No Vacancy

San Juan City Commissioners reject the plan to buy the San Juan Hotel at Tuesday night's meeting, Hector Gomez at RGV Politics reports.

Both RGV Politics and the San Juanistas noted from the beginning how this deal stunk:

• PSJA school board member Roy Rodriguez bought the structure. The hotel was appraised at less than $275,000.
• Once Rodriguez couldn't get rid of the building, he wanted San Juan taxpayers to take the bad investment off his hands for $575,000.
• The two then-commissioners who pushed his plan at meetings, Rick Rodriguez and Pete Contreras, work for the PSJA school district (that is, the hotel owner is the two commissioners' boss).

The community activists played a big role in holding their elected officials accountable by protesting the purchase. They made the hotel an election issue, causing a shift in power with the May 13 election.

As Hector Gomez wrote, "This is one case where if we're promised more of the same after tonight's meeting, it's definitely a step in the right direction."