Mixed bag: New Congress members should place Valley first
Members of the House of Representatives were still debating who will replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House; once chosen, that person swears in all members and begins the session. For the first time, South Texas will be represented by members of both major political parties. Cuellarโs voting record has even fed speculation that he might switch to the Republican Party himself, although he hasnโt done so. As she ends her short tenure in Congress, Flores has earned the gratitude of the people she has served. A new Congress brings new challenges and new opportunities to support Valley interests and needs.
myrgv.comLetters: Disappointed in vote results
First, I find it very disappointing that Texas Congressional District 34 voters turned their backs on Mayra Flores, the first Mexican-born woman to get elected to Congress. Just as disappointing was the fact that a majority of RVG voters also turned their backs on Gov. Jose MartinezTempleNamecallingNow I know Mr. Zarate and most of the time I respect his opinion. Every bodyโs got one and Mr. Zarate is not lacking in them. So yes, Mr. Zarate, Mr. Rosales has every right to call him, at the very least, โcreepy.โ Hoo boy.
myrgv.comLetters: Too young to pick cotton
Since she is 36 years old that would mean she was working in the fields picking cotton in the โ90s. The reason Iโm asking if she has any pictures of her picking cotton is because the last time cotton was picked by hand in Texas was 1975. Cotton farmers started using a striper puller machine in the โ60s and little by little hand-picking cotton was phased out. I was born in 1963 and I did get to pick cotton in the field with my family around 1973. The Federal Election Commission reports that before its collapse, FTX donated to both Democratic and Republican candidates and organizations.
myrgv.comWaved offTalk of Valley turning redoverly optimistic in the end
While he defeated challenger Beto OโRourke handily statewide, Abbott lost every Valley county on election night. โWe planted our flag in South Texas,โ the governor said Tuesday During his victory party at McAllenโs Quinta Mazatlan. This inspired Republicans at the national level, who traditionally had conceded South Texas as unwinnable, to make the region its primary target this year and moving toward 2024. To be sure, the Republican Party did make inroads during this election. Of course, a Republican presence has long been felt in the Valley, with party members serving as mayors of several cities and county judges.
myrgv.comWaved off: Talk of Valley turning red overly optimistic in the end
While he defeated challenger Beto OโRourke handily statewide, Abbott lost every Valley county on election night. โWe planted our flag in South Texas,โ the governor said Tuesday During his victory party at McAllenโs Quinta Mazatlan. This inspired Republicans at the national level, who traditionally had conceded South Texas as unwinnable, to make the region its primary target this year and moving toward 2024. To be sure, the Republican Party did make inroads during this election. Of course, a Republican presence has long been felt in the Valley, with party members serving as mayors of several cities and county judges.
myrgv.comGonzalez claims victory over Flores
Under a national spotlight, Democratic U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez claimed victory over incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores in a highly contested race for District 34โs congressional seat Tuesday night, sending a message to the Republican Party โ โSouth Texas cannot be bought,โ Gonzalez said.
myrgv.comGomzalez claims victory over Flores
As of 10:45 p.m, Gonzalez had won 52,237 votes, or 53 percent, while Flores drew 442,967 votes, or 43 percent, with independent Chris Royal drawing 2,907. โThe people here are smarter than that.โDuring the campaign, the Republican Party and its aligned political action committees spent $7 million pushing their candidates cross the Rio Grande Valley, Gonzalez said. Across the Valley, Hidalgo County, for years his home base, pulled the vote, Gonzalez said. Floresโ campaignIn her campaign, Flores carried the banner โGod, family, country,โ symbolizing the Republicansโ push into the traditionally Democratic Valley, where the GOP has made inroads among Mexican-Americans in the last few years. After District 34 was created as a result of the 2010 Censusโs population increases, Vela won its first election in 2012.
myrgv.comSouth Texas, Abbott vs. OโRourke, and Harris County: Here are the biggest things to watch for on election night
While the GOP focuses on the border and economy under President Joe Biden, Democrats are hoping to prove polls and political forecasters wrong by tapping into anger over the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the Uvalde school shooting.
