We love Day of the Dead celebrations and parades. We are all for it. We just are not so sure we are all for a new parade this year courtesy of your tax dollars that looks like an election event to us.
The City contracted with a private company, The Navarro Group, to handle the Fourth of July parade, the Christmas events and the new Day of the Dead parade and festival.
Never mind that another group locally has for years hosted a Day of the Dead parade and will actually do so again this year on the actual Day of the Dead (Nov. 2). We think it is unfortunate that the City would use tax dollars to possibly undercut another community-organized parade that has been held for years.
We also find it laughable that the Mayor, who preaches fiscal responsibility, would spend tax dollars to fuel what is obviously at the least a duplication of something already provided by someone in the private sector.
What really gets us is that once again Mayor Javier Joven thinks Odessans are so dumb that we can’t see that this new parade is just a HUGE campaign event.
The agreement between the City and the Navarro Group actually mandates that Joven must be the grand marshal for the event. It also stipulates the parade can’t use the City of Odessa’s logo but can use the likeness and name of the mayor. Seems like some very odd stipulations for an event essentially funded by tax dollars. This is even stranger knowing that it was Joven himself who found this group and championed the contract to pay for such events.
Are your eyebrows raised?
Ours are.
The event is scheduled just days before early voting begins and we suppose Joven & Co. think people will be so thrilled to see him as a grand marshal that they will forget all his ridiculous antics during the last four years.
We hope you won’t and that you will see this parade event for what it really is.
It’s just a campaign event for Joven. All paid for by you, the taxpayer.
By the way, the event is free to attend but quite costly (even for nonprofits) to have a float or a table or booth.
The profits from the parade — again, FUNDED by taxpayer dollars — go to the Navarro Group although the owner said he hopes to give back to the community when they pull a profit.
We can’t help but wonder why it was so important for Joven to be the grand marshal?
But this is an election year and there are so many others who would be fantastic grand marshals who have served Odessa for many, many years. Carol Uranga? Gilbert Vasquez? Vickie Gomez? No one would have raised an eyebrow about any of these non-candidates being named grand marshal.
More shenanigans from a mayor who has not served Odessa well. He has only served himself.
Disgraceful contracts have been all the news lately out of City Hall. We can only hope that if anyone on the Council actually saw this agreement prior to signing on the dotted line that they would have spoken up if they noted Joven using the parade as a campaign event.
Disgraceful.
