Folks,

I received the below e-mail from former commissioner, Ernie Hernandez. He had recently announced his plans to run for At-large B City Commissioner, but he has changed his mind. Instead, Hernandez will run for Mayor in 2011. I am publishing his e-mail with his permission.

Melissa

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Melissa,

I have been City Commissioner for a total of 14 years. During those 14 years, I have been able to be a part of some wonderful and amazing things that have happened to this city.

I have decided not to run in the At Large-B race because it is my understanding that there are some truly intelligent and highly qualified individuals interested in running, yourself included.

The passion that I have for this City has always steered me to take stands on issues, albeit sometimes highly controversial, and more importantly ALWAYS do the right thing. I firmly believe that the right thing to do is to allow another qualified individual who shares the same passion that I do for this city be a part of the Brownsville team.

Besides, I at this time, need to stay focused on my main objective...and that is to LEAD the Brownsville team in the right direction. Let there be no doubt that I am running for Mayor in 2011.

While there are “some” qualified and intelligent City Commissioners and very competent management and directors in place right now, there is no leadership by the current Mayor. The city’s leadership is in complete turmoil...and that is very unfortunate. The City Commission meetings have been termed a “circus” and “the laughing stock of the valley” among other things. It has been said that other major cities in the valley use taped copies of the City Commission meetings as propaganda to entice business and commerce to their cities. And that is truly sad, let alone embarrassing. To use our City government meetings as a tool to convince companies not to do business in Brownsville must stop. The Mayor and certain City Commissioners seem not to care about the damage they are doing to the reputation of our community. Enough is Enough!

Despite that, I look forward to being a part of the Brownsville team again, and making the Brownsville team a winning team again...like it once was. People ask me why I do what I do. My response is always that I will never give up on a City that I truly believe in.

Again, let there be no doubt that I am running for Mayor in 2011, and am therefore going to focus my attention and efforts on that campaign.

Good luck to you and any and all other interested persons running in the At Large B race. God Bless and best of luck to you all!


Ernie