Brownsville Voters Tiring of Tony's Control, Wanting New Blood on the City Commission

Riding on a sea of blue "Believe in Brownsville" signs covering Brownsville, Tony Martinez blitzed four other candidates in 2011 to land the mayorship without a runoff.

Martinez won with signs, carne guisada and Bud Light, but no substance.  His lone campaign promise was to enact a new ethics code, but, after two years in office, he has not shown the skills, understanding or will to accomplish that.(Actually, Martinez tossed that little assignment to one of the least ethical public officials in town, City Attorney Mark Sossi.)

Ironically, the Martinez tenure has achieved a certain transparency, although not intentionally so.  It's just that voters see through him and his power lust to control the city boards handling millions of tax dollars to the benefit of his cronies.  In his first city commission meeting as mayor, he stripped the board appointments away from newly elected commissioners John Villarreal and Estela Chavez-Vasquez, suggesting scam that is United Brownsville make those recommendations.  Further into his administration he undemocratically reinforced the broadcast ban of public comment at city commission meetings.  Tony wants to talk, but not listen and to this point has the unthinking support of the commission majority including Rose Gowen, John Villarreal and Estela Chavez-Vasquez.(Young Debbie Portillo, running for City Commission, District 3, is also widely considered a Martinez plant.)  When needed, he gleefully breaks the tie.

This time around, some voters are giving several more independent candidates a look-see.  Below is a quick look at three that are receiving consideration in large part because they are not considered pushovers for Tony Martinez:

Roberto Uresti

Wiry 62 year old Vietnam veteran, Roberto Uresti, who has been an indefatigable advocate for his community for twenty years, is running for City Commissioner At-Large B against incumbent Rose Gowen..

Uresti has fought for flood control, tearing down dilapidated housing, street repair and brush cleanup, routinely bringing specific problems and suggestions to the attention of the City Commission. Actually, he has been a de facto City Commissioner without having a portrait hung along the wall of the City Commission building.

Last year as the city raised taxes, City Finance Officer Pete Gonzalez lamented that he had exhausted every possible way to reduce the city's budget.  Uresti stepped up in public comment and quickly rattled off four or five ways the city could save money.

One possible criticism of the unpretentious Uresti is that he doesn't dress or act like a stockbroker.

He's a t-shirt and ball cap kind of guy not afraid of getting his hands dirty.  A couple of years ago at the City Commission meeting we were both in line for public comment when he got a call from the car wash he runs.  A machine had broken down.  "I know what's wrong with it.  Can you save my place?" he asked.  He was back in 30 minutes to make his comments.  Think of Uresti as the antithesis of Rose Gowen, who, as a commissioner rarely comments at commission meetings and weakly aquiesces to any direction from Mayor Martinez.

Letty Perez-Garzoria

Another candidate that could throw a monkeywrench in Mayor Martinez one-man show is retired nurse Letty Perez-Garzoria, like Uresti, a longtime community activist, who is going up against youthful John Villarreal in District 4.  The devout, serious Garzoria calls for volunteerism and involvement of the churches in cleaning up the city.  A frequent commenter at public meetings and at BISD, Garzoria usually calls for judicious use of taxpayer funds, ever mindful of the difficulty many in the community have making ends meet.

Ms. Garzoria was recently criticized for mentioning a person's need for healing in prayer, but that approach will not detract from her support in this deeply religious city.

Garzoria's appeal is that, unlike her opponent, John Villarreal, she is not afraid to speak up or oppose Tony Martinez if she disagrees with his posture.  She does make it plain, though, that she does not seek confrontation, but prefers to build consensus.

Martin Sarkis, is one of four candidates desiring to replace the outgoing Melissa Zamora as City

Martin Sarkis

Commissioner, District 3.    Sarkis owns an auto inspection business in Brownsville, but also owns a number of properties in Matamoros and Brownsville.

One local blogger described Sarkis as a Martinez plant, but Sarkis strongly denies that.  "I'm no one's puppet," he states emphatically.  Sarkis has ideas about attracting business to Brownsville and emphasizing the downtown area as a tourism focus.  In private conversation he stated that he does not favor continuing to finance United Brownsville.  

Sarkis has been criticized because Ernie Hernandez, Sylvia Perez-Garza and Carlos Masso have been seen at his events, but he insists he will be his own man if elected.