For The Sluggish Rio Grande Valley, A Backpack of Seemingly Road-Weary Politicians...Some Good, Most Bad.

By RON MEXICO
Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The starting line-up of Rio Grande Valley politicians forever in search of the publicity spotlight begins with the mayor of this border town - Pat Ahumada. Only, it must be said that he is followed closely in line by the likes of Charlie Atkinson, a commissioner with no taste for criticism and a manmountain desire for acceptance.

There are others, of course.

We preface this report by saying our assessment is our assessment and nothing more. We are certain the individuals we note here have their supporters, friends and relatives who would swear they are the best thing that has come to town since green salsa and accompanying triangle-shaped tortilla chips.

THE BAD:

1.) Mayor Chris Boswell, Harlingen - He supposedly leads a city so troubled and needy that it must float a $28 million bond issue to attract a national hunting & fishing supplies company with enough anecdotal negatives to make it a wildly suspect investment. Mssr. Boswell, an attorney, hasn't said much publicly about the Bass Pro Shop dealings, and perhaps that is a major clue. He is the quintessential passive leader, there aboard his fine horse, ambivalently holding back while watching his army make the battle ahead.

2.) City Commissioner Charlie Atkinson, Brownsville - This one appears to have only two of six cylinders working for the community. Mssr. Atkinson is good when he whacks at local bloggers in harsh missives that do carry some verbal clout. But when it comes to serving the city with positive work on the commission, he comes across as just another pickle in the pickle jar. Atkinson has been on the commission long enough to have made a difference. What that may be is anybody's guess - and that's the problem.

3.) Mayor Pat Ahumada, Brownsville - One would think that a former shrimp boat captain such as Ahumada would be able to steer a mere city, yet Ahumada's legacy will likely be his outings with beer and driving. The mayor who took the anti-Border Wall battle to the nation's capital can't find his way home - home being that place in a politician's gleam where great things are accomplished. Que lastima.

4.) Commissioner Kori Marra, Harlingen - The fish-out-of-water imagery comes into play with this novice politico. Ms. Marra, a native of West Texas, where politics is a middle school undertaking, cannot seem to find her legs in the quicksand geography that is Harlingen politics. At once bright and dumb, she insists on being taken seriously when serious is not a word one thinks of when considering anything to do with her. Of late, she has exhibited a certain no-no in declining to field criticism, leaving the fight to her backers and at least one Blogger in town. Perhaps there is still time for Ms. Marra. Bright would mean she recognizes that her political life is just beginning. Dumb would be her insistence on being seen as something special. Not yet, no.

THE GOOD:

1.) Mayor Richard Cortez, McAllen - He has the personality of a palm frond, but perhaps that serves the City of Palms well. Cortez leads a city acknowledged as the most progressive in the Rio Grande Valley. He speaks to high school graduates. He speaks the college kids. Cortez, unlike his fellow mayors in Harlingen and Brownsvile, is everywhere when civic duty calls. His only stumbling block in recent months was his handling of the proposed tennis courts park. Cortez sided by a plan whereby the city would raze its anbandoned botanical gardens in favor of the tennis center. The voters beat him, but Cortez's popularity rating remains high in town.

2.) Commissioner Melissa Zamora, Brownsville - Her legacy is yet to be written, but hers is the promise of true change for a city long the property & playground of Macho Patrones. With few exceptions, Brownsville has been ruled - some say whipped - by men more interested in themselves or in preserving the perception elsewhere in the state that Brownsville is a falling town. Commissioner Zamora, an outsider from Pleasanton, has yet to flex her political muscles. That isn't necssarily a bad thing for a politician in only her second year of public service. She's young. Her older critics will begin to die-off. It'll be clear sailing in the near future, says this writer.

3.) Commissioner Robert Leftwich, Harlingen -  We go on what we hear about Mssr. Leftwich. He is roundly seen in town as an up-and-comer, a politician not a member of the so-called Old Guard here. Leftwich has not as yet made his mark. Fronting creation of an advisory board for Senior Citizens is not going to gain him a great, great victory, but perhaps he's just dancing around the ring ahead of the 15-round brawl. We hope that is the case, as mouldy Harlingen remains the Most Under-Achieving city in the Rio Grande Valley. It'll take more than handing Bass Pro Shop many millions for residents of other RGV cities to take Harlingen seriously. We believe Mssr. Leftwich can tangle with those Ghosts of Harlingen Past, however many rounds that noble fight may require. There's the bell for the first round...

4.) City Commissioners, McAllen - Collectively, this crowd wins the proverbial Miss Congeniality contest. None is a well-known name, although none is a grandstander. We know. We have watched the McAllen City Commission's meetings on local Cable-TV and can report its service is very civilized with business conducted without the drama and dissonance we see in commission meetings over in Harlingen and Brownsville.

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