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| Robert Lopez |
We were still with Cheezmeh back then and several of us met with Robert to see if we wanted to support him. One question we Cheezmites always asked is if the candidate was controlled by Ernie Hernandez. That seems funny now with Brownsville Cheezmeh part of the Hernandez team.
Predictably, Lopez said he was his own man. Someone asked about problems with the winterization program. Robert started talking about a state investigation. His conversation got rapid and more convoluted. The more Robert talked the more shady he sounded. We decided not to recommend any candidate for At-Large, Place "A". Robert's opponent, Estela Chavez-Vasquez, had stiffed us on the interview.
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| Ernie Hernandez claimed he "knew nothing" about the Robert Cadriel hiring. |
Until Juan Montoya's report the other day that Robert Lopez' company had been raking in contract after contract from the county without the requisite bidding process, I had actually felt sorry for Robert Lopez. Did Ernie make a deal with Lopez to supplement his income if he took the fall for the Cadriel fiasco? What kind of god damn bull shit is this Robert?
These unethical practices are part of the political culture of Cameron County...and "integrity" has no meaning to public officials. Mayor Tony Martinez said he was going to develop an "Ethics Policy" for the city.....it has never been done and unethical practices abound in the city. The lack of leadership in the county protects the unethical politics and so the citizens will continue to see corrupt and self-serving elected officials in every board and commission in the county. The rule of "la jaiba" prevails and the citizens lose every time.
ReplyDeleteLook, first it must be understood that for a governmental entity (Cameron County) to issue a contract award valued at more than 20k (or as set by entity's governing body) a competitive procurement process must be had. These competitive procurement processes are often times, time consuming and cost prohibitive - that's why Cameron County subscribes to TIPS (The Interlocal Purchasing System), which is an independent purchasing cooperative that leverages the buying power of its members, as a whole, to provide "best value" not necessarily "best price." TIPS on a regular basis holds Requests For Offerings, to competitively bid silos of offerings (ie, technology, construction, road construction, etc.) The fact that TIPS has a competitive bidding process to award "vendor status" to pre-qualified, pre-vetted, companies, displaces the County's (as a member of TIPS) responsibility to have to go out for bid. This saves the County much time, money and avoids a level of nepotism. My understanding is that Robert Lopez's company after several attempts was finally awarded a contract under TIPS which allows him to be a qualified vendor to Cameron County thus legally avoiding (at the County's discretion) a bidding process. Again, because it has already been had for that specific silo or work scope. Although, the constraint is that Robert's company MUST work within the scope of the awarded TIPS contract. All in all, nothing illegal going on in this picture. Furthermore, a standard of investigative reporting should at least be adhered to so as to avoid erroneous misinformed conclusions.
ReplyDeleteAbove post by Jim Barton. Confess! It's you! ja ja ja jaja
DeleteWrong again, anony! Many folks, like the above 3:34 AM poster, more knowledgeable, more articulate than myself comment to this blog. Frequently, the more substantive information is found in the comments as opposed to the blog article.
DeleteJim