THE CAMPAIGN THAT NEVER WAS HEATS UP

By Juan Montoya
Even before former City of Brownsville Commissioner Tony Zavaleta decided whether to throw his hat in the ring for the District 4 position against District 4 incumbent John Villarreal, the war of words was heating up.
Zavaleta, who lost in a runoff against Villarreal after he ran against him two years ago on a platform of reviving the District 4 neighborhoods and the downtown area, posted entries in his Internet site criticizing the incumbent for being a "non-entity" and said the only thing Villarreal had done was "plant squash," a veiled reference to his support for a community garden.
"Do you recognize this person?" Zavaleta wrote on the post pictured at left. "He has no voice and no agenda."
Zavaleta asked voters in the district whether they could afford to vote for him for another four years while "District 4 is crumbling  while this person daydreams and picks his nose at commission meetings."
This, in turn, drew a spirited response from District 1 commissioner Ricardo Longoria who defended Villarreal's honor and virtues saying he was a good Christian man who cared about his city.
"John Villarreal is a man of faith and has tremendous love for his community....(and) has served Brownsville honestly and with no hidden agenda."
What stake Longoria has in the District 4 race known since it is obvious from the televised meetings that he is often a team of one in his opposition to the hidden agenda of Mayor Tony Martinez, often getting shushed by Hizzoner when he tries to insert a word on any given subject.  Dittto for Villarreal, who despite knowing that Martinez has often violated his prerogative to spend on his grandiose plans by having the bills land at the desk of City Manager Charlie Cabler without going through the rubber stamp city commission. Neither has made it a point to object to Martinez's helter-skelter purchases of more than $3.25 million in real estate purchases ostensibly to donate the properties to the oil-and-gas wealthy UT System in an attempt to entice the regents to keep the UTB campus downtown.
All this, of curse, was funded by issuance of certificates of obligation (COs) to be paid by future taxes on city residents' properties, and surpluses from the landfill and the airport.
Later in the week, Zavaleta called his supporters and informed them that after consulting with his wife and son he had decided not to enter the race for District 4 but would be looking if any credible candidates emerged before the filing deadline in March.
In the wings lurks the candidacy of P.K. Patel, the hotelier and businessman who was the third candidate besides Villarreal and Zavaleta the last time around. Late as year Patel was making noises about running and had even enlisted the support of some of Zavaleta's supporters. Will Patel take the plunge? Or were the noises he was making merely the rustlings of a vain man trying to find out if people still love him?