Moments ago, the Hidalgo County Elections Department updated the election results. Voters approved a $100,000,000 bond to strengthen our levee system and make improvements to our drainage systems. The need for flood protection became apparent in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Those residents of the Rio Grande Valley old enough to remember know that we are prone to flooding after being hit by a hurricane many years back.
The votes for the bond totaled 22,302 versus 17,181 against. Suprisingly, 8,434 people did not vote for or against the proposal. Thankfully, enough people voted for the plan to ensure the safety of lives and reduce the damage to property.
I agree that $100,000,000 is a lot of money. In fact, I have no doubt that some of that will be misspent given the susceptibility to corruption and cronyism in the RGV. However, it's way too much money for any small group of people to get away with stealing. I hope that the size of the bond is so huge that even with the misappropriations there will be work done to secure our safety and investments.
We had more to lose in terms of lives and financial well being had we not taken this action. I dare say that the financial losses could have been in the billions. In Mission, where I live, there are plenty of $200,000 homes within a mile or two of the river. In fact, some genius developer decided to make these homes between the levees and the Rio Grande.
Back to my main point, I'm amazed that people would vote against or would abstain from voting on such an important matter. I suppose I should be grateful that those who abstained did so, because if they had joined the against column, our security would not be assured.
Comments