Planet Earth somehow survived John Villarreal Day at Linear Park on Saturday. John's reviews were mixed for his efforts to prevent Mary Helen Flores from handing out printouts citing the Election Code, naming those on the Election Commission and offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators of voter fraud. Interestingly, many on Facebook, whose comments were linked to their names, were supportive of Villarreal, whereas the anonymous comments on this blog were almost unanimously negative.
Some commenters were curious as to why the City Commission's "Mr. Milquetoast" suddenly became assertive, alert and take-charge in contrast to his typically docile demeanor on Brownsville's City Commission. Taxes have been raised, first responder's contracts terminated and pushing matches in the halls have transpired at 10th & Elizabeth with Mr. Villarreal nearly expressionless and always commentless. The answer lies in between the words of John's own chronicling of the Earth Day debacle:
JOHN VILLARREAL'S STATEMENT
"Just got back from Earth Day at Linear Park. I was pleased to see such a great turnout. Kids running around, live music, and great food. On another note, I was very much disturbed to see a booth set up for political purposes. This is a public event in a public park paid by you, the citizens, not candidates running for office. This so-called advocacy group is the same one that made me sign an agreement stating I would not hire politiqueras. I did not need an agreement but I accepted since the "purpose" was aligned with my values in running a fair campaign. This same advocacy group decided to endorse my opponent and guess what? In the end, my opponent obtained 97 mail-n votes while I only had 10. You tell me who used politiqueras. Please beware of these groups as they are clearly hired by candidates to bad mouth their opponents. Also, please let this group, and others for that matter, know that you want your tax payer dollars spent on public events and not to provide them with a venue to distribute their junk. Thanks- John Villarreal"
JOHN REVEALS HIS MOTIVATION WITH HIS OWN WORDS
Please notice in John's statement above that he recognized this woman, Mary Helen Flores, as someone who supported his opponent, Tony Zavaleta, in the last election. His interaction with her was fueled by political spite, not the appropriate demeanor for a public official to direct toward a constituent. John would likely not have even noticed the small table with a stack of handouts, stationed among other vendors, had he not noticed her, Mary Helen Flores, someone he instantly recognized as a supporter of his commissioner race opponent.
The irony is that last May 29 Nena and I stood all day in Washington Park, holding signs, handing out push cards and talking to passersby about John Villarreal. Imagine if Tony Zavaleta had won that election and a year later spotted Nena and I talking about voter abuse or diabetes awareness and became enraged? My point is that John's motivation in this incident was wrong as he was the one politicizing the situation. Otherwise, why even mention the last election? He did because that is what set him off.
Do you want to live in a country where public officials deal with you based on who you voted for or supported in the last election? Would you feel comfortable appearing before a judge who took note of you as a supporter of his opponent in the last judicial election? That is why the way John handled this situation is fundamentally wrong regardless of who is technically right in the matter.
Please also take note that Villarreal referred to the materials Flores was handing out as "junk". That illustrates his disdain for the distributor of the materials, not the actual content of those materials he never read. John would not refer to his campaign materials or even the barbacoa he sells in that way. John's characterization of Flores' handouts in a derogatory way shows that he lost his composure, allowing personal animosity based on politics, to override the dignity he should display and normally displays as an elected official.
JOHN'S MISREPRESENTATION OF THE HANDOUTS
John also mispresents what Flores was handing out with these words:
"I was very much disturbed to see a booth set up for political purposes. This is a public event in a public park paid by you, the citizens, not candidates running for office."
Incorrect. The materials, which observers said John did not read, did not support any candidate. They deal with facts relative to the election code and voter abuse. Again, the only one politicizing this event was John Villarreal.
The silver lining in all of this may be that Citizens Against Voter Abuse, CAVA, likely received considerably more publicity than imagined thanks to Commissioner John Villarreal.
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