Nogales politics: 1-man show?

Signs, signs, everywhere are signs. They’ve been put up at the request of Mayor Octavio Garcia-Von Borstel.

The latest is a banner over the main west entrance to city hall proclaiming the “Mayor’s Drug Free Zone.” While it lists two of the council members who regularly vote and support the mayor, their four other colleagues, who regularly oppose the mayor, are not.

Among others, the banner includes the names of the three county supervisors, the Nogales and Santa Cruz County schools superintendents, county attorney, leaders of the city’s firefighter and police unions, the police chief, county sheriff, the Nogales and Rio Rico fire chiefs and this writer.

The mayor, who asked that they sign a drug-free commitment contract, selected the persons unilaterally.

“This is my call; an initiative from my office,” Garcia-Von Borstel said.

In an interview, Councilwoman Olga Valdez said she questioned the mayor about why her and her council colleagues’ names were not on the banner.

“He told me that he was planning to add more names and another banner, and that he would add me later,” she said. “I told him, ‘No thank you. I don’t want my name on that banner. I don’t need this kind of publicity.’”

Besides feeling slighted, Valdez said it is a waste of taxpayers’ money and serves no practical purpose.

Councilwoman Esther Melendez-Lopez agreed.

“If this is a drug-free zone, I believe we as a council should insist that everyone who works in city hall be tested for (illegal) drug use,” she said.

Garcia-Von Borstel said, “Here is an example of us trying to put out a positive message to the youth of our community and then having people trying to convert it into a negative.

“There’s nothing to it. All those who signed �- committed to being positive role models and be free from drug use,” he said. “What can be wrong with that?”

Another sign is near the junction of Exit 8 and Grand Avenue on private property.

On the sign funded by city tax dollars, the mayor welcomes travelers to Nogales. No mention of the rest of the council.

Questioned about the propriety of placing what is technically a city-government-owned sign on private property, Deputy City Manager John E. Kissinger said all legal requirements were met including a signed agreement with the property owner.

“I’ve traveled to a lot of cities and one of the things I see is signs welcoming visitors by the mayor,” Garcia-Von Borstel said. “An example is Chicago.

“According to the City Charter, I represent the city and council and serve as representative and spokesperson for the City of Nogales.”

Council members also are not listed on a bronze plaque destined to be erected at the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant to commemorate a $60 million expansion project completed in July.

Sources say originally the plaque was to name each council member, but that Garcia-Von Borstel had his colleagues scrapped.

Not only were the council members scratched out, there is also no mention of other mayors or their administrations who worked to get the necessary federal funding going back at least to the tenure of Mayor Cesar Rios.

Last month, Garcia-Von Borstel dipped into the “Outreach Fund” to publish full-page advertisements in this newspaper to tout some of the highlights that have occurred during his administration. While the ads do cite “The City of Nogales” there is no reference to the city council.