Miffed that incumbent District 4 City incumbent Commissioner John Villarreal didn't get the endorsement of the (BUC) Brownsville Unity Coalition of labor unions, city commissioner Ricardo Longoria is now claiming its leadership asked him to fire hapless fire chief Lenny Perez and when he refused, they turned on him.
This indiscretion on the part of Longoria and his vendetta against the members of the BUC spilled over into the Internet websites with Longoria typing out a diatribe against the unioin that didn't endorse him in the last run for city commissioner despite the fact that one of the BUC offices is is father's brother (his uncle)."During the election of 2011 the members of the BUC through the vote from our local firemen's union did not endorse me as their candidate," Longoria wrote. "What is wrong about this is that I am a Brownsville Educator, and AOBE member, and by default a BUC members. They endorsed a non-union member because their portion of the BUC (firemen) decided they didn't want me as their candidate and because of that my own union could not endorse me."
Longoria then goes on to discuss the differences between the union and the city over the "me-too" clause where the firefighters get raises automatically if the police union gets one (and vice-versa). But what irked Longoria seems to have been the fact that he was expecting the support of the union without supporting them in their demands with the city.
He then goes on to recount an incident which he has never made public, if it ever happened. He said he got their support in 2003 and 2007 and he "gave the firemen their wishes during their negotiations and that is a public record."After this I was approached by their elected representatives to have the fire chief Lenny Perez fired form his job because they didn't want him. My answer, NO!"
He then goes on to say that not only did the BUC not endorse him, but also declined to endorse commissioner Rose Gowen, Mayor Tony Martinez, and now John Villarreal.
They are, he said echoing the words of Villarreal, "a special interest group that is costing you, the city taxpayer, millions each year."
The funny part of all this is that Longoria voluntarily admits that he was glad to receive the support and endorsement of BUC and in return support their salary and benefit demands while he had that support. When they asked for his support to jettison Perez, who himself is costing the taxpayers of the city $100,000s in mediation and legal costs because of his mismanagement, he draws the line.
Villarreal goes even further, he calls Rigo Bocanegra, a city employee and a BUC officer, "a joke."
Shouldn't there be some semblance of decorum when an elected official speaks to union representatives in confidence or when a city commissioner refers to a city employee in public. If Longoria is fact received a request from the BUC leadership to support their demands that Perez be removed, shouldn't his response have been made to them as their request was made to him – in private and in confidence? After all, these city employees have to work under this man, known as a tin-horn tyrant for his pettiness and vindictiveness.
And Villarreal should know better than to refer to a city employee – one member of his city's team – as "a joke?"
Longoria ia said to be considering a run for the new Justice of the Peace 2-3 position created in Cameron County. Someone should tell his this is not the way to make friends and influence people.
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