GOP heavyweights McCarthy, Gingrich back โtriple threatโ candidates in McAllen
Republicans need to flip just five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in order to take control of the chamber. The Valleyโs rightward shift recently resulted in a huge win for the Republican Party when voters elected Flores this June to fill the unexpired term of Democrat Filemon Vela Jr., who resigned on March 31. โWe made a little history this year with Mayra Flores getting elected,โ McCarthy said. I promise you, we will introduce a bill to defund the 87,000 IRS agents, my friends,โ Garcia said. โWe donโt need 87,000 IRS agents, my friends, we need 87,000 Border Patrol agents, my friends,โ she said, before similarly suggesting 87,000 U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, or 87,000 school security guards.
myrgv.comPort of Harlingen wins $3.9 million federal grant to upgrade docks
HARLINGEN โ A $3.9 million federal grant will be used to renovate the dock and related facilities at the Port of Harlingen, port officials say. The grant was announced this week and comes from the U.S. Department of Transportationโs Port Infrastructure Development Grant Program. โThese funds will allow us to undertake much needed rehabilitation of our main dock and mooring structures throughout our turning basin,โ he added. โThe Port of Harlingen is a critical component of our district and regionโs economic well-being. Dock rehabilitation also opens more capabilities at the Port of Harlingen.
myrgv.comLUPE urges community to cast vote, beware of misinformation
โWe know the suffering that comes from not voting,โ Juanita Valdez-Cox, executive director of LUPE, said. And theyโre looking at South Texas Latino voters,โ Dani Marrero Hi, LUPEโs director of communication, said. Republicans are investing heavily in the race for Congressional District 34 where a Republican, Mayra Flores, won the seat after the democratic incumbent suddenly vacated it. Joaquin Garcia, a community organizer with LUPE, reminded people about their rights at the ballot box, including the protection against intimidation. Their poison is to divide us and distract us, but here in LUPE the antidote is to unite and press ahead.โ
myrgv.comDreamers: Which side are GOP candidates on?
For years, Texasโ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has led the legal charge to end DACA. Ending DACA and deporting Dreamers is not the only extremist position the friends of Texas border GOP congressional candidates Flores, Garcia and De La Cruz have taken. In our campaign Dime Con Quiรฉn Andas/Show Me Your Friends, Americaโs Voice exposes the ties between Republican candidates and extremists and white nationalists. Unless Republican candidates actively and publicly stand up to their friends, they too are responsible for Trump Republicansโ dangerous and racist rhetoric. It is time Texas border GOP congressional candidates Monica De La Cruz, Mayra Flores and Cassy Garcia come clean and tell Texas voters which side they are on.
myrgv.comLetters: Floresโ Spanish garners support
I just saw a commercial for Mayra Flores where she narrates in Spanish spoken in Mexico, not in Tex-Mex like we speak in 95% of our RGV! I remember some years back when a lady from Spain was saying that their citizens were far better then our Raza because we spoke Tex-Mex Spanish and not correct Espaรฑol like they did! My adult children never spoke Spanish growing up until my daughter learned it because of her job at a bank that was bought by a big company from Spain. My son also learned it when working at the Pharr golf course from the workers there. My 95-year-young mom doesnโt speak English but she understands it so my nieces n nephews learned Espaรฑol from her too.
myrgv.comCivil suit alleges Hidalgo Co. GOP Chair โaided and abettedโ brotherโs sexual misconduct
A lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges longtime Rio Grande Valley political operative Aron Peรฑa III sexually assaulted a woman this summer, part of an alleged 12-year history of abuse the suit claims was aided and abetted by Peรฑaโs sister, Hidalgo County Republican Party Chair Adrienne Peรฑa-Garza.
myrgv.comLetters: Statement draws fire
Ms. Flores was reported to have said that Christian values are on the line in the November midterm election. Has Ms. Flores forgotten about the infamous family-separation policy of the Trump administration? Please vote Ms. Flores out of office. Seguin was promoted to lieutenant colonel and commandant of San Antonio to provide law and order for San Antonio, especially for Tejanos. Being a Catholic, Seguin believed in the sanctity of life, both born and unborn.
myrgv.comLetters: Questions for Flores
From the cotton fields to Congress, Mayra Flores is now poised to stop the drug cartels and human traffickers from crossing the border. Maybe, after she accomplishes all of the above, this energetic novice politician will, we hope, become so popular sheโll start thinking about running for president! How does Mayra feel about powerful Republicans and corporate special interests wanting to destroy the stability and future of Social Security and Medicare? They have been bought by those who wish us harm and who want to topple our government for their needs and wants. I canโt stand by while these disturbed and angry people want to destroy our nation, can you?
