𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟳, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗨𝗧𝗥𝗚𝗩 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠'𝗦 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣

Oh my gawd!!! It's June 29 and I forgot to cover the Brownsville City Commission election.  What kind of "reporter" even does that or doesn't?

On June 7, 2025 the citizens of Brownsville, Texas, a place where the sun is punishing and the cerveza flows freely, clutched their voter registration cards and trotted off to participate in a municipal runoff election. The goal? To determine who would fill two vacant seats for the City Commission's: At-Large “B” and District 4 races. It was the sort of event that tends to draw out the kind of people who keep their "I Voted!" sticker on their refrigerator door until Christmas.

In the At-Large “B” race, Nurith Galonsky Pizana trounced Roy De los Santos by a not-unimpressive margin of 3,279 to 1,920. If elections were romantic comedies, Roy would be the guy with a clipboard and a desperate smile, while Nurith gets a wind machine and a standing ovation at city hall. Meanwhile, in District 4, a race tighter than Tia Flora's waistband after the Dia de Muertos meal, Pedro Cardenas edged Daisy Zamora by a mere 153 votes. That’s barely enough people to fill the waiting room at a dentist’s office. Still, a win is a win, and Pedro presumably celebrated with a Bud Light and cigar.

The "new" commissioners have now been sworn in, with the normal, solemn procedure at City Hall,   , joining the rest of the City Commission in the art of policy-making, which mostly involves creating agendas,  paper shuffling, nodding emphatically, and wondering who brought the good pan dulce.

Elsewhere in the gears of local government, the Commission extended a two-year contract for City Manager Helen Ramirez, giving her yet another  salary bump and enhanced benefits.

As the meeting plodded on, somewhere between exciting and excruciating, the Commission also took time to applaud Dr. Rose M.Z. Gowen, who spent 16 years as Commissioner At-Large “B” creating hike and bike trails, then expanding them, even adding flora and fauna.  

Other developments included approvals for housing and economic initiatives, which sounds promising if vague, like saying you’ve “joined a gym.” The city also signed a strategic partnership with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, but not just because UTRGV Chess Team just won a national championship and was honored with a proclamation.

All in all, it was a day of decisions, dedications, and just enough democracy to remind you that, yes, your vote does count, especially if you're one of the 5% of registered voters who actually voted in the runoff election.