(Ed.'s Note: One of our seven readers sent us this photo of the city commission candidates who apparently are running as a slate. Incumbent Rose Gowen and Jon Villarreal flan the sign of Joel Munguia, said to be a vote for Mayor Tony Martinez. Gowen has taken over the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation budget through surrogates Debby Portillo and Villarreal to push her fitness/wellness bicycle-friendly agenda.
Brownsville residents have tired of Gowen's smoke and mirrors and her haughty and arrogant demeanor. Downton merchants have put up with commerce-killing Cyclobias long enough. And the city's budget has taekn a beating providing security and personnel to please her Haughtiness. Munguia has been seen tet-a-tet with Martinez and Ambiotec' Carlos Marin, the engineer/alchemist who succeeded in turning a $1 million hodge-podge plan into a $1 million Imagine Brownsville-cum-United Brownsville budget maggot with nary a thing to show after years of sucking on the public treat. He's Tony's man and despite our reservations, we are pushing for William to make it a good show and give that bunch a run for their money.
In the case of Villarreal, we have been sorely disappointed that he has been a rubber stamp for Martinez. We are reminded of Pablo Neruda's poem about the fertile Americans. The only thing we can criticize is his silence.
Villarreal has stood by while Martinez has tried to give away the Brownsville store to the likes of the UT System in the form of real estate, the purchase of the $2.3 million Casa del Nylon, the hush-hush secret deal with Tenaska which so far has cost PUB ratepayers in excess of $90 million in rate hikes since 2013 with no plant to show for it, and his participation and vote on the property-tax resale to provide more parking space for his office which he then sold to the Rio Grande Rural Legal Aid for a pretty profit. John might be a decent guy, but he has not taken a stand for his constituents that we think Neece can and will.
So – even with our reservations – we'll go out on a limb and endorse the other slate composed of Ben Neece, Erasmo Castro and William Garza.)