myrgv.comDem candidate running in contentious House race says his female opponent can't 'think' or 'speak' for herself
Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez said Wednesday that his GOP challenger, Mayra Flores, "can't think for herself, can't speak for herself, can't act for herself, can't vote for herself.โ
foxnews.comโFinding the peopleโ
Thompson is ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, of which Flores also is a member. โFinding the peopleโ referred to gin manager Brady Taubertโs lament that he canโt hire and keep reliable workers. โIโm fortunate enough we can get an H-2A program,โ he said, referring to the federal temporary foreign agricultural workers program. โI know thatโs what weโre dedicated to because for the folks that provide us with food and fiber, they need workforce. The poll showed Gonzalez leading with 47 percent to Floresโ 43 percent, numbers that were within the pollโs margin of error.
myrgv.comLetters: Offer details with promises
They will fight for lower gas prices and to lower taxes. But what they fail to mention is how they will lower gas prices. Will you vote with the MAGA Republicans or will you vote for your country and uphold the Constitution? Why did the city of Pharrโs current City Commission buy a bankrupt EMS company whose owner pleaded guilty to bankrupt fraud? Did former Pharr city manager and police chief Andy Harvey get paid two checks for two jobsโ Why did current Pharr Deputy City Manager Ed Wylie authorize the payment of $5,700 for cookies made by a local bakery?
myrgv.comU.S. Rep Mayra Flores urges additional funding for Hidalgo County CSA
U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday requesting additional funding for the Hidalgo County Community Service Agency. โThis is especially true in Hidalgo County, Texas, where the Community Service Agency (CSA) announced earlier this week that it had expended all funds under LIHEAP for 2022,โ Flores wrote. Over 6,000 Hidalgo County families have received assistance under LIHEAP. โThis guidelines of this program are designed to meet the needs of about 6-8% of the eligible families that apply. The need in our county, as in other counties, is far greater than the eligible resources,โ Jaime Longoria, Executive Director of the Hidalgo County Community Service Agency, said in the news release.
myrgv.comSouth Texas Republican candidates talk faith in call for voter turnout
McALLEN โ The three Republican candidates running to represent the Rio Grande Valley in Congress came together for a prayer breakfast here, highlighting their faith as they called on people to vote in the midterm elections. Joined by faith-based leaders, candidates Monica De La Cruz, Mayra Flores and Cassy Garcia spoke at a prayer breakfast hosted by the Republican National Committee in McAllen Thursday morning. โItโs not about just Republican or Democrat, it really is about good versus evil,โ said U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios. Now, she is running for a full term as the Republican candidate against U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, who currently serves in the 15th congressional district. De La Cruz is currently running to replace Gonzalez in the 15th congressional district against progressive Democrat Michelle Vallejo.
myrgv.comLetters: Flores praised
I am glad to read that Rep. Mayra Flores, R-San Benito, is co-sponsoring House Resolution 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021, which was introduced by Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., to repeal the windfall elimination provision. How does WEP work? If you worked, saved and earned your pension while paying into Social Security, itโs your money and should not be taken away by the government. If this bill passes, firefighters, law enforcement officers and public schoolteachers would keep their Social Security benefits and their pensions in full. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act of 2021.
myrgv.comLetters: Saving Earth
Saying she โco-sponsorsโ sounds more important than merely saying she supports House Resolution 1380, The Permanent Tax Relief for Working Families Act, and House Resolution 6858, the American Energy Independence from Russia Act. 1380, and both parties want energy independence from Russia. If we ignore the warnings and the worst happens and all species of plants and animals vanish, a tattered and gloomy Mother Earth will nevertheless survive. Within a couple thousand years or so she will do her thing again: cleanse herself, breathe again and start anew. Toward the conclusion of both events questions were allowed from the audience participants, which produced a lively question-and-answer period.
myrgv.comRepresented
People in U.S. House District 34 essentially will elect a new representative in the Nov. 8 election after Filemon Vela, who was elected to the seat in 2012, resigned earlier this year. Gonzalez has served three terms representing House District 15, which runs from Hidalgo County to north of San Antonio. Flores assumed the seat on June 21 and has voted in all of the 179 House votes held since then. Like Gonzalez, however, Flores in Congress has shown a willingness to cross party lines in her brief legislative career. Both Flores and Gonzalez have shown that they will be full participants in the legislative process.
myrgv.comLetters: Oil releases questioned
However, I also felt one aspect of the โprice reductionโ was missing: the tapping of our emergency oil reserves. As of March 25, the U.S. oil reserves were at 568 million barrels. President Biden won the last election fairly and legally. Oscar GarzaPalmviewBenefit systemdeemed unfairIโve been working on my husbandโs unemployment claim for a long time. Our future depends on the future of yesterday, and how it was, and is, perceived by history.
