People Who Mattered In 2010: Brownsville City Commissioner Melissa Zamora Learning On The Job...But Thoughtfully Stepping-Up...

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ

Editor-In-Chief

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Border politics forever brings out the harsh opposition, the envious and the never-satisfied. For many here, that game is a cheap exercise in mindless mudslinging. On nights when the City Commission meets, regular folks come out to lob biting commentary at their public servants - some of it deserved, most of it inane. Creative vocabulary does not know a better venue in town. It is something to behold.

In that receiving bunch is City Commissioner Melissa Zamora, a woman who has seen the worst of mud aimed her way. And we won't excuse her every political move, but we do believe this lady has done a few things that we can roundly endorse. Last Summer, she introduced a resolution against the hated anti-immigrant law being entertained in Arizona. No other city or town in the RGVofTexas did that, which was surprising. And she championed the abandonment of plastic bags at the grocery store - a point for her environmental concerns.

In a year that saw a myriad of issues hit City Hall, she also pushed the idea of re-vamping the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau. For many years, the BCVB had a one-page contract with the City that said nothing about how the city would benefit from the arrangement. She wrote, proposed and passed a plan and contract requiring the BCVB Board to include members of the tourism industry. As with all change that comes to town, she caught political heat for eliminating the entity's penchant for doing business Compadre-style - an approach centering on outright favoritism. The BCVB is now making major strides.


On another front, she fought against unbridled funding of the controversial Sports Park, noting that its budget comes from sales tax revenues. Commissioner Zamora's way was to let the community know that more than 90-percent of alloted quality-of-life tax revenue funding of it unjustly went to the Sports Park. As she put it, this left crumbs for the City's museums, the remaining 20-plus parks, etc., etc.

Attracting business for this struggling city of more than 140,000 residents also appears to be one of her interests. She can be found working with the BEDC and meeting with prospective businesses during their site visits. Ms. Zamora brought KIDFISH to the City of Brownsville in partnership with a local non-profit. This all-free event drew more than 1,500 people, and more than 600 children received free fishing rods, goodie bags, giveaways, food, etc. For many families, it was their first fishing experience. KIDFISH is now an annual event.

Shoes grabbed her attention, as well. After reading a newspaper report about the Valley's state mental hospital's need for 150 pairs of shoes, she worked with  local businesses to locate various shoe donation sites. Recently, she organized a volunteer committee to help collect toys for foster children, toys that will be dispensed at a Christmas Party expected to draw 750 of Cameron County's foster children.

And this year, she asked City administrative staff to seek consideration for a Texas Municipal League award. For the first time, Brownsville received the "Community Spirit" Award at the TML Conference - an award that came thanks to the efforts of the City Commission, the City staff and community related to environmental and health initiatives.

The aformentioned is enough for The Tribune to include City Commissioner Melissa Zamora (shown in photo above) among its list of People Who Mattered in 2010.

Now, if only she will expand her list of things to tackle next year. In the Valley, it is too-easy for a public servant to merely go through the motions, to spout great plans that never see fruition, to act as if things are being accomplished at City Hall. We do not agree with everything Ms. Zamora has done this year, yet we still believe her few years in politics are only the beginning of a career that should eventually show more positives than negatives. This much is true: Legacies allow time for a little on-the-job-learning...

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