Letter to Texas Governor Rick Perry Regarding the Texas-Mexico Border Tourism Task Force

To: Governor Rick Perry, State of Texas
From: Jay J. Johnson-Castro,
Reference: Texas-Mexico Border Tourism Task Force…of the Rio Grande Corridor

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Governor Perry,

From 2002 to 2005, I served on the Tourism Advisory Committee, one year outside the Office of the Governor and last two years under the Texas Department of Economic Development and Tourism. During those post 9/11 years, the Texas-Mexico border came under an assault of border bashing that emanated from outside the border region and outside Texas.

For the three years I served on TAC and ultimately being the only member from the border region, it became obvious to me that the State of Texas was doing little to nothing to shore up the tourism along the Texas Mexico border. For three years I endeavored to champion the border region before my fellow committee members as well as a Tourism Director who had never visited the border and who was offended that I would even suggest that she visit the border region before viewing our region with indifference. Finally, under the then new Director, Tracey McDaniel and the outgoing leadership of Chairman and incoming leadership of Barry Biggar, I was appointed to form a Border Tourism Task Force and to recruit a committee of experts from El Paso to Brownsville, a task force that would with depth of understanding address the issues facing the Texas-Mexico border, which I did. On November 28th, the Border Tourism Task Force was formally approved and I was appointed as its Chairman.

I spoke that afternoon with Mariano Castillo, reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, Laredo office, about the importance of the Border Tourism Task Force and he included some of those comments in his article, on November 29th. Because I dared speak with the media, I was asked to resign as the Chairman. In fact, I was told that I would no longer be on the Border Tourism Task Force in any capacity because I had no right as a citizen to speak with the press. Since I did not agree with that decision, I did not resign. My position was civic, not political. I was not a paid staff member. Unlike all the other members of TAC whose transportation and other expenses were covered by their respective employment, I was a volunteer who paid my own expenses to be an active member of TAC. And in no way did I ever forfeit my freedom of speech or press by taking on the task of representing the border region. Because of my refusal to resign, I was never removed or replaced as the Chairman and I continued to serve on the Border Tourism Task Force.

About that time, you manifested my deepest concerns and dread about “Austin’s” position on the border. In order to stay in office, you spent millions of dollars vilifying the Texas border, an area that millions of Texans love.  In your bid for reelection, in you’re your TV ads, you callously used our local Val Verde County Sheriff and my friend, Dwayne Jernigan along with Ziggy Gonzalez, Sheriff of Zapata County, standing on the banks of the Rio Grande to breath fear into North Texans.

In June of 2006, while only the House had passed the Secure Fence Act, you played a game here on the border, in Val Verde County, calling it Operation Del Rio, when you assigned 1000 National Guardsman here. To make yourself look like a successful leader, you had good men like Sheriff Jernigan willfully mislead the media and therefore we the people about the game you played.

You thought you won the game when Sheriff Jernigan publicly praised you for the 76% reduction in homicide and rape over the same period of 2005. The revolting truth is that there was no such homicide and rape in the same period the year before. We who live here easily caught that deceptive tactic. It was all a lie. And the Sheriff did so merely to play the game with the hopes of getting desperately needed funding for the Sheriff’s department.

When the Chief of Police was approached about whether the City of Del Rio was a part of Operation Del Rio, he was incensed that the State…you…did nothing to help the local Police Department, which deals with about 36,000 of our county’s 46,000 total population, further proving the willful misinformation. Nor did you help fund the City PD.

By late September of 2006, the Senate passed the Secure Fence Act and your anti-border rhetoric elevated. You appealed to and relied upon Northern Texans to reelect you in November. To counter your efforts and those of other politicos who would paint the Texas border with Mexico as a zone that should be militarized, I personally walked in protest against the border wall before and after President Bush signed the act. On that walk, we crossed paths in Rio Grande City. I was on foot and you were in your luxurious bus-liner to collect a six digit campaign contribution and you were asked by the media that was following my walk about your opinion on the border wall. You were well quoted by the media as calling it “ludicrous”. Big word for something you now support. While in Mexico, you called it “idiocy”. Little word for something you now think is a grand idea.

Because neither you, nor your Economic Development and Tourism department has ever followed through on the Border Tourism Task Force mission, and to defend the integrity of the Texas-Mexico Border against the “iron curtain” that you think is such a good idea for Texas, this summer, we launched “Hands Across el Rio” an upbeat display of solidarity and friendship between the sister cities from El Paso-Juarez to Brownsville-Matamoros. During those 16 days, we formed human chains of friendship across eleven international pedestrian bridges over the Rio Grande.

Why does is seem that you, as the Governor of the Great State of Texas are an adversary to those of us who live between the checkpoints and the Rio Grande? Our region is not only the poorest in Texas, but the entire United States of America. You would have your agency reopen ASARCO in El Paso. You support the diversion of fresh aquifer waters away from the Rio Grande to your toll road region in Central Texas. You would allow nuclear waste dumps in Sierra Blanca and even in the Rio Grande Valley. Like the Governor before you, you are complicit with the daily suffering of thousands of members of our human family in the proliferation of private “for profit” internment camps, all while you support more militarization of our friendship zone with Mexico.

And why would you denigrate the border region so? Many of us have been looking at the money flow from the companies that would profit from this exploitation and your personal connections to them.

Now, after calling the border wall “ludicrous” and “idiocy”, you now show your ultimate dishonesty and betrayal as the Governor of Texas in supporting the wall and any presidential candidate that would follow through on its construction.

At your Economic Development and Tourism “Summit” two months ago, you stated
“Our rich heritage draws tourists from across the world while our economic development incentives and fair regulatory environment encourage businesses to relocate and expand in Texas. When business is good, the positive effect radiates outward across our communities and benefits all Texans. As we look forward to the new year, 2008 will offer us countless opportunities to tell the story of our state, encourage business growth and welcome visitors from around the world.”

Evidently you didn’t include the Texas-Mexico border with such remarks as “our rich heritage”, inasmuch as a “militarized zone” with an “iron curtain” is not exactly the Texas image that you seem to be referring to when you talk about the “positive effect radiating outward across our communities and benefiting all Texans”. Neither in heart nor in deed, you are obviously not the Governor of this region, otherwise you would radiate our points of view.

As for the Border Tourism Task Force, I have never been removed as Chairman nor have I received notice of such removal. I also note that there have been no recent meetings. While it may be politically incorrect or improper protocol to do so in such a manner, I am calling for a formal emergency meeting of the Task Force to be funded and facilitated by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. If this call for a meeting is denied, I expect a formal explanation as to why. It the Border Tourism Task Force no longer exists, I would like to see the minutes and transcript of the meeting where such a decision may have been made.  

I realize that TAC will be meeting this Wednesday, February 13th, in Austin. As a result, I am copying the current Chairman of TAC, Jorge Franz. I will also be sharing this letter with scores of those who are interested in defending the Texas border with Mexico against the forces that would exploit it, oppress it and violate our ecology, our environment, our heritage, our solidarity, our economy, our friendship and the very principles that make Texas special and America the land of the free.

 I don’t know about you Governor, but I believe in “love your neighbor as yourself”. I also believe in the Golden Rule of “do unto others” as we would have them do unto us. You seem to have lost your way morally and ethically. Millions of Texans along the Rio Grande will make that very clear this year…both in the Texas primaries and in the November elections…as we defend our special region of Texas and of the United States of America from the oppression that “radiates” from your office and similar positions of authority, both in Austin and in Washington.

Very sincerely…

Jay
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Jay J. Johnson-Castro, Sr.
123 Hudson Drive   
Del Rio, Texas 78840