Another round of Who is?

We looked at some support letters written for the current mayor and asked, WHO is...

Oscar Trevino -
Current Mayor of North Richland Hills and well, read other info below.

In the daily paper in February he was mentioned prominently. Since the link to the story was "not found" and the length of the story was considerable, we'll just share the highlights we found online elsewhere. Although this brings up so many more questions of WHO???

After committing more than a quarter of a million dollars in lobbying fees for a major transportation bill, North Texas officials are asking suburban cities to step up with more money to push the legislation "over the goal line."

Fort Worth, Arlington and the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition have agreed to pay HillCo $275,000 for its transportation lobbying efforts. The coalition and Fort Worth approved separate contracts of $100,000 each, while Arlington authorized $75,000.

"We need the participation of our region's suburban cities to muster the resources we need to achieve success," said the letter from Mayors Ken Shetter of Burleson and Oscar Trevino of North Richland Hills. Shetter is coalition chairman and Trevino, a former chairman, is on the executive committee.

In the letter, the mayors proclaimed a "good start" on behalf of the funding bill but said "it is going to take a monumental effort to get us over the goal line. ... While smaller cities can't match the large commitments Fort Worth and Arlington have made, we can and should do our part."

HillCo, formed in 1998 by consultant Bill Miller and former state Rep. Neal "Buddy" Jones, has well-established ties in North Texas. In addition to its work on the transportation issue, the firm also promotes the legislative agendas of a dozen towns and cities, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Dallas, North Richland Hills, Burleson, Southlake, Irving and Denton.

The state government is prohibited from using public money for lobbying services, but the prohibition does not extend to cities, said Tim Sorrells, a spokesman for the Texas Ethics Commission. City officials say professional on-the-ground lobbyists are vital to help cities with their legislative needs, although some taxpayer advocates criticize the expenditure of tax money to private lobbying firms.

Shetter said coalition officials considered other firms but agreed that HillCo, with its track record for success, had the best chance of reversing North Texas' fortunes from the previous legislative session. "You want sort of the biggest, baddest partner you can get," the Burleson mayor said.

Fort Worth is finalizing its $100,000 transportation contract to HillCo after it was approved by the City Council on Tuesday, said Reid Rector, the city's director of governmental relations.

The fee for transportation lobbying, he said, is separate from Fort Worth's $93,000 contract with HillCo to represent the city's other legislative issues in Austin, Rector said.

Shetter and Trevino said the ultimate cost of the lobbying effort on the transportation bill has not been determined. "We're talking about millions of dollars of economic development," Shetter said.

Although elected officials also participate in the effort and make contact with lawmakers, Miller said, HillCo is "quarterbacking the play" and directing strategy." "We have to persuade people to support it, to find ways to make it attractive to them," he said. "Or to persuade them that their opposition is unwarranted. It's a classic lobby deal."