A Guy Walks Into A Mangrove Swamp...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas | By all business and professional accounts, Celestino "Tino" Villarreal is a success. Social service, educator, football coach, businessman and now politician. It is the latter that has him in an unfamiliar world these days. We say these days because 20 or 30 years ago, the sudden image problem he has would likely never have surfaced.

It is either a scurrilous allegation or one steeped in truth, half-truth or even a smidgen of truth. Who knows? Of course.

Mr. Villarreal will be sworn-in as a city commissioner here this afternoon.

The damning allegation was made by his Election Day opponent, a woman by the name of Susan Ruvalcaba. In what was offered as some sort of "Breaking News" tidbit, she boldly alleged that Mr. Villarreal had been hospitalized in London while chaperoning students on an overseas culture outing. A Donald Trump backer and obvious lover of his brawling politicking style, Miss Ruvalcaba further alleged the hospitalization had much to do with the excess drinking of alcohol.

We never did see a direct denial from Mr. Villarreal, but many here quickly came to his defense.

Something happens in politics when serious allegations are made against a candidate or a sitting politician. The fact is that some will believe the accusation, and some won't; that's how it works. There was a lawyer involved early-on, as Mr. Villarreal hired one to have him forward a letter threatening a defamation lawsuit if the accusation persisted.

Mr. Villarreal seems to have let it go.

He takes the oath of office at City Hall under that one, darkened cloud, one that will likely stay with him so long as he remains in city politics. It may be all a future opponent has against him, an unproven rumor. His position is an annoying one. It is hard to prove a negative, as they say on bigger political stages. Almost impossible.

One wonders if the brash Miss Ruvalcaba will now tamp down her vigorous, post-election opposition, or if she'll brave a stop at City Hall for Mr. Villarreal's ascent to office. You never know, do you?

The vote in their race was 3,227 for Mr. Villarreal (55%) to 2,556 for Miss Ruvalcaba (44%). It's a big-enough win but not a landslide. Perhaps Miss Ruvalcaba even sees it as a squeaker, hence her less-than-classy reaction.

An experienced (we wanted to write "accomplished," but couldn't, really. not yet.) public servant, young Mr. Villarreal has served as chair of the BCIC, a trustee for the National Hispanic Institute and a longtime educator at local St. Joseph's Academy.

Is he troubled by the biting criticism? Only Mr. Villarreal knows that.

"The best is yet to come," he often said during his winning campaign for the city commission's At-Large A seat. With any luck, he'll take care of the things he wanted to accomplish when he decided to run for the office way back before any sort of damning opposition fire crossed his mind.

Tino Villarreal is on the clock...

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