On Tuesday the Corpus Christi City Council voted to allow the City Manager to negotiate a water contract with Las Brisas, even though doctors, parents and teachers filled the Chambers begging them not to do it. Doctors and scientists presented ample information on the health and environmental risks that such a plant would cause and the Council members blithely ignored them although, puzzlingly, some of these Council members claimed they were "going with science" - very strange.
Mayor Adame (it really bugs me how the Mayor pretends to be Catholic and family-oriented while voting for things that will kill children), Ms. Adler and Mr. Scott were their usual devoid-of-moral-compasses selves, along with Mr. Kieschnick, who was downright offensive about it, calling the doctors and scientists liars and making jokes about choking children - it was pretty horrifying.
Mr. Scott refused to recuse himself from voting even though his wife did paid PR work for the firm. Mr. Elizondo did recuse himself as he stands to make big money from this endeavor and, at the last minute, Mr. Chesney recused himself as well. He was one of the votes we were counting on (in at least a temporary sense) but apparently found out just before the vote that the company that employs him had a contract with LBEC and so he had a conflict of interest. Maybe.
The real disappointment was John Marez. With two lovely small children, a social work job and a conscience but apparently no courage, he caved to the Chamber cabal's threats and voted for the water contract, after a rambling and pained speech full of justifications he obviously did not even believe himself. I know he's not getting any sleep this week, right, John? That happens when you sell out the health of little children.
Only Priscilla Leal and Nelda Martinez tried to protect the health of the children of this community and voted no to giving our precious water to this toxic waste incinerator. Priscilla Leal has always taken very seriously her responsibility to the welfare of her constituents...and she has always been ridiculed for it. She kept having to remind the Mayor that her light was on to make her comments because he was too rude to recognize her when she wished to speak. Nelda Martinez has generally had a reputation for voting with whatever she thought was best for her political career, but she has found her spine this time and defied the monied interests of this community to protect the health of the children, elderly and vulnerable. She's going to be our next Mayor if I have anything to do with it - and I will.
This vote was a big blow but it's not over. The Council needs to study their history - oligarchies often have a nice run but they always eventually fall. This one is coming down now. We, the citizens of Corpus Christi, are going to do whatever we have to do to keep that plant out. They picked the wrong city to mess with when they picked mine.
1 comment:
This just makes me sick at heart. I am grateful that you are going to continue to struggle against this.
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