From the vastness of cyberspace...A local...and a damn good question

I've just returned from what seemed like an endless two days of work in my other life. Bad news is I've got to return this afternoon, but I wanted to address a comment posted on Wednesday's blog before I go. It's from anonymous and the question reads, "Hector, being from the same city, what is your take on our Mayor?" The mayor in question is Ms. San Juanita Sanchez for the city of San Juan, Texas. If memory serves me right she ran her campaign on the promise to bring integrity back to the city by means of better, more honest, fiscal management. Well, so far so good, but there is a caveat, and it takes the form of a political science course I took a few years back. The book we studied was "Texas Politics: Economics, Power, and Policy" by James W. Lamare. In it, the author states that "Cities with a commission form of government are ruled by an elected board of commissioners. The board collectively legislates policy for the city. Each commissioner is individually in charge of a specific administrative office in the city. Each commission government selects a manager to coordinate the administrative policy." (pg. 294). In a nut, that's San Juan for you, as well as most of the surrounding towns in the RGV. The author goes on to say that "the mayor participates in the council, but the council has the upper hand in most matters. Furthermore, the council not the mayor, assumes responsibility for oversight of the operations of the city's administrative departments." (pg. 294). I took this to mean that basically, the mayor answers to us when it comes to questions about bidding practices or anything we might find out of the ordinary. Ms. San Juanita Sanchez will in turn bring it up to the commission, and collectively, they will decide to take action or not. It's not her call, it's the commission's. Afterwhich, if a citizen still has an issue he would like to bring before the commission, that citizen must bring it forth via the council meetings agenda. If action is still not satisfactory, remember there's always that light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is the next election season. So as far as whether Ms. San Juanita Sanchez is doing a good job or not, well in my opinion-she is. Politics can be a dirty game, though, especially for people with the best of intentions. In my opinion, Ms. Sanchez's involvement in community groups that looked out for any discrepancies in local government resulted in a good head on her shoulders. For now, anyway. But the next mayoral election is still a ways off, and like the saying goes, "There is many a slip 'twixt a cup and the lip".