8-25-2019

By J. Noel Espinoza/RioGrandeInfo

Despite the recent national tragedies including the one in El Paso earlier this month where a white supremacy gunman killed 22 people and injured many more, the newly elected leaders in Brownsville have been quiet and tight-lipped about this calamity and other important issues facing the City by the Sea.

Rio Grande Info tried to reach new Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez, but he never returned calls or answered through social media. The same thing happened with two new city commissioners, John Cowen and Nurith Galonsky.

Some of the questions included their priorities as new leaders, how they could fight corruption that has permeated during the past few years, racism, and immigration issues, especially after the mass shooting in El Paso in the early morning of August 3, 2019.

“I appreciate your questions but they require that I sit down and give them some thought,” responded Galonsky after she took office in early July.  “I’m in the middle of a meeting right now so let me get back to you.”

Around July 11, Galonsky called Rio Grande Info and inquired about the nature of the questions and again said she will take a few more days, but never actually replied. The same happened with Cowen.

“Sorry I’ve been swamped,” Cowen responded in July. “I plan to answer your questions this weekend.  Thanks for your patience.”

After El Paso incident again Rio Grande Info tried again, but to no avail.

The 21-year-old suspect, Patrick Crusius, who went to El Paso from the Dallas area, wrote a racist manifesto that was put online minutes before he entered the Walmart where the mass shooting took place. “A response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,” Crusius wrote.

Just like El Paso, Brownsville is a city next to the border with Mexico and with an overwhelming Hispanic population.

With President Donald Trump taking a harsh rhetoric with illegal immigration, sometimes also calling it “an invasion, the border has become center stage in the debate.

“It’s no coincidence that this has been ground zero for the president’s zero tolerance policies,” said Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (D) of Texas. “Hatred, bigotry, and racism have been teeming below the surface for as long as America has been around, but now is full-blown out in the open, and we have a real epidemic of hate in this country.”

With the epidemic of gun violence in the country, Escobar said it’s a deadly combination.

Vowing a new beginning, Mendez promised to be inclusive for all residents in the city.

“This election before our campaign was never about me,” Mendez said the day he took office. “It was about the city. About bringing the city back to the people.” Rio Grande Info will continue to wait for answers from Brownsville’s leaders.