Willacy County Navigation District board welcomes new chairman

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A candidate who campaigned against plans to move commercial cargo through Port Mansfield became chairman of the Willacy County Navigation District board on Wednesday.

Eric Kennedy, 68, of Port Mansfield defeated former board Chairman Chad Kinney on Election Day.

Kennedy won nearly 33% of ballots cast during the four-way race, according to results published by Willacy County. Kinney placed fourth with fewer than 13%.

More than 20 people showed up Wednesday morning to watch Kennedy take his seat on the board.

“We put in a lot of hard work. We spent several weeks going door-to-door in Raymondville and talking to the voters,” Kennedy said. “And had positive reception almost everywhere we went.”

Many people in Raymondville visit Port Mansfield to launch boats, fish off the public piers or simply watch the deer.

“There was a big concern about industrializing the port,” Kennedy said.

Charles R. Johnson, a land developer who served as mayor of Raymondville, pushed Willacy County to build Port Mansfield in the 1940s.

Willacy County borrowed millions to build the port and cut a ship channel through Padre Island.

Port Mansfield opened for business in 1950, but it struggled to attract investment. In 1965, the Wall Street Journal detailed the port’s struggles in a story with the headline: “Port Nowhere.”

“Land transportation links, another lifeblood of a port, are nearly nonexistent. The closest rail line is 30 miles away and the single road to the port is only 18 feet wide — so narrow that when big trucks meet one has to ride the shoulder. Water that would be needed by any industry locating at the port is scarce,” according to the Wall Street Journal article published on July 14, 1965. “What’s more, four established harbors within 90 miles of Port Mansfield are in a far better position to capture what cargo moves in and out of the Rio Grande Valley by water.”

During the next six decades, Port Mansfield became a sleepy fishing town.

The navigation district, which owns the port, handed out long-term leases to people who built retirement homes.

Willacy County, though, still collects a property tax to support the navigation district.

“It is a port before it’s a community. So why I pay taxes — why my constituents pay taxes outside Port Mansfield — is because we’re supposed to have port business,” said Alberto Treviño of Lasara, who serves on the board. “You take away that port business, then you have no right to tax me.”

Treviño said he’s also concerned the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not dredge Port Mansfield if they focus solely on fishing.

“They’ve told us: If you don’t have port business, why should we dredge you?” Treviño said.

The navigation district is trying to bring in new business, Treviño said, without disrupting the community.

Many people, however, remained concerned about the proposal to move commercial cargo through Port Mansfield.

They formed an organization, the Concerned Citizens of Port Mansfield, to push back.

Members started publishing a newspaper, The Willacy County Examiner, and signing up for public comment at navigation district board meetings.

They also backed Kennedy’s campaign.

“I think the biggest problem with commercialization is we’re so far away from everything,” Kennedy said. “We’re not centrally located like Port of Brownsville or Corpus Christi or Port of Houston.”

Kennedy said he’s not opposed to commercial development, but the navigation district needs to focus on projects that make sense for Port Mansfield and be transparent with the community.

“I think we need to really keep the residents involved,” Kennedy said. “And let them know exactly what we’re looking at doing.”