Bad form, tall tales, and half truths; on the road to a political half-life

Ballinocchio

At the July 16, 2017 City Council meeting discussion on the City of Laredo joining the lawsuit against SB-4, District VIII Council member Roberto Balli said:

“I’ve tried on multiple occasions to move this meeting up or to call a special meeting. The Mayor was in New York. He was in Cancún, and now he’s in New York again…If he’s not here today it’s because the taxpayers are paying him to travel to New York, Cancún, and New York again for the past three weeks on trip after trip….

Whatever in New York is more important than today, and he wants to call in, let him call in, but I’d like to have this heard right now for these people.”

As Balli railed against Mayor Pete Saenz, chiding his absence from the meeting as “taxpayer funded travel,” these things stood out about his comments — 1) He was quick to attack someone who was not present to defend the allegation; 2) Balli may not have found his courage to discredit the Mayor had the Mayor been present and seated at the dais; 3) Balli could have made his point, including disagreeing with the Mayor’s stance on the SB-4 lawsuit, without disrespect in his voice and without being untruthful about the Mayor’s trips to New York; and 4.) Balli diminished his own character and not that of the object of his disparagement.

Yes, the SB-4 discussion and action on the “show me your papers” state legislation are of great importance to the many who could be affected by its inhumane measures that if enacted will tear families apart. Many, including myself, are in agreement with the City of Laredo righting its moral compass to join the lawsuit against so divisive and racist a piece of legislation.

Bending the truth as Balli did — overlooking it and outright lying — speak volumes about his character and his arrogance.

BALLI’S UNTRUTHS:

Mayor Pete Saenz (back row, center) is pictured at the March 2017 What Works Cities Summit in New York City. All of the Mayor’s travel expenses and those of interim City manager Horacio De Leon Jr, budget director Martin Alemán, and IT director Javier Hinojosa were covered in full by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

NEW YORK

Mayor Pete Saenz’s two trips to New York, one from March 27-29 and a more recent one July 15-20, were both underwritten in full for travel and lodging by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The March 27-29 trip was for a What Works Cities Summit, which according to Bloomberg Philanthropies was a “conference of mayors, dedicated city practitioners, experts, and thought leaders from What Works cities across the country to share experiences, engage in professional development, and celebrate local achievements and the individuals driving change.”

As a What Works city, Laredo is now implementing sustainable initiatives to use data and evidence to improve the effectiveness of local government.

For the period of July 15-20, Mayor Saenz was invited as part of the inaugural class of the City Leadership Program, a one of a kind executive training class for 40 U.S. mayors, offered by the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

The Mayor took part in the immersive training portion of the program on July 16 and participated in classroom sessions, group work, and learning experiences until Wednesday, July 19. His participation, which included tuition, accommodations, meals and airfare, was funded by a gift from the Bloomberg Philanthropies as part of its Government Innovation portfolio.

CANCÚN

Mayor Pete Saenz addressing the general assembly of the Mexican freight forwarders who are members of CAAAREM (Confederación de Asociaciones de Agentes Aduanales de la Republica de Mexico.)

Mayor Saenz was in Cancún from July 11 to July 15. He was there on City business to address the general assembly of 1,000-plus Mexican freight forwarders who are members of CAAAREM (Confederación de Asociaciones de Agentes Aduanales de la República Mexicana).

The Mayor’s address promoted Laredo’s location, its bridges, its air cargo facilities, and its willingness and capabilities to expedite freight. He also addressed modifications and enhancements to the World Trade Bridge.

The Laredo delegation, which sought to draw more Mexican freight forwarders onto Laredo’s $60 million a year in international trade, included interim city manager Horacio de Leon; interim bridge director Yvette Limon; interim airport director Mario Maldonado; CVB staffer Joel Vasquez; and City Council members Vidal Rodriguez and Charlie San Miguel. They also staffed the City of Laredo’s promotional booth at the conference.

The City of Pharr was also in attendance to extoll its international bridges.