𝙃𝘼𝙎 𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙇𝘼 𝙂𝘼𝙍𝙕𝘼 𝘽𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙀 "𝙋𝘼𝙏 𝘼𝙃𝙐𝙈𝘼𝘿𝘼" 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙀𝙓𝘼𝙎 𝙎𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙈𝙊𝙎𝙏 𝘾𝙊𝙇𝙇𝙀𝙂𝙀?

 "𝙋𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙨, 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙪𝙥𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮"

Trey Mendez, Adela Garza, TSC President Jesus Rodriguez

On any city board, city commission or even college board of trustees, there is always the danger of a single individual attempting to seize control.

Many of us remember Pat Ahumada's run as city mayor, when he pushed the false notion that he was the city's "quarterback," while the city commissioners were simply "blocking linemen."

That didn't go over too well, typically resulting in a shouting match between Ahumada and the equally loud Commissioner Charlie Atkinson.

The truth was that, like the rest of the City Commission, Ahumada had only one vote and that voting opportunity came only if there was a deadlock on the commission, a tie that his vote could break.

Recently, we've heard whispers indicating that TSC Board Chair Adela Garza may be exceeding her role on the Board of Trustees by making decisions unilaterally without consulting the entire board.

As "chair," Garza has a certain responsibility to conduct meetings, assemble an agenda based on recommendations from board members and foster the discussion of those agenda items before calling for a vote.

Yet, even as "chair," Garza's authority and decision-making does not exceed that of other members on the board of trustees.

Some board members may have been shocked when Adela Garza seems to have unilaterally hired her old pal, former Mayor Trey Mendez to serve contractually as board attorney for six months at a modest $2500 per month. 

That $15,000 stipend fits nicely under TSC's $25,000 threshold for purchases not needing approval by the rest of the board.  Had Trey been engaged as part-time attorney on call for the entire year, the $30,000 salary would have exceeded the threshold, thus requiring full board approval.  Now, Adela can just rehire Trey for another six months. . LOL!

Now, we're not saying Trey Mendez is a bad hire, but the sneakiness of Garza's approach has put the entire board, as well as the city, on notice.  After all, TSC's Board of Trustees are not simply "blocking linemen" taking orders from "Quarterback" Garza.