With Public Comment Restored, the City Commission Faces Their Next Challenge!

With restoration of the broadcast of public comment in the works, the city commission can now tackle their biggest obstacle to good government; ethics.

Stated bluntly, the City of Brownsville has no ethics code, no set of rules obligating city officials to operate honestly, fairly without favoritism, rigged bids, compadrismo, etc.

Mayoral candidate Tony Martinez stated at a campaign forum, held at TSC/UT-RGV's Gran Salon in the spring of 2011, that creating an ethics code would be the number one priority of his administration.

That proved to be a lie, a fib, a smokescreen, as Martinez has been unable or, more likely, unwilling to create an ethics code in six years of holding office. Does anyone in this town realize that Mayor Martinez' orchestration of the purchase of Casa del Nylon, using his own law partner, Horacio Becerra, would violate any ethics code in the country?  Martinez is simply rotten to the core.

No city commission in the U.S. with a smidgen of intestinal fortitude would allow the continued employment of a city attorney with the ethical resume' of Mark Sossi.  Is our city's self esteem so low that we find it acceptable for our city attorney to divide his loyalty between Brownsville and Mission? OMG!

Would any other city in the United States hire as city attorney a lawyer who'd stolen $167,363 from his previous employer, $20,711.66 from the Texas Workforce Commission, had a $100,000 tax lien from the I.R.S., two malpractice lawsuits from Brownsville residents, lost his law license, didn't even bother to license his vehicle, etc.?

Brownsville is ethically-challenged to be sure. The current city commission has an opportunity to right this ship, starting with the termination of an incredibly unethical city attorney, followed by the creation of a city ethics code.

There is simply no excuse.  If Sossi has dirt on you, resign!  If you're tolerant of Sossi because he's a facilitator for your crooked deals; "Go to hell!"