myrgv.comFox News hourlong special revisits border security as midterms approach
Fox Newsโ Harris Faulkner hosted the hourlong episode that featured footage from Eagle Pass and the broader Maverick and Kinney county area. โDo we have sovereignty as a nation?โ Faulkner asked Jon Aninsen, a member of the Border Patrol Council in Del Rio. Faulkner traveled with the Texas Department of Public Safety, interviewed its spokesperson, a member of the Border Patrol council, a rancher, a sheriff and public officials. โWhat would you say to him?โ Faulkner asked Flores. It takes 15 to 20 years to be able to come here to the United States,โ Flores said.
myrgv.comFox News hourlong special revisits border security as midterms approach
Fox Newsโ Harris Faulkner hosted the hourlong episode that featured footage from Eagle Pass and the broader Maverick and Kinney county area. โDo we have sovereignty as a nation?โ Faulkner asked Jon Aninsen, a member of the Border Patrol Council in Del Rio. Faulkner traveled with the Texas Department of Public Safety, interviewed its spokesperson, a member of the Border Patrol council, a rancher, a sheriff and public officials. โWhat would you say to him?โ Faulkner asked Flores. It takes 15 to 20 years to be able to come here to the United States,โ Flores said.
myrgv.comFloresโ former district director vehemently denies sexual harassment allegations
In a now-deleted Facebook post, the former district director for U.S. Rep. Mayra Floresโ congressional campaign emphatically denied allegations of sexual harassment and instead claimed he resigned his position due to health issues. I moved on to other employment,โ Peรฑa wrote in the social media post. Beckmeyer immediately started to investigate, and Chairman Rinaldi contacted me to assure me he was supporting and encouraging the investigation,โ Graham wrote. โThe Republican Party of Texas operates a zero tolerance policy for any form of sexual harassment in the workplace, treats all incidents seriously, and promptly investigates all allegations of sexual harassment,โ Rinaldi said. That process was followed in this instance.โThe Texas Republican Party, however, did not answer a question about the results of the investigation.
myrgv.comU.S. Rep. Mayra Floresโ campaign says she misspoke when she said she fired aide after sexual harassment allegations
Floresโ campaign previously said former district director Aron Peรฑa had resigned after multiple allegations of sexual harassment. Peรฑa has denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations were politically motivated.
Letters: Mayraโs claims
Mayra claims liberals in Washington attacked American energy and thatโs why gas prices are so high. Mayra says Democrats have long felt entitled to the Latino vote with little to show in return. Itโs like saying that Republicans have long felt entitled to the NRA vote, the KKK vote and the white nationalist vote with little to show in return. Italo J. ZarateBrownsvilleGonzalezthankedThank you, Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, for cosponsoring the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimerโs Act. Please join me and the Alzheimerโs Association in thanking Rep. Gonzalez for co-sponsoring the Comprehensive Care for Alzheimerโs Act.
myrgv.comMayra Flores confonts BPUB about rate increases
U.S. District 24 Rep. Mayra Flores is seeking answers from the Brownsville Public Utilities Board, related to recent increases in bills going out to Brownsville residents. Flores, a Republican, sent a letter to BPUB officials Tuesday, critical of the utility provider for not providing answers to her office. BPUB customers have been experiencing increases in their utility bills over the last several months, with some customers reporting bills as high as $700 to $1,000. The subsidy money was generated in the first place by rate increases BPUB implemented beginning in 2013 to pay for its share of the Tenaska Brownsville Generating Station, which never got built. Flores suggests that BPUB further develop a public awareness campaign concerning the rate changes and the justification for them.
myrgv.comU.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez and his wife defied property tax law for eight years by claiming two homestead exemptions
In Texas, married couples generally can claim only one such exemption, meant to provide some tax relief on properties considered โprincipal residences.โ Homestead exemptions cannot typically be claimed on commercial properties, second homes or income properties.
Texas Republicans rally their base at CPAC, but draw criticism over Hungarian prime ministerโs appearance
Viktor Orbรกn appeared at the convention in Dallas after saying last week that Europeans โdo not want to become peoples of mixed race.โ Texas officials attending, though, stayed focused on criticizing Democrats.
To stay in Congress, Mayra Flores bets Democratic South Texas is ready for an outspoken conservative
A Mexican immigrant who worked in cotton fields to pay for school supplies, Flores is a source of hope for Republicans looking to gain ground in the Rio Grande Valley. But her staying power will be put to the test this November.