An advocacy group from Austin petitioned McAllen to change our city charter.
Ground Game Texas out of Austin (not a Rio Grande Valley group) delivered a petition to place two changes to the McAllen Home Rule charter on the November 5 ballot.
Both sound very positive, but the first amendment, to limit campaign contributions to candidates for mayor or to a commissioner, does not accomplish a limit to campaign contributions. It only makes it much less transparent - and worse - because while it limits contributions from an individual or a political action committee (PAC), it does not stop two individuals from setting up an unlimited number of PACs that together can give unlimited amounts of money to a candidate with little way of - or great difficulty in - identifying the donor.
The second proposition also sounds good - to give residents the ability to put their own proposed policies up for a vote, or to take an elected official out of office. The initiative is now costing you and the McAllen taxpayers $244,000 (a quarter of a million dollars) because it requires the City to hire the County to hold the election instead of the City.
A single district city election usually costs $40,000 to $50,000 (21% of the cost of the charter change election). A single referendum or ousting of an elected official will cost between $50,000 to $244,000.
Every time a small group of people disagree with an elected official or an ordinance passed by the Commission, or want to put their own ordinance on the ballot, they can require a vote. It is possible to force a vote at least three times in a year, which could cost three quarters of a million dollars of your tax dollars. People can accomplish as much or more by voting and contacting their elected officials - without the exorbitant cost.
Many people signed the petition without understanding the consequences of the changes. I urge all McAllen voters to vote NO on these two expensive and unnecessary charter changes.
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Nedra Kinerk, a McAllen resident and president of Futuro RGV.
