b'use the assets of the City of Corpus Christi, specifically paid staff, in efforts to strong- Where they could not be farther apart politically, Blackard and Canales found arm and intimidate those who criticize his actions in office or who dont line up be- unity in their shared Lincolnesque Cabinet of Rivals philosophy, and after the hind what he wants. It was reported to us by a reliable, confidential source, that ChipCounty Judge became actively involved in bringing the North Beach redevelopment Urban, whose family engineering firm has done work for the City for generations, wasplan to fruition, the entire effort took a giant leap forward.told by Director of Engineering Jeff Edmunds, after the October 29th presentation,Working with North Beach Task Force Chairman Carolyn Vaughn, who is the that if he did not inflate his cost estimates for the canal on North Beach, that City con- Precinct One Nueces County Commissioner, Canales led unanimous votes in favor tracts for Urban Engineering would undergo peer review, i.e., they could lose businessof the North Beach TIRZ and for the project itself, securing $250,000 for permitting from the City. The editor of this very publication received an anonymous phone call,costs related to the canal. Canales and Vaughn called a joint City/County workshop, inquiring about, who we are, exactly, at 7:00 p.m. on the night of a World Series gameopen to the public, on December 5th at the Convention Center, which was attended in October, from senior City staffer Arlene Medrano, on the day we published an edito- by all relevant elected officials, including the Mayor, and in which a competition rial critical of the Mayors leadership. Your tax dollars at work, folks! emerged between naysayers and those least interested in seeing the North Beach While it became clear to all on the inside of the canal negotiations that May- plan actually happen, a very small group, versus everyone else. or McComb is as dishonest privately as he is publicly, the strategy of concessionCity staff, led by Van Vleck, painted a bleak picture of the projects viability by those who want to achieve a Grand Canal on North Beach was abandoned bybased on costs and permitting challenges, and Judge Canales, as gracious and gen-the first week of December. At that point, it was time to step up the pressure, anderous an elected official as you will ever meet, eventually took a chastising tone Frazier-Blackard and their fellow North Beach property owners would get over thein explaining to City Council members and staff about all the potential sources of finish line with the help of their most dedicated and hardest-working supporters funding that were out there, if they would only look. From the Texas General Land those who shared their vision for Corpus Christis unmet potential. Office, to federal BP oil spill recovery funds, to Hurricane Harvey grants, money was out there. The one leader whom we coined, The Mayor of the Coastal Bend, proved THE TURNING POINT us right, once againand most strikingly in projecting a shadow upon the elected Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales and Jeff Blackard are political polar-opposites.Mayor of Corpus Christis contrasting example of casting insincere votes to appease She is a lifelong Democrat with the deepest of deep roots in civil rights activism, dat- the masses, while working against those very votes behind the scenes.ing back to her grand-uncle, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, and her grandmother, Dr. ClotildeThe following Tuesday, December 10th, after numerous public statements by P. Garcia. Her father, Tony Canales, is a close friend of and attorney for former Dem- Jeff Blackard about the urgency of funding the Grand Canal by the end of the year, in ocratic candidate for Governor of Texas, Tony Sanchez, Jr., of Laredo. Jeff Blackardorder to meet a deadline for Federal Opportunity Zone funds in support of the $45 was an organizer and fundraiser for former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorumsmillion Frazier Hotel, a vote on an ordinance for full City funding of the canal made two campaigns for the Republican nomination for president, played a pivotal roleit onto the Council agenda.in the ascent of Senator Ted Cruz, and gets his calls returned by every RepublicanWhile virtually all Blackards political advisors discouraged him from pushing leader in State of Texas government, top-down.a full City funding vote for the Grand Canal so quickly, a few understood that the 58 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEQ2.2020 TheCoastalBend.com'