Our Last Conversation with BISD Board President Enrique Escobedo

Enrique Escobedo

The Escobedo brothers, Enrique and Jaime, had reserved the dining area of Cobbleheads for their announcement event Thursday night. 
Enrique, the candidate, came quickly to our table.  "Are you going to write anything bad about me, Mr. Barton?" He asked.  I shook my head, thinking to myself that I try not to write badly.

"What are you running for?" I asked, thinking I might get sort of a foregleam before the official announcement.

"Oh, I'm weighing my options, analyzing the candidates in the different races.  You will know in an hour," Escobedo responded coyly. 
The candidate was nervous, but with sort of a genteel nature, reminiscent of an older generation, reminding me of Gustavo Hernandez Beltran, a salesperson from Mexico City I worked with in the late 60's.  His brother Jaime, who also welcomed us along with his wife, seemed very young, but with a similar nature.  Perhaps the personable nature of the two brothers simply masks their aggressive pursuit of contracts for several kinds of services with BISD, the Port of Brownsville, Cameron County and the City of Brownsville.(Commenters with personal knowledge of the deal-making will certainly fill us in.)

Pat Ahumada

The rarely seen two-time Brownsville mayor, Pat Ahumada, worked the crowd, accompanied by a blondish lady friend.  He greeted us with no seeming ill will from our Facebook arguments of three years ago about the Fly Frontera proposal.  In the closing days of the last mayoral election, Ahumada toured the city in a Mustang convertible with an American Surveillance(one the the Escobedo's companies) security vehicle, acting as sort of a pseudo police escort.

County Judge Carlos Cascos, a Republican who easily crosses party lines, when told that some thought Escobedo might run for county judge, said:  "Well, I certainly wouldn't be here if I thought that."

Enrique Escobedo, after an introduction from Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, added some force to his voice when he said he was "tired of Brownsville being declared the poorest city in America." He stated that his vision for Brownsville was complicated, but detailed, but then gave us none of the details.  It seemed anti-climactic when, after a sort of powerful buildup, he asked for the audience's support in pursuing the position of District Clerk, an office holder no one ever hears about unless they arrange for a slap-on-the wrist for a son who steals $70,000 from a charity.