Uneventful City Commission Meeting Provides Glimpse of Martinez Modus Operandi

Commissioner Gowen, Mayor Martinez

Catching a glimpse of a re-broadcast of the 6/4/2013 City Commission meeting, I thought I observed Martinez manipulation in action.  No taxpayer dollars were squandered on speculative real estate.  Tony's law partner Horacio Barrera got no legal fees on this baby, but the rough transcript below illustrates how things get done in Brownsville.  This all happened a few minutes before adjournment.

Mayor Martinez:  Estela(City Secretary Estela Von Hatten), I know we have several meetings coming up in the next few weeks.  Would you mind giving us a quick rundown of what's coming?

Von Hatten:  Sure.  After tonight's meeting, our next meeting is scheduled June 18.  Then, after the votes of the runoff election are canvassed, we will have a meeting June 25 for installation of the new City Commissioner.  The next meeting after that will be July 2.

Rose Gowen(after being recognized):  Why don't we combine the installation with the regular meeting.  We could then eliminate the June 18 meeting.

Mayor Martinez:  Let's see(writing it down as if the schedule is official), June 25.  Yes, I know some of us have vacations coming up and this will sort of free the calendar for that.  Does anyone have a problem with that?(glancing over at Commissioner Tetreau)

Jessica Tetreau:  (laughing) No.

John Villarreal:  (somewhat puzzled) So, then, nothing on the 4th?

Mayor Martinez:  No, John.  I think that's a day of independence or something.(laughter)

Now, my cynical theory is that the mayor had a scheduling conflict, but rather than state it outright and find others had vacation plans that would further complicate things, he orchestrated this little tweaking of the schedule.  No harm, no foul, but illustrative of the way he routinely plays the commissioners with an assist from buddy Gowen.

City Attorney Mark Sossi

After this exchange, the mayor asked for public comment to which City Secretary replied "none" and the meeting was adjourned.  This calls to mind City Attorney Mark Sossi's infamous pie chart, where he attempted to demonstrate a much greater "diversity" of commenters once the ban on the broadcast of citizen commenters was in place.  Of course, Sossi's unscientific presentation was nothing more than a lie to support the mayor's undemocratic philosophy.

http://meanmisterbrownsville.blogspot.com/2011/09/sossis.html