On the Kyle Report Smell-O-Meter, this measures Eviscerated Decomposed Body

A little more than two months ago I posted an article in the Kyle Report that began: "I may be in the minority here but, still, I don’t like the idea that the City of Kyle is using taxpayer resources to promote a pair of privately owned athletic teams that are so completely irrelevant even the local newspaper doesn’t report on them."

I didn’t push the issue after I wrote that. I figured I had made my point in that article and I let it rest. Besides, at three quarters of a century in age, I’m way too old to launch a crusade of any kind. So I let it rest.

But I can’t do that any longer — not after reading this story in the current Hays Free Press. While the story appears, to me at least, to be celebrating the fact that council member Daphne Tenorio owns the Kyle Stallions semi-pro basketball team, it sets off all kinds of alarm bells in me.

The most obvious one, of course, is what role, if any. did she play in the city’s decision to promote the Stallions on its website and in its weekly newsletters? This question is important because the obvious result of such a promotion would compel persons who otherwise might know about this enterprise (like I wrote earlier, except for this week’s article, the local newspaper does not cover the Stallions, does not cover their games, doesn’t even include the current ABA standings in its sports section) to purchase tickets to watch the team play. And purchasing tickets provides income for the team’s owner(s).

But that is not the only questions I have. Has she used her position as a member of the city council to in any way, shape or form, to influence any area private businesses to make sponsorship donations of some sort to the Stallions? This is a semi-pro team which usually means players do not receive salaries; the normal means of compensating a semi-pro athlete is through employment agreements. Has council member Tenorio used her influence as a city council member to gain employment for anyone on her team?

I’m not formally accusing her of anything, I’m just asking the questions and I know I can’t trust getting any truthful answers from anyone directly involved. That’s why I’m hoping someone — perhaps even the county district attorney’s office — will look into the matter. In fact, I’m insisting some form of independent investigation be launched to look into all of this.

Here’s why: Section 39.06 (a) of the Texas Penal Code reads "A public servant commits an offense if, in reliance on information to which the public servant has access by virtue of the person’s office or employment and that has not been made public, the person (1) acquires or aids another to acquire a pecuniary interest in any property, transaction, or enterprise that may be affected by the information." Violation of this section is a third degree felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine (although I would fully expect a local elected official found guilty of anything related to the issues I’ve spelled out above to receive a probated sentence).

But the city needs to know if someone on its council, someone who represents the city with other municipalities, someone who is listed as the head of the Association of Hispanic Municipal Officials for the Texas Municipal League, has committed a felonious act. By the same token, our citizens need to be reassured that her ownership of the team represents absolutely no conflict of interest, if that is indeed the truth.

In either case, the City must act quickly, either by authorizing an independent investigation (the preferable option because it would be viewed as the least biased) or, at the very least, conducting a thorough investigation of its own. The City must realize two courts are sitting in judgment here and one — perhaps the most important one — is the court of public opinion. If our city leaders want to be retreated with respect we must be assured they are completely above approach. This situation gives the city somewhat of a black eye and as I told my former clients who used to hire me when they were dealing with crisis situations: "Bad news is like dead fish; it doesn’t smell better with age." And as I tried to suggest in the headline of this article, this smells putrid. Therefore, the sooner it’s dealt with, the better it will be for everyone involved.

One more thing about all this that troubles me. The Kyle Stallions play their home games in the Lehman High School gymnasium. Tenorio’s husband, Willie, is a member of the Hays CISD school board.

Coincidence? Personally, I don’t believe that much in coincidences.