Will You Show Up October 30 to Save Lincoln Park? Be Prepared for Another Dog and Pony Show

"Fool me once, shame on you

Fool me twice, shame on me"

B.B. King and others

Gilbert Velasquez' Graphic

Yes, the last town hall meeting, held 1/14/14 at the Market Square Conference Room, was a dog and pony show.  The mayor's heyboy, Ramiro Gonzalez, pontificated for 18 minutes on how cheap parking was crippling, choking downtown Brownsville, hurting business.  Almost every word out of Ramiro's mouth was a lie.

Sidekick Roman McAllen dutifully recorded observations and suggestions from the public on a freestanding easel with flippable pages.  As 20 residents spoke, mostly downtown business owners, McAllen used a magic marker to write down the gist of their words.  It was all for show.

Dr. Gustavo Stern at 1/14/14 Town Hall

Despite 18 of the 20 speaking AGAINST raising downtown parking meter rates,  the City Commission voted to double the rates at their next meeting. Even Commissioner Jessica Tetreau, who stood up at the town hall meeting to promise she would side with the taxpayers, flip-flopped to vote for the increase.  We later learned that the anticipated increase in parking meter revenue had been promised by Tony Martinez to the University of Texas system as part of a reward package for a UT-RGV satellite campus remaining in Brownsville.

Commissioner Rose Gowen

Tomorrow's town hall meeting at the Tony Gonzalez Park gymnasium will likely be another exercise in futility.  Debbie Portillo and other commissioners have been saying for months that the sale of Lincoln Park is a done deal regardless of the concerns of the constituents. Rose Gowen is licking her chops at a substantial cut of the $6.5 million in ransom money going to her carefully cultivated legacy, the Belden Hike & Bike Trail.

Expect whatever Tony Martinez operative takes the podium to twist the purpose of the meeting from "whether or not to transfer Lincoln Park" to "look at all the amenities we're putting into the replacement park."  

While there is zero expectation of this mayor and city commission ever listening to the taxpayers on an issue, there may be options.  1200 signatures to put this matter on the ballot is certainly not unattainable. Recall petitions for the mayor and the city commissioners are doable.