WILL COMMISSIONER TETREAU-KALIFA HAVE THE VOTES TO APPROVE "CORRECTED" OCTOBER 3 MINUTES, AFFIRMING THE APPOINTMENT OF ESTEBAN GUERRA, RESCINDING NURITH GALONSKY?

Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa

A perplexing conundrum presents itself for the November 7 City Commission meeting.  On the agenda is approval of two meetings' worth of minutes:

ITEMS No. “a” through “i” 

a) Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 3, 2017. 

b) Approval of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of October 17, 2017.

The minutes of the October 3 meeting have already been "corrected" by City Secretary Griselda Rosas, after being presented a sworn, notorized affidavit by Tetreau-Kalifa.  That "correction" would mean that Esteben Guerra was appointed by majority vote to the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation Board, a very influential entity controlling over $5,000,000 tax dollars annually earmarked for economic development.

Commissioner Ben Neece

At the subsequent October 17 City Commission meeting, Mayor Martinez and Commissioner Ben Neece angrily denounced the "correcting" of the October 3 minutes, with Neece threatening to file a report with the Chief of Police, charging Tetreau-Kalifa with perjury.

Tetreau-Kalifa responded by intimating that the commissioners to her left and right, Cesar de Leon and Rick Longoria could testify that she had indeed voted.

Mayor Tony Martinez

Yet, when Commissioner Longoria tried to speak, he was shut down, first by Neece, then by Mayor Martinez, both actions in clear violation of Robert's Rules of Order.

After the smoke settled at the October 17 meeting, the commission once again considered an appointment to the GBIC board, this time appointing Nurith Galonsky, the daughter of Abraham Galonsky.

Tony and Ben's close relationship with Galonsky and a subsequent desire to have his daughter appointed to the GBIC may have indeed fueled their inordinate anger at the "correcting" of the October 3 minutes.

Galonsky's La Casa del Nylon, purchased by the city in 2012,
but never used.  Today, it sits, decaying, off the tax rolls, used
only by a man and his dog, who've slept under the awning
for the last five years.

It was Tony Martinez, after all, who orchestrated the purchase of La Casa del Nylon building from Abraham Galonsky for $2,300,000, triple its appraised value, in a deal "negotiated" by Tony's law partner, Horacio Barrera.  

How much of a commission Barrera received and how that money was dispersed within the Martinez-Barrera Law firm, was never disclosed.  Certainly, the $2,300,000 purchase price, for an unrenovated downtown building with an unfinished second floor, used only as an attic, would allow a generous commission for someone.

It was even reported that Abraham Galonsky was unethically permitted to sit in on an Executive Session, where property purchases were being considered.(Tony Martinez, seemingly, has little appreciation or respect for ethics, or even the appearance of impropriety.)

Nurith Galonsky

As mentioned in our previous article, Ben Neece, prior to election as a city commissioner, routinely shared "power breakfasts" with Galonsky.  His current nightclub, The Spanish Moon, may very well be in a building owned, either by Abraham Galonsky or his daughter Nurith.

In any event, tomorrow's city commission meeting should be interesting.