"𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗕𝗨𝗡𝗘," 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟭𝟲, 𝟭𝟵𝟰𝟵, 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗙𝗜𝗧 𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛

 submitted by Rene Torres

𝗙𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗥 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗗𝗘𝗟

 

𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗡𝗬 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧, 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗟𝗘𝗙𝗧?

 

The Seattle Times

Most of the post-trial comments I've read from Republicans seem to echo Trump's claims that his so-called "hush money" trial was "rigged," the judge "crooked," etc., or somehow the work of the "Biden administration," despite the fact that the verdict was rendered unanimously by 12 citizen jurors, not a judge and with zero evidence of Biden involvment.

I'm curious to see if there are any Republicans out there who will "man up," to use a non-gender-neutral phrase, admitting to the obvious truth.

Carlos Cascos might.  He's never been a Trumper, although he might see no upside to making such a statement.

Romney?  Sure.  He's already said as much, although he's been critical of the process and has pushed the ridiculous notion of a Trump pardon.

There are no "men of honor," no Barry Goldwaters or Howard Bakers in the 2024 version of the G.O.P.  Liz Cheney came closest, then got put out to pasture.

Today's Republican Party is filled with Trump suckups like House Speaker Mike Johnson, a religious Pharisee if there ever was one, a Bible thumper wearing his religion on his sleeve while pandering to a convicted rapist who tried to overturn an election at the federal and several state levels. . . . 

It's going to be an interesting year to be sure.

Should Trump be elected despite his obvious criminality and the incompetence described by dozens of former members of his administration, it will severely test at least two of our three branches of government for actual functionality to serve as a check and balance against someone unraveling our system of government toward a dictatorship or even fake theocracy.  

𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗦𝗖 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥

Jerry McHale of the McHale Report

Yes, indeed, there is infighting, backstabbing and political intrigue in a fight for control of the TSC Board of Trustees and local blogger-for-hire, Jerry McHale, is a willing pawn in that fight.

Jerry writes for pay, his postings typically designed to "take down" the political opponent of a patron, even resorting to juvenile, Trump-like character assassination. (Interspersed with these political posts is something resembling soft porn, that neither titilates or educates, usually featuring the female bosom.)

His latest offerings denigrate two TSC trustees someone wants defeated; J.J. De Leon and Hilda Silva.

In typical McHale fashion, these articles feature no carefully worded arguments or reasoning, only a picture of the victim accompanied by an insulting headline.(Jerry once told me he felt one of his "gifts" to be the facility to write a clever headline.)

Notice Jerry's latest two anti-De Leon headlines that sit over pictures of the target: "Camarillo Displays Class, De Leon Brays Like An Ass!" and "Camarillo Uncovers Crooked Cockroach De Leon."

Again, McHale provides no evidence to justify his cartoonish portrayal of De Leon, only headlines and photos.

To close observers, McHale's patron, the one paying him to write attack articles, seems obvious.

Just this past March, TSC Board Chair Adela Garza, someone we've described as a political savant, incredibly and unethically used her own Facebook page to promote replacement candidates for TSC Trustees J.J. De Leon and Eva Alejandro.

Alejandro was defeated while De Leon survived, facing a runoff against Edward Camarillo.

Yes, De Leon survives, but is the board chair paying a blogger-for-hire to denigrate him?  We'll continue to look for evidence of that process.

Yet, there's even more turbulence within the TSC Board of Trustees hinted at by another "catchy" McHale headline accompanying a photo.

Adela Garza, Tony Zavaleta

Above a photo of TSC Board Chair Adela Garza and TSC Trustee Tony Zavaleta, blogger-for-hire McHale runs the headline: "ADELA: KEEP FRIEND S CLOSE!!! KEEP ENEMIES CLOSER!!!"

We've received reports that Tony Zavaleta has just recently broken ranks with Adela Garza, thus the "need" for McHale's compensated posting.  

Certainly, this political infighting on the TSC Board of Trustees does not serve the interests of the institution's students, faculty and administrators with possibly the only beneficiary being a local blogger receiving pay for his dirty work.

𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗩𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗧𝗔𝗫 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥/𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗥, 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗦, 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗟 𝗕𝗢𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥. . . . 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟭𝟱 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙

 

Ruben Martinez speaking at Appraisal Board Forum

Hopefully, the real "winners" of yesterday's primary election will be Cameron County homeowners, who now expect continued good service from the county's tax collection department and evenhanded appraisals.

