Metro board member Rafael Acosta, an engineer and the owner of Merida's, backs Campos' account. "All I know is I got calls from engineers saying Ms. Maldonado is saying we shouldn't be represented by Marc, that there are other people who could be doing it, like the Hispanic Chamber." But Acosta, like Bruner, is not anxious to get caught in the fallout from faded love. "I don't want to really get in the middle of that. All I know is that when this whole commotion about affirmative action and this contracting program at the city broke out, the Hispanic contractors, engineers, vendors had no one to represent them at City Hall."
Maldonado denies she disrupted the Campos deal. "I think you should call the chamber. There's so much hearsay, and I don't really know what Marc is talking about on a lot of these issues. I just wish he would move on with his life, because we've all moved on." A Press call to the Hispanic Chamber went unreturned.
Meanwhile, Maldonado and Hernandez have opened a new front in the verbal war by signing a contract to work for Republican Robert Eckels' campaign for county judge. Campos says Maldonado, as a port commissioner, has no business working the campaign of a man who, if elected, will be appointing the county's representatives to that body. He also sniped at Hernandez, an Ann Richards' appointee to the now-defunct Texas Dental Commission, for selling out to Republicans.
Maldonado initially denied she was involved in the Eckels campaign. A few days later, Hernandez phoned the Press to acknowledge she and Maldonado had struck an agreement to place Eckels' ads on Spanish-language radio stations.
Hernandez says she's less than impressed with Campos' protestations of partisan purity. "First of all, Betti is a brand new voter and has no political past, if you will," she says. "I was a delegate to the State Democratic Convention. But this is not personal, this is business."
"Marc can say a lot of things," she continues, warming to the subject. "Half a year, baby, half a year, and the guy's still beating his chest, roaring and wanting somebody to listen. I don't understand how someone can carry a grudge for so long. I think it's pretty sexist of him to continue this and to blame everything on what he calls an old love affair. Jesus, I think they have therapy for problems like that."
Campos contends the only problems he has at the moment are named Betti and Lisa. "They're both over there," he laments. "One isn't going to leave me alone because we no longer date. The other because I let her go. They're just taking it out on me. And to go after Paula Arnold, who never did anything to them...."
Campos says he's complained repeatedly to Lanier that "bouncing Betti" is out of control. As for Maldonado, he has this message: "Get on with your life. Don't spend your time messin' with me. I ain't messin' with you. That's the last thing I want to do."
And Campos insists the feud has gone far beyond an ex-lovers' quarrel.
"It's her abuse of power, power that somebody gave her. She needs to cool it, because it's real easy to crash and burn in politics in this community. This Hispanic community does a real good job of cannibalizing each other."
It seems the political cannibals have quite a choice of entrees on their table these days.
