A new political era: Lucio bows out, LaMantia survives recount
The year 2022 witnessed the close of a South Texas political era as state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. wound down his final year in office representing Dist. โForty-eight years is a long journey in the political arena,โ Lucio told the Brownsville Herald in October. He recalled that when he became state representative in 1987 Lucio was representing just Brownsville, though when Lucio became senator he was responsible for Cameron and Hidalgo counties โ until redistricting. 27 will be Democrat Morgan LaMantia, a South Padre Island resident and attorney employed by her familyโs business, McAllen-based L&F Distributors. The results of the recount did not change the outcome of the election, but netted 73 more votes for LaMantia and 55 more for her opponent in Cameron County.
myrgv.comLaMantia, Hinojosa outcome up in the air: Insufficient data from Secretary of State clouds raceโs outcome
With only 63 of the 300 precincts in Texas Senate District 27, Republican Adam Hinojosa was leading Democrat Morgan LaMantia as of press time Tuesday night, though it wasnโt clear what the outcome would be. While Hinojosa far outpaced LaMantia in counties such as Kleberg and San Patricio, LaMantia had an edge over Hinojosa in the Rio Grande Valley. Unofficial results from Cameron County showed LaMantia with 54.6 percent of the vote to Hinojosaโs 45.4 percent with 88.1 percent of precincts reporting. In Hidalgo County, LaMantia had 63.2 percent of the vote to 36.7 for Hinojosa with 82.3 percent of precincts reporting. In the District 20 state Senate race, with only 7 of 299 precincts reporting Democratic incumbent Sen. Juan โChuyโ Hinojosa was ahead of Republican challenger Westley Wright by 60.2 percent to 39.8 percent, according to the Texas Secretary of State.
myrgv.comBlue Tie Day
SAN BENITO โ County officials issued a proclamation Monday designating June 13 as โBlue Tie Dayโ to remind and encourage men to be aware of preventable health problems by getting regular check-ups. The event at the county annex building followed Fridayโs Blue Tie Day event of 5K and one-mile runs at Lon C. Hill Park, along with a Walk With Your Sweetie one-mile trek. โWeโre asking you today to focus on Blue Tie Day and obviously make the men in your life and each of us aware of our own mortality, and pay attention to the signs and signals that we have in our lives and not take them for granted,โ County Judge Eddie Treviรฑo Jr. said. โIn 2019, I offered Senate Bill 430 which designated June 13 as Blue Tie Day,โ Lucio said. โI chose the color blue because blue is the color associated with the birth of a baby boy.
myrgv.comCameron County officials drive home menโs health concerns with Blue Tie Day
SAN BENITO โ County officials issued a proclamation this morning designating June 13 as โBlue Tie Dayโ to remind and encourage men to be aware of preventable health problems by getting regular check-ups. The event at the county annex building followed Fridayโs Blue Tie Day event of 5K and and one-mile runs at Lon C. Hill Park, along with a Walk With Your Sweetie one-mile trek. โIn 2019, I offered Senate Bill 430 which designated June 13 as Blue Tie Day,โ Lucio said. โI chose the color blue because blue is the color associated with the birth of a baby boy. So when he got to the doctor, it was so advanced that we lost him shortly after that.โ[email protected]
myrgv.comDays from Melissa Lucio execution, prosecutors chart two different paths regarding death penalty
Days ahead of the scheduled execution of Melissa Lucio, advocates continue to pressure Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution warrant. When Gonzalez became district attorney, he did not have a set position about the death penalty. โAs I got educated and wanted to learn about the death penalty, I started to evolve my stance on it,โ Gonzalez said. According to Death Penalty Action, more than 8,000 letters have been sent to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. However, Gonzalez is less optimistic about how successfully that faith pans out for death penalty trials and appeals.
myrgv.comHinojosa reappointed to powerful state finance committee
Dan Patrick announced Wednesday that he once again appointed Hinojosa as vice chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which allocates the stateโs budget. Governor Patrick has entrusted me with the important responsibility of serving on the Senate Finance Committee as vice chair,โ Hinojosa said Wednesday. Eddie Lucio has dedicated his life to public service,โ Hinojosa said when Lucio announced his retirement. Patrick, himself, pointed to Lucioโs willingness to break party lines when Lucio announced his retirement. As vice chair, Hinojosa will help craft the budget for the ninth largest economy in the world.
myrgv.comClear majority needed: Local state legislative seats set for runoffs
The Democratic Partyโs nomination for State Senator District 27 and House District 37 will be decided in a runoff election May 24, after no candidate in either race drew a clear majority of votes in Tuesdayโs primary elections.
myrgv.comDems face runoff election; Hinojosa leads GOP in Senate 27
HARLINGEN โ The race to replace long-time state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. was too close to call late Tuesday night for both Democrats and Republicans seeking to take his spot in State Senate District 27. All the vote totals from the Texas Secretary of Stateโs office and Cameron County are unofficial. The 27th Senate District is regarded as competitive between the two parties but Democrats have a rating of D-57 percent in the Texas Partisan Index. Among Republicans in Cameron County, with 58 percent of precincts reporting, Hinojosa had 3,374 votes, or 45.5 percent, Torres had 2,682 votes, or 36 percent, and Salinas had 1,374 votes, or 18.5 percent. Lucio announced his retirement from the state Senate last November after first being elected to the office in 1990.