Huge or inordinate increases in assessed home value will soon be presented to a newly-elected appraisal board.  

Longtime Brownsville attorney Philip Cowen has been elected to serve on that Appraisal Board at Place 3, while Places 1 and 2 will be decided by a June 15 runoff.

For Place 1, Bill Hudson faces Alejandro Garcia-Moreno, while the Place 2 runoff involves Ricardo de la Garza and Ruben Martinez. (My personal assessment of the remaining candidates finds Ruben Martinez the most professional and articulate.)

Eddie Garcia, primary winner for Tax Collector/Assessor

On the collection side of the equation, Eddie Garcia, most likely will be elected in November to replace 36 year incumbent Tony Yzaguirre, the loser in yesterday's primary.

Garcia has already been challenged by a local blogger-for-hire who specializes in writing advertisements for candidates disguised as journalism, supplemented with softball podcast interviews.

We paraphrase the blogger's admonishment to Eddie Garcia: "You talked the talk, now walk the walk."

Juan Montoya of El Rrun Rrun also warns Eddie Garcia not to "overturn recognized efficient operations" or "make wholesale personnel changes," acting unaware of Garcia's promise to not do that, including members of the Yzaguirre family employed in that office.

Garcia, as an experienced administrator, wants to simply set a tone for the office that will be reflected in the service given to the citizenry.

Manuel Trevino, Democratic Primary winner for county sheriff

Manuel Trevino, who like Eric Garcia, donned the familiar good ol' boy cowboy hat for his political advertisements, will also get the opportunity to display his skills as an administrator after obviously outworking the incumbent for the primary win.

It will no longer be about handcuffing suspects, making arrests, investigating burglaries, but about directing a body of men and women to protect and serve our community with diligence and honor.

Managing egos, promoting equitably, leading by example are some requisites of that skill set that will now task Trevino.

The editor with former Sheriff Omar Lucio some years ago

𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟲 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗘, "𝗜𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗨𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦" 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟱, 𝗕𝗔𝗗 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘. . . . 𝗬𝗭𝗔𝗚𝗨𝗜𝗥𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗢!!!!

 

𝘾𝙄𝙏𝙔 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙈𝙄𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙊𝙉 𝙃𝙊𝙉𝙊𝙍𝙎 𝘼𝙇𝙄𝘾𝙄𝘼 𝙍𝙊𝙅𝘼𝙎 𝙀𝙈𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙊𝙉

 

𝙏𝙍𝙐𝙈𝙋 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙊𝙊𝙉 𝘽𝙔 𝘿𝘼𝙑𝙄𝘿 𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙎𝙀𝙔 𝙊𝙁 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙀𝘼𝙏𝙏𝙇𝙀 𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀𝙎

 

𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟰, 𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟭~𝗕𝗥𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗘'𝗦 𝗪𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗠𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗘𝗕𝗢𝗡𝗬 𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗

submitted by Rene Torres 

𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗦 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗭𝗘𝗦 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧-𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 "𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜-𝗜𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦"

 From the editor:  Despite the Trump rhetoric that Mexican Nationals are "rapists" and migrants "escapees from mental institutions and prisons," Pope Francis condemns the anti-immigrant posture of many Americans living along the U.S. Mexican border, including conservative Catholics, priest and laity.  

Many Catholics in Brownsville have been totally duped, tricked and fooled by the orange con man and will not listen to the Holy Father's words or any other rational thinking.

They are simply well-indoctrinated cultists, tricked by a clever con man who holds up a Bible and kisses the U.S. flag.

Americans, including many in our town, have been totally dumbed down by this lying con man.

We submit this recent story from AFP News:

Pope Francis

Pope Francis made a foray into the US election season with a rare television interview Sunday, calling harsh anti-migrant attitudes "madness" and criticizing right-wing US Catholic figures for overly conservative stances against his social teachings.

Speaking in his native Spanish through a translator for more than an hour, Francis told CBS News program "60 Minutes" that the closing by the state of Texas of a Catholic charity offering humanitarian assistance was absurd.

"That is madness. Sheer madness. To close the border and leave them there, that is madness. The migrant has to be received," the pope said.

"Thereafter you see how you are going to deal with him. Maybe you have to send him back, I don't know, but each case ought to be considered humanely," Francis said.

