Communities Unlimited (CU) is an organization that provides technical assistance and loans to underserved communities. Between 2023 and 2027, CU is scheduled to receive $595,000 in grant funding from the Texas Department of Agriculture to provide planning and assessment services for colonias in Presidio County. I became aware of CU through my volunteer role in coordinating efforts to obtain funding for water and wastewater infrastructure throughout the county, including colonias like Shafter and Candelaria. The county created a steering committee to identify the needs and worked with grant writer Bill Moriarty to apply for funding from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The county also received generous technical assistance from Water Finance Exchange and the Environmental Defense Fund.
During the initial phase of CU’s involvement in Presidio County, Tony Manriquez worked as the local consultant for several months in early 2023. Before taking that job, Mr. Manriquez had worked as the water operator for the Candelaria Public Water Supply Corporation for about three years, ending in early 2023. A water operator is licensed to collect water samples and maintain water systems to keep them in compliance with the law. There are about a half dozen licensed water operators in all of Presidio County.
Candelaria’s water system has received thousands of dollars in federal and state penalties for noncompliance going back several years, and the system currently has no water operator. The most viable solution to address this and many other issues affecting the county’s colonias was to form a Utility Services Board (USB). I volunteered to organize the first USB meeting and immediately found myself neck-deep in efforts to help Candelaria. I contacted various regulatory authorities, formulated a plan to stop future fines, and identified a local donor to potentially cover the cost of a water operator for Candelaria for the rest of 2024, if necessary.
At the inaugural meeting of the USB, someone asked about Christina Hernandez, Mr. Manriquez’s successor as the local Communities Unlimited representative. Nobody seemed to have heard from her in months, and I had sent her emails that went unanswered. I proceeded to ridicule Ms. Hernandez in this public forum by stating that she was flakey like a pie crust. In this instance, as in many others, I was wrong, and I apologize.
To my surprise, Ms. Hernandez was on the call. She justifiably expressed her dismay at my comment and contacted me immediately following the meeting to figure out how to constructively move forward. After a brief phone call, during which I treated her very rudely, she invited me to a Zoom meeting with her colleagues, Kurt Grant and Rebecca Manriquez-Fuentes.
During that call, Mr. Grant stated that Tony Manriquez had been a valuable local asset to CU and had done a lot of work for the organization. I rashly interrupted him with air quotes around the word “working” to indicate that I disagreed. I stated that Mr. Manriquez had failed to help me with some missing water use surveys for Candelaria from the years 2021 and 2023. The TWDB was demanding these documents before it would approve more funding to resolve the issues plaguing Candelaria. I described how I felt he had strung me along for weeks, only to suddenly say that he didn’t have time to complete the surveys. In retrospect, I realize I was blaming Mr. Manriquez for my own stress in this overwhelming situation. Mr. Manriquez has a full-time job and is caring for his wife, who is suffering from a serious illness. It is not my place to question his decisions, and I was out of line. It was wrong of me to malign his work for Communities Unlimited, and I am sorry.
As I continued to run my mouth on the Zoom call, I stated that Mr. Manriquez did a poor job as water operator for Candelaria because he had gotten into the habit of leaving the sampling containers at people’s houses instead of collecting the water samples himself. I was repeating what I had heard from a single Candelaria resident. I was wrong to accuse Mr. Manriquez of doing a poor job as water operator, and I am sorry.
At some point, Ms. Manriquez-Fuentes interrupted me to state that Mr. Manriquez is her brother. Needless to say, the Zoom call ended badly, greatly undermining a partnership that could benefit the most disadvantaged residents of Presidio County. This was my fault, and I apologize for my arrogant and irresponsible behavior.
Although there is no excuse for how I acted, this is a classic case of too many irons in the fire: I was confronted with problems that have been decades in the making and found myself taking on more and more work to try to solve them. I perceived others as unwilling to help and began to blame those individuals for my stress and overwork. Rather than recognizing my own limitations, I allowed the pressure to reach a point where I lashed out. Mr. Manriquez is very good at recognizing his personal needs, drawing the necessary boundaries and sticking to them. I could learn from this example.
It was wrong of me to insult Ms. Hernandez, it was wrong of me to attack Mr. Manriquez, and it was plain boneheaded to trash-talk him on a Zoom call with his sister. My irrational behavior has cost me friends and won me enemies. While I hope that one day this will be water under the bridge, I know that there are those who will never trust me again. All I can do is own my actions and express my deepest regret. I was wrong and I sincerely apologize for the hurt I have caused.