Brownsville mayor's indictment not good for city's image

BROWNSVILLE -- A mayor under criminal indictment doesn't look good.

And that he is further accused of stealing from the city he represents only aggravates the perception.

"It hurts the city," Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. said about the impact a three-count indictment on theft, abuse of official capacity and misapplication of fiduciary property charges have on Brownsville. A Cameron County grand jury handed down the indictment last Wednesday.

Ahumada said the way he plans to deflect the possible harm to Brownsville is to "continue to be the leader that I am."

There are a lot of projects in the city that need his attention, including the border wall, dam initiative and placement of new impact fees, the mayor said.

Tony Knopp, a retired University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College professor who has studied Rio Grande Valley politics for decades, said that an indictment, regrettably, "confirms the suspicions of many people that there are shenanigans going on in city government."

Knopp said that the perception is unfortunate because an indictment is an accusation. But until the charges against the mayor are resolved, Knopp suspects that the "cloud of suspicion expands and will continue to shadow city government."

He believes the city's relationship with other governmental entities is not likely to be affected in a measurable way. "I think many other governmental agencies have probably had a fairly good relationship with the city manager and hopefully that factor will enable us to continue to do business," Knopp said.

"But it's another disappointment and setback for the image of the city," he added.

Knopp also noted that if the mayor truly believes himself to be innocent, he should not step down pending resolution of the charges. "As far as the city goes, it is unfortunate to have a mayor under suspicion, but it's not fair to ask him to step aside," Knopp said.

Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos said that an indictment is simply an allegation or charge and that the mayor needs to be given the opportunity to defend himself.

"Indictments have a very, very bad and ugly sound to them. Some people automatically think that someone is guilty and it is unfortunate, but that is the way it is," Cascos added.

Cascos said that the relationship between the city and county government should not be affected in any way.

"But the bigger story here is the perception that one gets when someone has been indicted. We've had several county elected officials indicted and that impacted the county negatively because it affects all elected officials," the county judge said.

The mayor's indictment "taints the whole City Commission, not just one individual. They act as a commission. The quicker this is out of the way and put to rest, one way or another, the better for everyone," Cascos added.

Recently addressing the availability of a jury pool, Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos said that there are a lot of people in Cameron County who are oblivious to the charges against the mayor.

"You are going to have a lot of people who really don't know what is going on or really don't care because they are from other cities. It's amazing, here in Brownsville. Wherever I go - I go to gas up, and they want to know what is going on in the mayor's case. I leave Brownsville and it is like a sigh of relief because nobody really knows what the problem is or what the issues are," Villalobos said.

"We have a large area of Cameron County that don't even know what is going on," the DA added.

As the Rev. Jerry Frank, a leader in the religious-based grassroots organization Valley Interfaith, sees it: "The final result will have more impact than anything else."

"Of course, an indictment doesn't look good and it makes the city look bad, but we will know who is responsible for that when the trial plays out," Frank said.

Frank said his prayers go out to the mayor. "I hope he is innocent. He says he is innocent. There are doubts about that among many people, but I hope that he is found innocent in trial," Frank added.

Frank said he was very surprised by the indictment. "He appears to be a sharp, intelligent man. If he did this, it was not a very smart crime. It doesn't seem to have been well executed - for a smart guy."

The way Frank assesses the situation, Ahumada is innocent, and if not, he was under duress or emotional pressure.

Ahumada, who vows that he will be vindicated, recently said that he does not expect the indictment to affect the city's relationship with Mexico.

"I have formed good alliances with Mexico. I have formed good friendships with Mexico," he said.

Furthermore, the mayor said: "The people love me in Matamoros and Mexico. They are very supportive because they know we want to work with Mexico. We value them as our neighbor, and everywhere I have gone, they have extended me all the courtesies and shown their love and friendship for Brownsville. They will give me the benefit of the doubt."

Emma Perez-Treviño is a reporter for The Brownsville Herald.