By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
Jose F. Rodriguez
Antonio “Tony” Gonzales
Candidates in the race for Place 1 San Benito City Commissioner, which pits incumbent Antonio “Tony” Gonzales against challenger Jose F. Rodriguez, do not necessarily see eye to eye.
On Tuesday, the candidates discussed their ideas for the city and the matters they believe need to be addressed.
“I want to finish what we started,” said Gonzales. “We got some projects in the works. My priority is to keep San Benito clean. I’m working on that. My big thing is that I started some projects, and I want to see if I can finish them the next time around.”
High on Rodriguez’ priority list is the implementation of an ethics ordinance and was also critical of the City Commission for the delay in said implementation.
“The city has no ethics ordinance, which is mandated by the city charter,” Rodriguez said. “The city charter is very specific, that the city has to address ethics through a city ordinance, which the City Commission has been made aware of for two and a half years.”
Rodriguez said that the Commission was advised that the City of San Benito was in violation of the city charter because it was not addressing the ethics requirement through an ordinance.
“The city manager spent months preparing an ethics ordinance; the city attorney reviewed it, made changes, presented it to the City Commission at a workshop, then at a regular City Commission meeting and they tabled it,” Rodriguez said. “The city manager brought it up at another workshop and they tabled it again, and that was it. I’ve never heard of it again.”
Gonzales contends that the ethics ordinance has not been ignored and that the commission is waiting until after the election to address the issue.
“I’m working on that,” Gonzales said. “All of us haven’t agreed on all of it yet. It’s in the works. It has not been ignored for two years … I’m working with all the other commissioners so we can put it in place. We need one of those there for sure. It’s too close to election time, and maybe it might affect the people coming in. We’re going to wait for the people coming in so that it won’t affect them so that they can have a say-so on the ethics.”
“Ethics is what you expect from people when they go into office and sign million dollar contracts on behalf of the voters,” Rodriguez further argued. “There has to be some ethics. I find it very suspicious that they don’t want to address this. That’s the only reason I bring it up.”
Gonzalez said that he stands by the decisions he has made while in office and maintains that he has the best interest of the citizens of San Benito in mind.
“I think that I have done some good work for the city of San Benito,” Gonzales said. “I’m working for the citizens of San Benito, not for myself. I’m trying to do my best. In all the things I have done, if I’m wrong, I stand by my judgment. If I do something wrong, it’s my fault. If I do something good, it’s for the city of San Benito.”
“There’s not a real representation for all the people,” Rodriguez said in contrast. “For somebody who’s been attending City Commission meetings all along, they tend to listen more to people who complain the loudest. There’s no interaction with the community. There’s no reaching out from the City to the people.”
When asked about his opponent, Gonzales said, “I don’t know him (Rodriguez) personally, but everyone is entitled to run. The City is there for anybody. I wish him the best of luck in his election. I’m doing my thing on my own. He has a right to run for office. Anybody has the right to run for office. If the people want me, okay. If the people want him, good for him.”
On Gonzales, Rodriguez said, “He’s a nice a guy. He’s always treated me with respect. He’s never said anything bad about me … I just think that I can do a better job than him. That’s it. I’ve got nothing against him.”
Early voting will begin on Monday, April 28 and end on Tuesday, May 6. Election Day is on Saturday, May 10.
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In regard to Commissioner Tony Gonzales’ contention that “the ethics ordinance has not been ignored and that the commission is waiting until after the election to address the issue”, it is, to say the least, mind boggling and, for lack of a better word and with all due respect, a “lame excuse”.
FYI, any city ordinance can be “amended or repealed by another ordinance” at any time; it does not go into perpetuity where it cannot be changed.
The entire City Commission was made aware or alerted by the City Charter Review Committee and City Attorney way back in “February of 2012”, (more than two years ago) that the city was in violation of the City Charter by not addressing “ETHICS” via an “Ethics Ordinance” as mandated by the City Charter. Furthermore, an ethics ordinance applies to not only the elected officials but also the city employees.
The City Commission was presented or delivered for their review the “Ethics Ordinance” by the city staff in late 2012.
In June 2013, I sent the following two emails to the entire City Commission which includes the Mayor. To date, a response has been non-existent.
1st Email to City Commission re ETHICS
and
2nd Email to City Commission re ETHICS
As I mention in my email above, the City Charter is the “Constitution” for the City. Just as the United States Constitution serves as the “supreme law of the land” for our country, the San Benito City Charter serves as the basic set of rules for our City government. The Charter limits City officials in much the same way that the Constitution constrains the officials of the federal government. They are not allowed to pass any law or act in any way the Charter prohibits, such as micromanaging or giving orders to city employees.
The Charter establishes the boundaries that San Benito’s taxpayers have imposed upon their City government. It is the source of the City’s system of checks and balances, prescribing the relationship between the two branches of government: the Mayor and the City Commission and the interaction of the City Attorney with both. The Mayor’s authority to recommend policies and the Commission’s power to enact policy are all established by the Charter as the City’s basic law.
Having said all that, I noticed that the city street crew is now repairing “Juanita Street” in La Palma neighborhood. This street, to my knowledge, is not on the official approved street list for repairs or voted or approved at a public City Commission meeting.
Joe F. Rodriguez
http://joefrodriguezpl1.blogspot.com/
Mr. Rodriguez is a good man. He attends City meetings and holds them accountable. Mr Gonzalez was a post office employee as he notes on his campaign signs.
And your piont is?
If you attended the city meetings, you would know what the …piont…(sic) is!
So if someone that attends City meetings makes them a good person, and a person that service his country and hometown as a Serviceman, Police Officer, City Commissioner makes him what? Post Office Employee has if is bad thing.
You are misinterpreting or combining what @WeThePeople stated. He made two statements with two separate points. You, on the other hand, combined them into one…making Mr. Rodriguez a good man BECAUSE he attends city meetings. ʼa dʼanq or אַ דאַנק
My point is: What’s Passover without gefilte fish?
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/nyregion/gefilte-fish-is-scarce-this-passover-taste-buds-are-ambivalent.html
Oy Vey!
Duh.