by George Rodriguez
If anyone has any questions about San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro’s plans and intentions for San Antonio, they just need to make some simple observations.
For example, March 2nd was Texas Independence Day and Mayor Castro did not make one public remark about it. In fact, the Travis Letter visited the Alamo, and while people flocked to see the document, Mayor Castro did not attend. That should not surprise us, though.
The Mayor’s mother, Rosa Castro, is a former member of the radical La Raza Unida group in the 1970s and once described the defenders of the Alamo as “a bunch of drunks”. The Raza Unida group believed Mexico was the victim of Anglo American expansionism, racism, colonialism, and capitalist imperialism. Given that this belief was probably present in the Castro home, it shouldn’t be surprising that the Mayor did not attend or commemorate Texas Independence activities in his own city.
Also, the Mayor has big supporter in the only newspaper in San Antonio, the Express-News. One way the paper’s support has been obvious, is how opinion writer Brian Chasnoff has attacked City Council candidate Roland Briones, whom Castro opposes, on three occasions. Chasnoff has also recently criticized Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff about the Mission Reach Trails project. Judge Wolff is supporting legislation in Austin for consolidating local government services which Mayor Castro opposes. Chasnoff and SA Express-News have come to the defense of the Mayor by doing a “hit piece” on Judge Wolff. We should ask ourselves why a newspaper will not play watchdog for the public over city hall, but instead plays lapdog for the Mayor.
Mayor Castro’s political machine is also working to consolidate support on the SA city council. Celeste Montez-Tidwell is running for City Council District 10 against the Mayor’s biggest critic Councilman Carlton Soules. Soules has opposed the Mayor repeatedly on Pre-K, Street Cars, SAWS rate increases, and other issues, and now it appears the Castro Machine has fielded a candidate to run against Soules. Before Ms. Montez-Tidwell’s Facebook page was changed, it noted her as a “friend of Julian Castro” and as working on at the local Democratic Party. It is apparent the Castro Machine is moving into high gear to control the City Council and squash any criticism by City Council members who don’t toe the Mayor’s line.
Unfortunately, there are some local GOP leaders who are cautious of challenging the Castro Machine. Some insist that because the city elections are non-partisan, the GOP must not get involved. Others are fearful of provoking the Castro Machine, and thus make it more determined to win. However, the question should be asked as what is necessary for conservatives and the GOP to stop being fearful and become more determined to stop the next Obama.
All we have to do is observe Castor’s actions to understand his view of the city, the state, and the nation. He is following the Obama political play book to higher office.
George Rodriguez is president of the South Texas Political Alliance and can be followed on Facebook at “El Conservador”.
