History Repeats Itself For Councilman Hernandez, Now With Harsher Consequences

It’s looking increasingly likely that District 1 Lubbock City Councilman Victor Hernandez will be removed from the council due to back taxes.

In an interview with the local newspaper, Hernandez claimed that this entire debacle is payback because he asked questions, particularly about the municipal power utility.

I’m inclined to disagree, because Hernandez has been through this before. The same issue arose when he was on the council in 2002, back when the definition of indebtedness to the City was not as clearly defined as it is today.

Hernandez also lamented the fact that his district could be without representation during the likely-upcoming special election for the District 1 seat. While it might make it seem like Hernandez is more concerned with the district, the blame should rest solely with himself.

Hernandez knew that he owed the city back taxes for the building when he ran for the office, and he’s previously dealt with a storm of problems from prior tax transgressions. If the citizens of District 1 should cast aspersions upon anyone over this incident, it should be at Hernandez. His likely removal from office is his own fault, and the shuffling of blame from his own bank account to the political agendas of others is far-fetched, to say the least.

I find this to be a shame, since Councilman Hernandez asked many excellent questions while seated on the dais, and appeared to be a fairly reasonable representative for his district. It just appears that he is unwilling to learn from his mistakes, and history is repeating itself, albeit with much harsher consequences now.

If he chooses to settle up with the tax office and run again in the special election, perhaps Hernandez will finally learn that you have to pay up to play with the council.