BPD Chief Orlando Rodriguez is to the wishes of his bosses (the city commissioners), we're sure that he will keep Lazo in mind if and when the surveillance contract comes up.
But is this the way to do the city's business? Does the feisty commish have inside knowledge (or a private interest) in this firm that would benefit her personally?
Why is she making sure the PD knows about this vendor?
It is one thing to promote a friend business then it's another to prompt it as a commissioner to the city BPD when she votes on their budgets, pay, promotion and union contracts.
Is the surveillance contract up in the very near future?
In posts on her Facebook page she recommends that the city consider buying surveillance equipment from one Fernando Lazo and pointedly forwards the post to the Brownsville Police Dept.
Knowing how sensitive BPD Chief Orlando Rodriguez is to the wishes of his bosses (the city commissioners), we're sure that he will keep Lazo in mind if and when the surveillance contract comes up.
But is this the way to do the city's business? Does the feisty commish have inside knowledge (or a private interest) in this firm that would benefit her personally?
Why is she making sure the PD knows about this vendor?
It is one thing to promote a friend business then it's another to prompt it as a commissioner to the city BPD when she votes on their budgets, pay, promotion and union contracts.
Is the surveillance contract up in the very near future?