Did You Vote for Tony Martinez? Are You Satisfied with What He Has Accomplished So Far?

 

by Jim Barton on Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 4:01pm

    Despite 5 candidates in the race, Tony Martinez won mayoral election without a runoff, a notable feat.  He ran against an incumbent and  a sitting city commissioner among others.  Now, seven months later we have an opportunity to access his job performance.  What did you expect the mayor to accomplish?  Has he met your expectations?
   Actually, almost any conclusion drawn about the man based on his campaign, had to be an assumption, because he said nothing of substance prior to the election.  We knew his favorite color was blue and that he "believed in Brownsville."  We didn't know how blue his administration would actually make us feel or whether he believed in a Brownsville "as is" or a Brownville that could be made better.

     Perhaps, like me, you anticipated a man with a yellow legal pad of ideas, some crossed out due to impracticality or budget constraints, but many others still in play.  How can we streamline city government, making it more efficient?  How can we get more citizens involved so that more than 4% vote in elections?  How can we jumpstart downtown revitalization?  My dream was that Tony be Brownsville's Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, not necessarily spending his own monies, but making damn sure our tax monies are appropriated surgically. getting rid of waste and wasters.
     Instead, we got a ceremonial guy, royalty, a figurehead like Queen Elizabeth.  Even when Tony had a golden opportunity handed to him to restore the broadcast of public comment at commission meetings, he responded dimwittedly:  ""I'd like to continue doing things the way the previous administration did them.  It's been working pretty good so far.  I don't want to change that."   Does that sound to you like words from an idea man?
     Border security concerns, one of the most visited issues night after night on local news is also downplayed by Tony.  He tells us at a UTB/TSC seminar on border security that he and his two sons went dove hunting recently without incident.  He proclaims our borders safe and chides those who say otherwise as politically ambitious.  Drugs flow north, weapons flow south, victims of kidnapping are locked in stash houses, residents between the border wall and the river cringe as they hear gunfire, while Tony worries about image, appearances.
     Back on April 19 at the UTB/TSC Mayor Candidates Forum, Tony Martinez clearly identified the drafting of a new ethics code as the "top priority" of a Martinez administration.  Since Tony said so little of substance during the campaign, I jotted that down.  Assuming a strong work ethic coupled with a desire to get our city functioning efficiently and ethically, some of us fully expected Tony to be a man of his word.  Literally dozens of model city ethics codes exist on the internet and from other sources that could be tweaked to fit our city.   Certainly other Texas cities have codes that could be tailored for Brownsville.
     We reported in August:  "City Attorney Mark Sossi was handpicked by Mayor Martinez to initiate the process.  Sossi reported to the commission 7/19/11 concerning the research, thought process and focus so far which amounted essentially to having read the San Antonio and Dallas codes, a 20 minute effort at best.  Later in that meeting Mayor Martinez expressed his desire to be included in the committee to draft the code.  My recollection is that City Manager Charlie Cabler would be included in that committee along with a commissioner or two."

     Since Sossi's report on July 19, five more months have passed.  Remember once a final draft of an ethics code is submitted and approved, language in the City Charter has to also be changed to allow for penalties for violations of the code.  Brownsville's last ethics code expired in 2006.   Still, we hear nothing about the draft of a new ethics code.
     Mr. Mayor, you've been in office now for seven months.  The mayorship is a job you actively sought.  You have not yet communicated a vision for the city, yet alone worked toward its reality.  Brownsville deserves better.