Record numbers of migrants have been seeking to enter the United States, largely from Central America and Venezuela, as they flee poverty, violence and disasters exacerbated by climate change.

The matter has emerged as a top political issue in the November US election, with President Joe Biden's Republican challenger, former president Donald Trump, pushing the topic front and center.

"The globalization of indifference" on migrants, Francis said, "is a very ugly disease." 'A human fact' -

Francis, 87, also addressed criticisms by conservative US bishops who oppose his efforts to revisit certain teachings and traditions.

A "conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that," he said when asked about the bishops, adding "it is a suicidal attitude."

Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has insisted on the importance of a church open to all, including member of the LGBT community, but he has faced strong resistance from conservative Catholics.

There was a particularly strong reaction when Francis opened the door to the blessing of gay couples last year, especially in African countries.

Calling gay people "a human fact," Francis said in the interview: "To bless each person, why not? The blessing is for all."

The pontiff also touched on the controversial topic of sex abuse within the Catholic Church.

He has made combatting sexual assault in the Church one of the main missions of his papacy, and insisted on a "zero tolerance" policy following multiple wide-reaching scandals.

"Unfortunately, the tragedy of the abuses is enormous," he told CBS, adding that abuse "cannot be tolerated."

"When there is a case of a religious man or woman who abuses, the full force of the law falls upon them," Francis said.

But, he added, "there has been a great deal of progress."

𝙉𝙊𝙉-𝙂𝘼𝙈𝘽𝙇𝙀𝙍 𝘿𝙊𝙀𝙎 𝙑𝙀𝙂𝘼𝙎 𝘼𝙏 𝙃𝙄𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙍𝙄𝘾 𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙊𝙍𝙏/𝘾𝘼𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙊

For our recent stay in Las Vegas, we'd booked The Mirage, a legendary 30 floor/3000 roomed casino/resort featuring a huge tropical solarium with stunning water features among thousands of multi-colored tropical plants.

Exiting the fourth floor of the parking garage, we walked across a bridge straight into the casino to access our rooms. (Certainly, by design, the walk to the lobby to check in or out, getting to your room or even outside to Las Vegas Boulevard, takes you first through the casino.)

As the least likely person in Las Vegas to win or lose a nickel at a slot machine, I was still intrigued by the mostly elderly women tirelessly working the electronics on the "Vanna White" or other model slots.

Paying close attention to "payouts" as I walked by, I saw results like "0.00," 0.04," but also "$40,005."

Sports betting attracted gamblers who bet on every aspect of the game in front of giant screens showing NBA, soccer and hockey.

Along Fremont Street we encountered a few panhandlers asking for money as well as scantily-clad "escorts," always two girls in bra and panties or sometimes only pasties and thong.  

𝟭𝟵𝟭𝟱 𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗬 𝟰𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡 𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗭𝗔𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗧 (𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗖𝗞 𝗕𝗨𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚)

 submitted by Rene Torres

𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗜𝗥 𝗝𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗛𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗘𝗠𝗔 𝗣𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬'𝗦 𝗗𝗦𝗖𝗖 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧

From the editor:  The anonymous comment published below, obviously from Democratic County Chair Jared Hockema, disputes our report that Monday's DSCC event was sabotaged by poor sound quality at the venue. (I've not listened to the live stream, but did publish a report from David A. Esqueda, who did not share Hockema's representation of the live stream.)

AnonymousMay 21, 2024 at 12:30 AM

Jared Hockema

The broadcast of this event was handled by a local TV station. After hearing your concerns, I listened to the tape on their Fb page. Although it could be a bit louder, it is not difficult to hear. Several other stations also picked up the feed during the event, and from what I’m told that prevented the use of a loudspeaker. Also, the elderly gentleman you refer to is Davis Rankin, who is the host of KURV 710.

When you walked in and began speaking loudly from the audience, I let you know that the event was being broadcast live and that your comments were likely being picked up by the broadcast.

I did not have any role in the organization of this event, but I thought that DSCC did a great job. I am hard of hearing and did not experience any of the issues you describe. I am very proud of DSCC and all our dedicated volunteers and thank them for working on this well-attended and successful event.

𝗗𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗬 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗟𝗢𝗣𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗥 𝗘𝗫𝗘𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡

The Democrats of Southern Cameron County held another campaign event Monday evening at a strip mall on Paredes Line Road, but the event's poor execution rendered it almost worthless to prospective voters.

