By Juan Montoya
The Cameron County Elections Office reported that – not counting mail-in votes – 3,529 voters had cast ballots during the early voting period for three seats on the City of Brownsville Commission.
As had been noted previously, the rule of thumb for predicting the turnout in local elections holds that 60 percent of the votes are cast during this period.
We are not mathematicians here, but we found the formula online and the 3,529 votes cast are 60 percent of 5,881, a little less than 6,000. Based on this formula, it predicts that 2,352 votes will be cast on Saturday, Election Day. If we count the mail-in votes, the formula doesn't change much. The Cameron County Elections Dept. says voters requested 267 mail-in ballots and that they have received 186 so far. The department counts all mail-in ballots received by the time the polls close on election day.
We hope we are wrong about the turnout. In a city with 84,849 registered voters, it is a pity that less than seven percent will decide the outcome of their political representation.
There are many issues crying out for solutions in Brownsville. There have been excesses on the part of the incumbents who are trying to remain in office as part of Mayor Tony Martinez's majority. This administration has been characterized by its arrogance of power. Decisions encumbering the people with millions in debt have been done without consulting them for their approval. The fact that the city does not allow public comment to be aired on the city's channel is but one indication of the haughtiness that prevails at City Hall. They are telling the residents, in short, that they own the public airwaves, and not the people.
An opportunity to dispossess Martinez of a majority and return the government to the people has presented itself in this election. It's time to get a city commission that looks out for the interest of the people and discard city commissioners who look out for theirs and their friends. We would be remiss if we don't seize the day.