HERNANDEZ: “IT IS MY INTENTION TO CONTINUE TO SERVE…TO CONTINUE TO QUESTION”

District 1 constituents were there to support the council member they voted for and the one they want to represent them. Even two of his political colleagues and current office holders were there; as was his parish Priest, surely there to ask for some Divine intervention on his behalf.
But what they all seemed to be asking by their presence is “why”? Why all of a sudden had their councilman and friend come under attack for something that has been known since before he was elected?
Perhaps they were there to ask for political fairness; or maybe that would be too much to ask for?
After a two hour executive session, the Lubbock City Council voted to leave it up to the legal system to decide if the will of the voters in District 1 will be respected and upheld or overturned. The fact that Hernandez had paid the taxes in question before Tuesday’s meeting didn’t seem to matter to the rest of the council.
Why did this become an issue now?
The looming legal battle stems from the recycled news this past week that District 1 council member Victor Hernandez was in arrears on his hefty property tax bill owed to the Lubbock Central Appraisal District or LCAD. Only this time, it was tied to what the city charter says about indebtedness to the city.
To be sure, not a new news story, since news reports had revealed prior to the May 2010 City Elections that Hernandez had an outstanding balance. During that election campaign, Hernandez confirmed that he was in fact in arrears and had entered into a payment arrangement to make payments to the LCAD until the tax bill was paid.
And once the situation was reported back then it seemed as if it was a non issue to the voters of District 1; both during the regular election and the subsequent runoff between Hernandez and Glen Robertson.
And if it was an issue to any other Lubbock entity, organization, media, or anyone else for that matter; it wasn’t enough of an issue for anyone to bring it up or challenge Hernandez’s legal standing to run for office.
Coincidentally, it was also reported at the time that Glen Robertson was also in arrears on one of the properties tax records show he owned. Robertson paid his tax ...