myrgv.comTexas leads off primary season
Tuesday is primary Election Day in Texas as the Lone Star State leads off the 2022 primary election season with the nationโs first primary. Texas is an open primary state, meaning voters can declare their party preference when they vote. โWeโre hoping that the early voting turnout is a good indication that weโre going to have a good turnout on Election Day. For State House District 37, which includes all of Harlingen and a portion of Brownsville, the Democratic candidates are Ruben Cortez, Luis Villarreal Jr. and Frank Puente. In State House District 38, Democratic candidates are Erin Elizabeth Garza and Jonathan Gracia.
myrgv.comMoody Clinic celebrates 70 years
The Moody Clinic, a Brownsville institution providing therapy services to special-needs children since 1952, on a blustery Monday morning celebrated 70 years in operation as well as the occasion of joining the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce. โItโs the only nonprofit outpatient rehabilitative clinic for special-needs children in the Lower Rio Grande Valley,โ Tumlinson said. โToday we are in a new chapter for Moody Clinic,โ she said. โWe consider ourselves the leading outpatient rehabilitative clinic in our community. โฆ Our standards have never wavered from being the best outpatient rehabilitative clinic in all South Texas.โ
myrgv.comDem candidates vie for District 27 nomination
The four Democratic candidates running for their partyโs nomination in the District 27 race for state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.โs old seat listed the districtโs assets along with their qualifications and ideas to meet its challenges during a candidatesโ forum Wednesday night at the VentureX shared working space in Brownsville.
myrgv.comState Rep. Alex Dominguez will run to replace retiring state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. in high-stakes Democratic primary
Lucio is retiring from the Rio Grande Valley seat, and Dominguez wants to continue his legacy of focusing on education in the region. But he suggested he would take a different approach to at least a couple issues, including abortion.
Stapleton Barrera announces another bid for Senate District 27
Constitutional trial lawyer and government reform activist Sara Stapleton Barrera announced earlier this month she is once again running for Senate District 27 in the 2022 Democratic Texas Primary. Stapleton Barrera will travel to Austin this weekend to officially file for the seat. โThere is much to be done in restoring equality of laws without discrimination and in guaranteeing constitutional protection for all Texans,โ Stapleton Barrera said in a news release. If the mother of three were to win the seat, Stapleton Barrera plans on assisting economic growth through sustainable expansions. Her announcement came days after Lucio announced his retirement at a news conference he held at his offices in Harlingen Nov. 4.
myrgv.comAfter minor changes, advocates are confident a bill requiring adequate shelter for dogs can avoid another Gov. Greg Abbott veto
Texas law requires people to provide their dogs with adequate shelter from extreme weather.[San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comAfter minor changes, advocates are confident a bill requiring adequate shelter for dogs can avoid another Gov. Greg Abbott veto
The new proposal, like its predecessor, would amend the health and safety code to make the unlawful restraint of a dog a criminal offense โ and more clearly outline proper treatment.
South Texas was already a political battleground. New maps could alter game plans.
The initial redistricting maps released this week are raising fresh questions about Texas Republicansโ hopes of flipping seats in South Texas.After President Joe Biden underperformed there last year, [San Marcos, TX] [Hays County news] News San Marcos News, San Marcos Record [Texas State]
sanmarcosrecord.comSouth Texas was already a political battleground. New maps could alter game plans.
With proposed maps out, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, says he might switch to a neighboring district where U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, is retiring. The initial maps are also sure to impact decisions in regional legislative races.
Abbott vetoes criminal justice bills, teach kids about domestic violence
Also vetoed legislation to protect dogsGov. Greg Abbott vetoed 20 bills that were passed during this yearโs legislative session, including two criminal justice priorities of the House speaker, legislation that would have banned tethering dogs outside with heavy chains, and a bill that would have required students to be taught about the perils of domestic violence.
myrgv.comLongtime Democratic state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. leading over challenger from his left
Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, spoke during during a Senate State Affairs committee hearing on July 23, 2017. According to early returns from the Texas Secretary of State, Lucio was leading Stapleton-Barrera 54%-46%. Another Senate runoff that drew considerable attention was the Democratic race to go against state Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton. Flores fell short in his bid to upset state Sen. Carlos Uresti for the seat in 2016. As of late Tuesday evening, the special election to replace former state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, remained fluid.
Six things to watch in Texas primary runoff election
Texans will be voting in the middle of a pandemic on Tuesday in a runoff election originally scheduled for May. The wild card: Robert MorrowFor Republicans in Texas, Robert Morrow advancing to the GOP primary runoff for a seat on the State Board of Education was nothing short of frightening. The winner in the GOP runoff Tuesday will face Texas State University English professor Rebecca Bell-Metereau, a Democrat, in Novembers general election. When he issued a statewide mask mandate, Abbott excluded churches and people voting in the primary runoff elections. Disclosure: Texas State University and the Texas secretary of state have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors.
After losing big on Super Tuesday, Texas progressives hope to salvage some victories in July
Sara Stapleton-Barrera, a Democratic candidate for state Senate District 27, is facing incumbent Eddie Lucio Jr. in the July primary runoff. Brenda Bazn for The Texas TribuneJudging from March, the ideological left wing of the Democratic Party in Texas should be inconsolable. In the 10th Congressional District, Siegel is running on a platform that includes supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. I feel really good not just about my chances, but the movement overall, says Mike Siegel, a candidate for Texas' 10th Congressional District. Hes already endorsed at least seven Texas congressional candidates.