Tom Whitehurst

Noyola did his math, got Dodge reappointed

Mid-March was much earlier than the Nueces County Commissioners Court normally considers port appointments, but Precinct 2 Commissioner David Noyola pressed the issue anyway.
   Port commissioner Bill Dodge, starting the last year of his second three-year term, had sent letters to all members of the court, asking for reappointment. Early on, it was clear to insiders that Dodge would have the votes of Commissioners Joe McComb and Frank Schwing, and wouldn't have the votes of Commissioner Oscar Ortiz and County Judge Richard Borchard. Noyola was seen as the wild card.
   But if Noyola was the question mark, he erased it when he insisted that the appointment be included on the court's March 14 agenda. Getting Dodge reappointed would take more than a month. The biggest minefield was the allegation that Dodge's new insurance company partnership with Tomas Duran, who was the port's health insurance broker, was a conflict of interest.
   Dodge answered the questions to the port's and county's eventual satisfaction, showing that his contract with Duran excluded him from Duran's pre-existing clientele, including the port.
   Dodge emerged with his reappointment, but the partnership with Duran fell victim to the controversy generated by the conflict allegations, and by the port finance committee's extensive questioning of Duran's port contract.
   Noyola, meanwhile, emerged as the leader and engineer of the reappointment. If that was a surprise, the reason for the surprise was the longstanding perception that Borchard controlled the port appointments. Borchard insists that he's only one vote among five, but others were quick to credit him with consistently being able to count to three.
   If that was so in years past, this time Noyola was the math whiz. Learning to count to three was the most important lesson he learned from the brief course given to county commissioners at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, he said.
   Noyola said he pressed the issue because Dodge deserved reappointment, and didn't deserve the attacks on his character. Also, Noyola said, a clear signal had to be sent that recent strife on the Port Commission needs to end.
   "He did a great job as chairman of the board. They were attacking this guy left and right when there was no conflict of interest, in my opinion. We needed to put this to rest and let the port get to the business of the port.
   "Plus, we needed to clear the water and help this community stop being divided. Right now they're jeopardizing the ability of any new business coming to the port. We needed to consider the reappointment right now so we could reunite the board and bring in companies that would come to Corpus Christi instead of Galveston and Houston. Put yourself in the position of a business: Would you want to deal with the Port of Corpus Christi right now? I wouldn't. We need to put a stop to that."
   Among those who were pleased with Noyola's actions were the members of the Port Industries of Corpus Christi, who wanted Dodge reappointed. They had felt that their gentle reminders that they are the primary source of port revenue, and that therefore their opinions should count for something, were going unheeded.
   Now, Noyola said, it's time for the council to act. City appointee Kenneth Berry, chairman of the finance committee that scrutinized Duran's contract, is in the last year of his term. The city could send a message, either by reappointing Berry or, as Noyola said he'd prefer, appointing just about anyone else.
   "We need to move forward. I called Mayor Loyd Neal and told him, 'It's your responsibility.' He needs to count to five." (The council has nine members.)
   "Show me the leadership he showed with Packery Channel and those bond elections. If not, the clock is running and companies will go somewhere else."
   Neal said last week that there are no plans at the moment to accelerate the council's decision on a port appointee. Councilman Rex Kinnison said the council needs to show some patience with the Port Commission and at least see how the next port meeting, which is Tuesday, goes. Councilman John Longoria confirmed that there's no movement afoot to accelerate the appointment but said he'd welcome the chance to replace Berry.
   "There's no real argument why we need to delay this," Longoria said. "You either want him or you don't. I know my mind is made up. I don't know who I want, but I know I don't want him back."
  

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