VALADEZ JUMPS SHIP FOR MANDO AFTER CASCOS WITHDRAWS CONGRESSIONAL BID

By Juan Montoya

No sooner had Republican Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos told intimates that he would not hand over the county's top position to the wiles of Ernie Hernandez and the majority on the commission to run for the new congressional district that rumors began surfacing that his administrative assistant was actively campaigning for District Attorney Armando Villalobos, a Democrat.

More and more political activists close to Cris Valadez have told us that not only is the former PUB member supporting Villalobos, but that he has also taken part in fundraising efforts on his behalf.
"You wouldn't think that Valadez, the administrative assistant to only the second Republican county judge in Cameron County since Reconstruction would jump ships and support the Democrat, but he is," said one. "Apparently Cris si broadening his horizons and wants a taste of the big time if Villalobos gets the Democratic nod as their nominee."

So far, no other candidates have stepped forward to contest the Villalobos bid. State Rep. Rene Oliveria opted to remain rooted to the position he has held for the last 28 years. However, he did threaten to run for the position in the next go-round two years from now.

Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. also declined, saying his experience and seniority is needed to represent the masses (for a slight consultant fee) in Austin.

Valadez's loyalties (or lack thereof) have raised the eyebrows of the Republican Party hierarchy who question how the assistant to the top Republican office holder in Cameron County can be supporting a Democrat with historical ties to the likes of former Sheriff Conrado Cantu and disgraced 404th District Judge Abel Limas.

"So does that mean that there is very little loyalty to party when it appears that there is some profit to be made by jumping ship?" asked a lifelong Republican strategist. "Cascos used to be a Democrat, but then again so was Gov. Rick Perry. When and if Perry decides to announce for president, his background will be gone over with a fine-toothed comb by the Tea Party activists. He might not fare as well as he thinks he will."

Cascos has stood by Valadez through thick and thin, including weathering the political firestorm that erupted when Valadez, as a PUB board member, was alleged to have tampered with the utility meter in two family residences. That eventually blew over and nothing came out of it.

Now, as a campaigner for Villalobos, he will undoubtedly face sharp questions from his detractors over the issue. Will Mando back him as Cascos did?

What makes this even more interesting is the fact that, as drawn and passed by the Republican-controlled Texas House and Senate, the new District 34 stretches some 250 miles north of the Rio Grande River all the way to Gonzales County east of San Antonio. Along the way north it slices and dices through a sliver of Hidalgo, all of Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg, Jim Wells, Bee, Kearnes, DeWitt, and Gonzales county on the uppermost northern boundary.

Although there are the perfunctory challenges to the redistricting, the same thing happened last time around when District 15 (Ruben Hinojosa's district) was sliced to resemble a cut of fajita stretching from the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County up to the eastern boundaries of Bexar County. The redistricting stood.

"Given Mando's baggae with Limas and Cantu, he's going to be in for a dogfight with whichever candidate the Republicans throw against him," said a local barrio politiquero. "A farmer in Cuero isn't going to be won over by a smile and a plate of chicken."