Corpus Christi municipal elections

[Czolgosz]

With a few exceptions (e.g., John Martinez for at large council member), I'm gloomy about the choice among candidates in the up-coming city elections. Can anyone say anything to cheer me up about my options?

[alarimer]

1. I went to a candidates' forum at TAMUCC

Sponsored by the Surfrider foundation. It was on environmental issues. I was not terribly impressed. Most emphasized their "business" experience and most were completely unfamiliar with the Open Beaches Act. They did not even seem to know that the state owns the lnd below the mean high tide mark and the public has the absolute right to use the land bewteen mean high tide and the vegetation line. Overall they seemed mostly to pay lip service- telling the crowd (which was pretty small) what they thought they wanted to hear. You could definitely tell the experienced politicians from the amateurs.

[Czolgosz]

2. Unfortunately, the "experienced politicians" seems to be pretty much

in the developers' pockets, and the other candidates generally seem like either long shots or nuts or both.

Can you believe that Henry Garrett and Brent Chesney voted against to proposal to put a ban on any additional landfills? From an environmental perspective there was no reason to vote against that ban, from a business perspective there was no reason to vote against the ban (because another landfill would just make the existing city-owned facilities a money losing venture) -- so who possibly benefits? No one but the landholder who wants to turn his acreage into a landfill. I find that really discouraging.

[alarimer]

3. A lot of the candidates seem to be in real estate

Or own some other business like a carpet cleaning company. Henry Garrett wasn't there (his wife just died) so I don't know much about him.

[Czolgosz]

5. There a quite a few things about Garrett that should trouble Corpus

Christi voters (especially in light of the fact that he'll almost certainly win).

For example, in addition to his inexplicable and wrong-headed vote on the landfill, he has greatly disrespected the (mostly minority, non-campaign contributor) residents of the city's Hillcrest neighborhood. Citgo Petroleum Corp. wants to buy property in that area so the city council obligingly re-zoned the area from residential to industrial. Unfortunately, the council didn't bother to notify the residents of neighboring Hillcrest. The Hillcrest residents asked to delay the process in light of the failure to give them notice, and council-members Jesse Noyola, Javier Colmenero, and Bill Kelly sought to table the zoning change to allow time for Hillcrest residents and residents of other affected neighborhoods proper notice and an opportunity to raise their concerns with the city. Councilmember Henry Garrett (as well as Brent Chesney, Melody Cooper, Rex Kinnison, and Mark Scott) all voted to barrel ahead with this gift to Citgo at the expense of Hillcrest residents. That was shameful and typical of Garrett's preference for the city's corporate malefactors over its citizens.

I fear that corporate tools Garrett, Chesney, and Scott are all but certain to win for mayor and council. I wish that was not the case. Maybe not-too-bright Cooper and anti-choice-fringe-activist Kinnison will lose.

[alarimer]

7. I did not know that

Good to know. He'll probably win anyway.

[cags]

4. Mine are trying to bring in Wal-Mart, feel lucky, we are trying to recall

the ones not up for election this May.

[Czolgosz]

6. We already have a Wal-Mart. Our "representatives" are mostly

owned and operated by the petroleum refining industry, the real estate development industry, the insurance industry, and chamber of commerce. Our city officials will crawl through broken glass for the industries they represent to protect them from the citizens.