Can Tony Martinez Legally Offer Filemon Vela City Owned Office Space?

Tony Martinez

Brownsville citizens are in an uproar over a report in the El Rrun Rrun blog that Mayor Tony Martinez may have taken it upon himself to offer office space above the city parking garage for a token amount($1.00 per anum) to newly elected U.S. Congressman Filemon Vela.

Of course, if Mr. Martinez elected to provide Vela with lifetime free carrot cake from Lola's Bake Shop, his bakery shop on Palm Blvd., no Brownsvillian could rightfully complain, but city properties belong to the taxpayers of Brownsville, and the mayor does not have the legal right to convey use of those properties unilaterally or for a mere pittance.  Salaried city management, along with the elected city commission have the responsibility of protecting city assets, managing them skillfully so that taxpayers get the most bang for their tax dollar buck.  Good asset management never involves providing city assets for less than market value, whatever the ulterior motives.

Actually, City Manager Charlie Cabler may be the only city official empowered to make such a deal involving city assets and we are told such a deal has not been made.  In any event, gifting, leasing or providing city assets for less than market value is not legal.  We have not even mentioned maintenance or utililities which all property owners understand can be substantial, let alone renovation costs.  The El Rrun Rrun report indicates partitions in the rooms above the garage are already being moved, the precursor of renovation.  If that is correct, it indicates a presumptousness on the part of the mayor not provided for or authorized with his non-salaried job description.  He is part of a City Commission, not a unilateral agent representing the City of Brownsville, let alone some sort of anti-Robin Hood, taking from the poor to give to the rich.

The mayor's actions, if reported correctly, raise ethical questions involving partisanship, influence peddling and backdoor deals.  There is no record, for example, of Blake Farenthold, the Republican congressman who currently represents the congressional district in which Brownsville is located, being offered office space by the city.  Does the fact that Vela, like Martinez, is a Democrat mean that the city should be more generous, accommodating and even charitable in his behalf?  Does the poorly kept secret that Martinez craves some kind of federal appointment play into any of this?  While these are inappropriate overtures by Martinez, at best, this is dangerous precedent for Vela, who can well afford his own office space without a city discount or largesse.  Vela does not need the Martinez connection or any appearance of impropriety to jumpstart his congressional service.

Filemon Vela, Marisela Cortez

Another puzzling aspect of this clandestine operation is the hiring of Marisel Cortez, the current Executive Director of the Historic Brownsville Museum as Vela's right hand person in the soon-to-be congressional office.  The affable Cortez, who some have described as in over her head at the museum, may find the operation of the congressional office as extremely challenging.

We await the final details of the contract between Vela and the city, hoping that the eventual agreement, if any, protects the taxpayers in the poorest county in the United States.