Is Tony Martinez' One-Man Rulership Losing Strength?

Many Brownsville voters now regret their mistake, voting for Tony Martinez as mayor.

"We thought he believed in Brownsville," lamented one downtown shopkeeper as he hosed the cigarette butts in front of his business over the curb.

"Tony served carne guisada at his pachangas," stated a Highway 77 Flea Market vendor.  "We thought since he was rich, he wouldn't need any of our money.  Boy, were we wrong!"

Now, the town, after two years of autocratic rule, knows the truth. Tony gives political contributions to the Democratic Party, but hates democracy.

The mayor reaches a state of felicity, supreme happiness, twice each month, when the audio and video is turned off at the City Commission chambers to block the broadcast of public comment. Just before the cameras fade to the PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD poster board, Martinez gets in one last sarcastic dig at Brownsville's lone remaining public commenter, Robert Uresti.  The non-broadcast of Public Comment is Tony's bi-monthly "Fuck You!" to Brownsville taxpayers.

To Tony Martinez, running the City Commission is no different from calling the shots at Lola's Bake Shop, his eating establishment on Palm Blvd. The last thing you need is a little mouth from the wait staff.

He called Commissioner John Villarreal "a kid," because he is one.  He was bemused by public criticism of his reference to Commissioners Zamora, Tetreau and Vasquez as "girls."  "What else could they be?" he thought to himself, shaking his head.

The city staff dreaded his visits.  They didn't get to see the personable, public mayor, gracious to men in his peer group.  He yelled at them, some say screamed.  City Manager Charlie Cabler always checked to see if his nameplate was still on his desk before entering his office.  Some days the city staff walked on pins, while, other days, they tread on needles.

Things changed January 21, 2014.  Martinez parked his SUV at the Brownsville/South Padre Island "International" Airport and left town, leaving the moderatorship of the boring, obligatory City Commission meeting in the capable hands of the Mayor Pro Tem, the rapidly aging Rose Gowen. Commissioner John Villarreal, seeing light at the end of the tunnel or finally tiring of the oppression, sought out newbie Commissioner Debbie Portillo and jointly sponsored an agenda item to question the Mayor's tapping into the $3,060,000 AEP Texas settlement received by the city as if he found it in his box of Cracker Jacks.

Office Space Originally Leased for Tony's Office.  (Now,
 another office he will never use is being remodeled  across
the street.)  

Next, Commissioner Tetreau wanted to know what the Brownsville Downtown Revitalization Information Office was all about.  That was a rhetorical question, since she reads this blog and knows it was an aborted attempt at a downtown office for Mayor Martinez that morphed into the BDRIO after we sent two nosy Public Information Requests about the lease, remodeling, furnishings and the $7,247 video display system.  Leased since October 8, 2013, the office has been used for one meeting.  A large map of Brownsville resacas fell off the wall three weeks ago and remains on the floor.

Commissioner John Villarreal

More goodies awaited the mayor's return to chairmanship February 4th.  Commissioner Villarreal teamed up with his normal sidekick, Jessica Tetreau, to co-author another agenda item aimed at Martinez' footloose and fancy free spending of taxpayer dough without running it by the City Commission as the City Charter insists, this time in the form of a resolution:  
12. Consideration and ACTION on Resolution Number 2014-029, in support of the City Manager’s role as the Chief Executive Officer as authorized under the Brownsville City Charter, Article V, Section 20, and directing that no member or members of the city commission, acting in numbers less than a lawful quorum, may direct the city manager to take any action regarding the use of funds, without city commission members being informed of any transactions or the general business of the City at all times. (Commissioners J. Villarreal and J. Tetreau)

Neither Tony Martinez nor Rose Gowen fought this resolution as it passed unanimously without a whimper, but, Martinez knows that it is a different ball game now.  Both the "kid" and the "girls" have grown up.