David A. Esqueda

As event attendee David Esqueda posted on Facebook afterward: 

WELL WELL WELL......THANK YOU SO MUCH CAMERON COUNTY SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC DIS-ORGANIZATION.......THE SHERFF'S OFFICE CANDIDATE'S DEBATE NON-LIVE STREAM WAS AN UTTERLY COMPREHENSIVELY DIS-SERVICE TO EVERY VOTER INTERESTED IN VIEWING THE DEBATE.........CLOSE YOUR ORGANIZATION DOWN DOWN DOWN UNTIL YOU LEARN TO PERFORM A LIVE STREAM........... 

My own comment after reading Mr. Esqueda's:

Jim Barton

It was much worse in the room at 5460 Paredes Line Blvd. 

An elderly gentlemen without a microphone read inaudible questions to the two sheriff candidates. 

With no one in the audience even hearing the questions, we had no idea what the candidates were responding to. 

The "debate" was a poorly staged, unprofessionally run event, wasting the time of interested voters. 

Actually, it is not that difficult to test sound equipment in a run through prior to an event or to test the live streaming.

It's done every day by middle school and high school students. 

This was not a good look for the Democrats of Southern Cameron County, especially with County Chair Jared Hockema sitting a few feet away from the "action," totally oblivious to the poor sound quality in the room and the live stream.

Although Hockema took umbrage to my plea during the debate to amplify the volume of the questioner, there must be someone in the local party with sufficient understanding to run a basic public address system for such an event including the live stream.

Tax Assessor/Collector Candidate Eddie Garcia

Following the Sheriff "debate," Eddie Garcia, candidate for tax assessor/collector, pledged to run that office with integrity and efficiency while chastising incumbent Tony Yzaguirre for his disrespect to the voters by failing to appear at the event.

Garcia also promised, once elected, to run a comprehensive audit of Yzaguirre's 36 year tenure including the 2015 discrepancies that resulted in no criminal charges.

L to R: Manny Trevino, Sheriff Eric Garza

The "debate" between Sheriff Eric Garza and challenger Manny Trevino repeated familiar campaign themes with Trevino touting his experience, while Garza's more skilled public speaking and managerial technique was obvious.

One of the dumber, but revealing exchanges was about the assignment of "older" cars within the department.

Trevino suggested that "lower" officers would get the "older" cars while Garza said cars would be assigned without regard to rank.  

Whether or not that's actually true, Garza easily outwitted Trevino in that exchange.

𝗧𝗔𝗫 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗘𝗗𝗗𝗜𝗘 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗜𝗔, 𝗣𝗟𝗘𝗗𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗘𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬

L to R: former State Senator Eddie Lucio, Jr.,  Precinct 1 Commissioner Sofia Benavides, Tax Assessor Tony Yzaguirre, County Judge Eddie Trevino and County Clerk Sylvia Garza-Perez

While the strongly-entrenched politicians pictured above celebrated the opening of a new Southmost Tax Office, we're reminded of the ease with which these folks often spend other people's money, that is, the taxpayers' hard-earned dollars.

A local blogger-for-hire, likely paid by the current tax assessor, Tony Yzaguirre, has questioned Tax Assessor candidate Eddie Garcia's concerns about $2,800,000 in tax dollars being used for the new building.

Now, we did venture down Southmost Road today at 3:45 PM to get our own look at the newly-constructed tax office and there's no denying the beauty of the structure, featuring stone block, bricks, a steel roof and beautiful landscaping.

Yet, as beautiful as the nearly $3M facility is, not one additional penny of taxes has been collected as a result of its construction.

Actually, modern technology has made it possible to pay taxes online, rendering the old brick-and-mortar solutions obsolete and unnecessarily costly.

Once inside the building, we found at least four city employees along with one customer paying taxes. So, add the wages, benefits of these employees to the initial cost of the building, along with maintenance and utilities for as long as the building stands.

A friendly lady greeted us at the booth with a city administrator behind her, while a security guard stood just inside the door.  Next to a single customer paying taxes was another employee cleaning the glass shield at an empty payment booth.

Before the runoff election between 36 year incumbent Tony Yzaguirre and Eddie Garcia takes place May 28, with early voting May 20-24, Garcia is hopeful Yzaguirre will be willing to sit down with him in some sort of format; discussion, roundtable or debate, to give the voters a look at their different approaches to running the office.

