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| Mayor Tony Martinez |
"It hasn't always been easy, but along the way we've worked to build professionalism within city government and increase transparency, and we've turned a corner from the old ways of business-as-usual that held us back for far too long,” Martinez said.
That statement is a gazillion light years away from anything resembling truth.
Almost every Martinez move during his two terms had been done surreptitiously, on the sly, behind closed doors, never, EVER explained.
That's not transparency, Tony, as defined in ANY dictionary!
In 2012 Mayor Martinez orchestrated the City Commission's purchase of 14 vacant buildings downtown for $3,500,000.
The buildings were immediately removed from the tax rolls, forcing local taxpayers to pick up the slack. All but two sit idle still, decaying, but, to this day, NO EXPLANATION from "Mr. Transparency" as to why in the hell they were purchased.
The flagship of that gawdawful deal, La Casa del Nylon, was bought from Tony's friend, Abraham Galonsky, for $2,300,000, triple its value, in a transaction negotiated by Tony's law partner, Horacio Becerra.
Why did the city purchase a building they may never use?
Why was Tony's law partner, not employed by the city, used to "negotiate" the crooked deal?
Why did the city pay three times the building's value?
In 2013 Martinez was caught utilizing the $3,060,000 Texas AEP Settlement fund for projects in the city, bypassing the City Commission. Even after his hands were slapped by the commission, Martinez offered no apology or explanation. Transparency?
That same year, unannounced, the city entered into a lease with the Galonsky family for a building to be used as Mayor Martinez downtown office.
For several months city work crews were seen refurbishing the building with $13,000 spent on materials alone.
Still, no explanation from Mayor Martinez, "Mr. Transparency," about any of this.
In 2011, many were fooled by Martinez' "Believe in Brownsville" campaign.
In 2015, Brownsville was not fooled, but simply foolish to vote again for Tony Martinez.
Will Brownsville make that mistake again in 2019?
Our federal administration is striving to make life as difficult as possible for our immigrant population while greatly reducing the numbers of new immigrants. In order to remain a strong and dynamic economy in the face of an aging demographic, the steady inflow of young, hardworking immigrants is an absolute necessity. Instead of marginalizing our immigrants, we should be doing everything in our power to assimilate them into our society. All immigrants, documented or not, should have easy access to English language instruction and education in civics and citizenship as well as skills training.
ReplyDeleteI will not vote for Martinez
ReplyDeleteBut Trey is a Lucio lackey
Anyone else??
Jim,
ReplyDeleteMayor Tony Martinez has ripped off our city of it's very limited resources. His purchase of Casa de Nylon wasted $2.3 million of taxpayer dollars that could have gone to more innovative projects to benefit the city as a whole. When Tony asked us in 2011 to Believe in Brownsville, I trusted him and wholeheartedly believed he would give the city the much needed change we need in the city. Today, I cannot "Believe in Brownsville" with Tony at the helm. His agenda is incompatible with the city's growth and voters should look at the progress the city has made in his 8 years as mayor. Absolutely no progress! Vote him out!