Where is the leadership? By: Kenneth Benton I have often responded to people asking about rather or not I am considering another run for office that politics interferes with good government. As our city, much like our nation today, faces incredible challenges the need for leaders instead of vote counting politicians is felt ever more urgently. But those who successfully entered the often over heated kitchen of elected officialdom face a special and often too little understood obligation to serve as leaders and to act on behalf of the people who count to them to do those things which we as individuals cannot alone accomplish. There may be a few, some would point to the old guard no growthers whose agenda is to keep Harlingen small, a derelict, impoverished shell of what was once the admired leader and capital city of the lower Rio Grande Valley, but in conversation after conversation I have found not one who is not concerned about the threatened exodus of United Launch Alliance ULA from our city. The property tax dispute recently made headlines in the local newspaper but neither the implications nor any news of local elected or EDC officials working to make sure that one of the citys few remaining primary employers does not do as Carters, Levis and Fruit of the Loom, did in recent memory. States and communities compete with each other for jobs, manufacturing facilities and developments to raise local standards of living on a daily basis. With the advent of run away plants headed for cheap labor platforms such as China or Mexico this competition has become all the more intense. ULAs rumored move to Decatur Alabama is set to begin on or around Nov. 15th according to rumors. Such a move in the face of what we all hope will be a not to distant announcement by SpaceX to begin operations in deep south Texas and the expansion of the aerospace industry to Mexico, an expansion that due to the violence there will be short lived, seems illogical to local observers. But Harlingen perhaps has become unattractive to ULAs corporate leadership and it is beyond the ability of you and I to find out what, why, or how we can take actions to not only change the image of our community in their minds but to forestall their plans to close or reduce operations here. After all clustering is important to businesses such as ULA and the planned development of an Aerotropolis in and around our airport and foreign trade zone, should work to support the needs of companies like ULA. Perhaps we just need to do a better job of marketing this fact and working with the company to assure that we are meeting their and their employees needs. What does Decatur, Al offer that Harlingen, TX does not? ulalaunch/site/pages/About_Map.shtml Nov 15th is but days away and no local official has been successful at finding out ways we can reverse a decision which will greatly harm our economy. The need is for all of us to reach out to national elected officials who represent us and demand that they contact ULA officials and remind them that military and space funding decisions are made in Washington, D.C. Those officials are: 1. Representative Filemon Vela (956) 544-8352 1390 W Expressway 83 San Benito, TX 78586 2. Senator John Cornyn 517 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 Main: 202-224-2934 Fax: 202-228-2856 222 East Van Buren Suite 404 Harlingen, TX 78550 Main: 956-423-0162 Fax: 956-423-0193 3. Senator Ted Cruz 185 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-4306 202-224-5922 DC Fax: 202-228-075 3133 General Hudnell Drive, Suite 120 San Antonio, TX 78226
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 18:10:05 +0000
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