Garcia has made it clear that, should he be elected, no current employees need fear for their jobs in the tax assessor/collector office, including several members of the Yzaguirre family. 

Garcia simply wants to set a tone that emphasizes customer service while running the department efficiently and economically.

𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗥 𝗝𝗢𝗛𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗡 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬'𝗦 𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗟𝗢𝗣𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗗𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗦

Mayor John Cowen

John Cowen, Jr. set an extremely high bar for future mayors of Brownville's "State of the City" events by giving every city commissioner, the city manager and administrators a share in the credit for the city's economic growth the past year.

Cowen's approach to governing is light years away from "the mayor is the quarterback and the commissioners are his blocking lineman."

No one is demeaned.  All get credit.  I mean, who the ha.des wouldn't want to work in a Cowen administration?

While previous mayors have focused on a plastic bag ban that didn't work, a banning of public comment at city meetings, or creating business funding the mayor could tap into once leaving office, Cowen has simply created a well-oiled harmonious city machine where credit for accomplishments is shared.

That's an environment where everyone willingly works their asses off.

With the 800 seat TSC Performing Arts Center near capacity, Cowen's clear presentation of the city's business growth solidified his position with hundreds of actual voters, almost assuring a second term if he wants it. (I know many of these folk and yes, they're voters.)

While I've chided Cowen in years past for timidity, let me reverse field and say he's not a self-promotor, but someone who, not only leads by example, but shares leadership and credit.  

So, state of the city?  The city is in good hands.

𝗠𝗔𝗬𝗢𝗥 𝗖𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 "𝗔 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧" 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧'𝗦 "𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬" 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗡 𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗭

 

𝗛𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗬 𝗖𝗨𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗥'𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗧 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗢𝗟 𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟

by Andrew Solender, AXIOS

 Solender, AXIOS

Rep. Henry Cuellar. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) is getting a quiet reprieve from colleagues in both parties after being indicted over the weekend.

Why it matters: It's a marked contrast to the treatment of the two other lawmakers who have been indicted in the 118th Congress – Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.).

• Menendez has similarly faced bribery charges, including that he took payment in the form of gold bars, and more than half his Democratic Senate colleagues have urged him to resign.
• The scandal-ridden Santos was expelled in a bipartisan House vote after two federal indictments and a damning Ethics Committee report.

What's happening: Cuellar was indicted by the Justice Department on Friday and accused of taking nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijani government-controlled oil company and a Mexican bank.

• The South Texas congressman is accused of pushing legislation and pressuring executive branch officials to benefit Azerbaijan and the bank.
• Cuellar has proclaimed his innocence and said he plans to seek re-election in November.

State of play: The National Republican Congressional Committee has challenged Democrats to call for Cuellar's resignation  as they did with Santos.

• So far, just one Democrat, retiring Rep. Dean Phillips  (D-Minn.), has heeded that call.

What they're saying: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Friday that Cuellar "is entitled to his day in court and the presumption of innocence throughout the legal process."

• House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) told Axios on Monday that Cuellar is "going to get due process of law" and praised him for doing "the right thing" by stepping down from his subcommittee chairmanship.
• A senior House Democrat predicted few Democrats will call for Cuellar's resignation: "Dean Phillips is probably not the person to lean on for these things."
• But the lawmaker acknowledged "it's a problem" and said the appearance of hypocrisy with Santos is "concerning" to some Democrats.

Yes, but: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), asked if Cuellar should resign, said: "I haven't seen any details."

• House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios: "I don't know much about that."

What we're hearing: "There's the ordinary [process]: allegation, criminal process, ethics review, outcome. And then there's the extraordinary – George Santos," said one House Republican.

• A House Democrat told Axios that Cuellar's stuff "isn't as entertaining and bizarre ... Santos was a bizarre series of weird fabrications plus the FEC violations. Made for good soap opera."

Zoom in: Republicans are hamstrung by their allegiance to former President Donald Trump, who is facing four criminal indictments and has leapt to Cuellar's defense.

• "We have a former president going through indictments now, nothing's been proven," said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), telling Axios that Trump's case has "certainly" influenced how Republicans approach indictments.
• "Same thing with Congressman Cuellar, he deserves his day in court before anyone starts making accusations or speculation – before people start jumping on the bandwagon," he said.