Observations

PHARR – Outdoor events are always tricky. Especially in  the spring season. Will it rain orwon’t it? Well, last Friday night, not  only did it rain on Pharr’s annual Hub Phestival (HubPhest), butrain would be an understatement. It poured buckets. Now the question remains: was the twoday event a success or a failure? Given the fact that there’s a heated political campaign going on in this city at present, leading up to the May 9th election that will decide the mayor and three commissioners, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there are two differing opinions. The city manager, Fred  Sandoval, who is being tied to the incumbents (the Pharr First slate) by the opposition (Pharr Forward) says this  year’s HubPhest was indeed a success. The city had done  its due diligence – Outdoor Events 101 as he calls it. The city bought an insurance policy to cover inclement weather,should it occur, and even given the bad weather Friday and a relatively dark sky Saturday that threatened rain well into the night, approximately 33,000  people still showed up to enjoy the music and other assorted entertainment over the course of the two-day event.“In the end,” Sandoval, said,“after all the numbers are finally tallied, the city may have even made a little money off of this year’s HubPhest.” Meanwhile, the Pharr Forward slate, led by candidate for mayor,  Ambrosio “Amos” Hernandez,  called the rain-soaked grounds the site of yet another “failure on the part of Pharr.”  Unfortunately for those eager to participate in the  estivities, ineffective leadership, poor planning, and inclement weather has turned the Pharr HubPhest into a ‘Mud Mess,’ amassive failure after the event’s  first night,” said Hernandez. “Torrential downpours, a poor parking plan, and a lack of a backup plan for rain led to the cancellation of the evening’s opening concert with country star Easton Corbin.” Sandoval, however, denies the city didn’t have a backup plan. “That’s why we buy insurance," he said. “Plus, we went into this thing with $190,000 budgeted. And that’s  what we spent: a hundred thousand dollars from the city; $50,000 from the PEDC and Hotel/Bridge (revenues and taxes) and another $40,000 in in-kind dollars (city workers working volunteer hours etc.).” The insurance was for approximately $200,000, which helped make up for the washedout Friday night concert and loss  of concert-goers, who mainly add to the event’s revenue stream by the amount of food and beverages they purchase on site. But as of Saturday afternoon, Amos Hernandez wasn’t buying Sandoval’s rosy outlook. “Today, over 20 vehicles remained stuck in the mud at the event parking site andslowly continue to be rescued, attendance remains sparse, traffic control is chaotic, and numerous food and beverage vendors are disappointed in the outcome of the festival that they thought would be a lucrative opportunity. And rain is forecast to continue today on its second and last day. The event’s headliner act, “El Tigres del Norte,” should perform this evening; the performance cost the city greater than $110,000.” Fortunately the Saturday  night rains stayed away, for themost part, and the headliner – El Tigre del Norte was able to take the stage. Hernandez’s opponent for mayor, current incumbent Mayor Pro Tem Adan Farias, said, “You can’t control Mother Nature. But we did have the coverage we needed. And the cook-off Saturday was huge, considering that in 2009, we started with about 27 cook-off teams. This year, we had 92 signed up, and about 82 showed up to cook. So, all in all, I think it was a success, despite Friday night’s weather.” This race pits Pharr First incumbents against the challengers, Pharr Forward, but it’s clear that the city manager has found himself in the middle of the campaign fight. In fact, in the Pharr Forward political ads,the city manager is mentioned quite a lot, right alongside the  Pharr First candidates, as if they’re one and the same. “Based on prior history, such as the nearly $300,000 lost in another concert last year, Fred Sandoval obviously lacks the leadership qualities and proper management skills required to make sound financial decisions for the city,” Hernandez said in a written press release sent out over the weekend. Asked later why he was including the city manager in his campaign rhetoric, Hernandez said, “It’s nothing personal with Fred. I just think that a city manager should remain neutral in an election. He shouldn’t be having campaign signs in his office from the other side (Pharr First), and he shouldn’t be out there wearing a t-shirt that says Pharr First on it. I just don’t think that’s professional. And I don’t think it’s the job of a citymanager to get involved in a political race that involves the  city in which he works.” sked to respond to Hernandez’s statements, Sandoval denied this year’s HubPhest was a failure. “I think when everything is added up, we may even have made a little money this year,” he said. And he denied Hernandez’s charge that he’s sporting Pharr First campaign material in his city manager’s office. But isn’t it true that he’s actively supporting their slate? And if so, why? “Well, I’d say a couple of things,” Sandoval said. “Number one is, I’ve got to work with these folks, and they’re currently elected officials. And it’s very hard to draw the line. If he can tell me how to do it, I’d listen to him (Hernandez). But you tellme how I draw the line between  Adan Farias the mayoral candidate and Adan Farias the ayor pro tem currently serving   n the board. How do I draw that line? He (Hernandez) needs to walk a mile in my shoes to figure out how that works. You want to sit there, and depending on which  side of the fence you’re looking at, it looks like I’m catering to these guys or not. But the fact  remains, they’re the incumbents,and I have to work with them.  And I would afford him the same  courtesy and respect if he ever got elected. What I do after 5 o’clock, I don’t know if he or anyone else can infringe on that. I’ve never been invited to a Pharr Forward  event, and they’ve never talked  to me about my vote, because I do vot  here.”