OUR SURVEY SAYS!: Best & Worst Pols in The Rio Grande Valley...

By RON MEXICO, Jr.
Staff Writer

BROWNSVILLE, Texas - It seems like years ago that the mayor of this town at the end of the Rio Grande found himself in the news; in the news in a bad way, we mean. Hizzoner Pat Ahumada, shown in photo above, has become The Mellow Mayor of late - neither railing against the federal monstrosity known as The Border Wall rising south of town, nor being busted by local fuzz for drinking while driving. Ahumada has been the picture of calm & control most of this summer.

So, for that reason he gets our Top Spot on our list of Ascending Valley Politicians.

There are lingering issues in every danged city & town in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. But, as chroniclers of area action, we occasionally stop to rate our public servants. And so, here we go...

Politicians Going Places:

2.) Harlingen City Commissioner Kori Marra - She was broiled, roasted, rotisseried and grilled earlier this year by many in her hometown for being, well, a selfish and obnoxious public servant. My, how things have changed for the perky real estate lady. Central to her turning the wagons around was her recent vote for popular city manager candidate Carlos Yerena. Marra, daughter of the at-times prankish Texas west, sided with those who openly say they want change. In going against the wishes of her trusted ally and political mentor, Mayor Chris Boswell, Marra sent out a clear signal that she may be ready to contribute to the city's progress and not hold it down to its insular past. The next race for mayor is wide-open, and something tells us she knows it...


Politicians Going Nowhere:

1.)  McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez - This guy played Wiffle Ball all summerlong, and he struck out most of the time. First, he worked against keeping the city's beloved Botanical Gardens, asking voters to approve the idea of transforming the property into a world-class tennis center. Unswayed voters howled, "Nyet!" Then he proposed that the City of Palms rid itself of the centrally-located convention center by selling it to the highest bidder. Next, he said he wanted to sell Boeye Reservoir to some business entrepreneur. Same for a park on the city's west side. All this was roundly booed by the citizenry. Cortez then withdrew the park sale. Still, the booing continued. Cortez, never an excitable figure, suffers from that all-biz accountant's syndrome, which is his training. Like a politician reaching for a handy stick, he cited a drop in city tax revenues for the ideas. It has fallen like a Hindenburg in town, imagery that likely forms the portrait many in McAllen have of the boring mayor.

2.) Brownsville City Commissioner Melissa A. Zamora - We've held great hopes for this public servant, perhaps because we believe it'll be women politicians who will eventually take this region out of its forever corrupt and do-nothing sinkhole. But Ms. Zamora let us down when a certain issue hit the City Commisison fan recently, namely the blocking of Public Comments from the cable broadcast of City Hall meetings. We are fully aware of her comments following the initial discussion, but we wish she had been a bit more forceful. There was a time when Ms. Zamora was all about transparency. But that was before she won election. Perhaps there is still time for a comeback. Things have a habit of going from zero-to-60 in no time flat in Brownsville. Let us hope. Ms. Zamora may yet be in the running for The Tribune's Politician of The Year award...

3.) Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell - If ever, as the poem says, there was public servant with soul so dead, it is Mssr. Boswell. Leader of a mid-Valley city with an avalanche of problems, he chooses to lead in the style of Ward Cleaver. Boswell is never seen in public, nor is he heard to say anything outside the City Commission chambers. Much is roiling in town, yet he sails along, as if aboard the S.S. Minnow in search of an uncharted island. Ditching it all seems to be his bent these days. Harlingen has taken a beating all summer, what with problems at the police department, controversial support of a national hunting & fishing outlet many say is a money pit for the city's taxpayers, and, just last week, Boswell saw the woeful power he wields firsthand, when the City Commission approved the hiring of a new city manager Mayor Boswell didn't endorse during the drawn-out selection process. Mostly, to us, he seems at odds with the idea of serving the public. Perhaps he would do more for the community as, say, manager of the local minor-league baseball team - the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings. There, he could plot against the umpires and, really, no one in town would bitch about it...

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[EDITOR'S NOTE:...This is the latest in an occasional series of updates on the Rio Grande Valley's elected officials. We do this independently; that is, without bribery from anyone and without extending favor to anyone...]