BEGUM SUPPORTERS COUNT ON VOTERS' DESIRE FOR FRESH IDEAS AND OLD FASHIONED INTEGRITY

By Juan Montoya
If you would rather have one of your peers instead of a lawyer, a bail bondsman or a court bailiff sit on the bench when you run into a problem, then the supporters of local businesswoman and community activist Yolanda Begum want you to join them at a fundraiser to elect her to the seat left vacant when Tony Torres (also not a lawyer, bail bondsman or bailiff) died last year.
Begum has emerged as a serious contender for the Justice of the Peace 2-2 seat that will be vacated by Kip Van Hodge after this year. Hodge, upon taking the position after his appointment, served the remaining year of Torres' term with the understanding that he would not run for the position.
Tonight, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Brownsville Art Museum, 660 E. Ringgold, Yolanda and her supporters will host a fundraiser on her behalf. Mariachis, a taquiza, and refreshments will be offered.
Unlike her opponents like Erin Garcia (actually Pct.2 commissioner Ernie Hernandez's daughter), Raul Lopez, or Javier Hernandez, Begum has not made her living off other people's misery. She seriously believs her life experience will strike a chord with the public. She was married to the late Michael Begum founder and owner of the New Yorker and Joy Lee clothing stores, and a serious advocate of growth and prosperity of her city. A mother, she has two children, Alexander Begum and Sasha Begum Norman.
A cancer survivor, she nursed her husband in his final years in his battle with the disease. That, and her own experience pushed her to dedicate herself to helping others. She has been cancer-free for 13 years this year.
Recently we had a chance to ask her why, given the fact that she really doesn't need the headaches of public office, she had entered politics.
"The position of justice of the peace is really the first level of the judiciary that the average person encounters," she said. "Whether you have a dispute with your renter or landlord, are having trouble with your child attending school, or have problems with your neighbor, this is the place where things can be resolved before they become more serious, It's the law at a grassroots level."
An accomplished artist, Begum has shared her formal art training in Monterrey and San Miguel de Allende with or most humble fellow residents when she donated her skills to teach art at the Centro Cultural in Cameron Park and the Browne Road Social Center.
She also taught art to teenagers on probation.
During these experiences that she said she became acutely aware of the challenges Brownsville families face whether as single parents or raising a family while living in poverty.
"Don't let anyone tell you it's easy raising a family here," she said. "People are going through extremely difficult times just to make ands meet and raising a family. The temptarion to stray is everywhere. People need someone who can relate to them at their level and help them deal with out legal system."
Toward that end, she has taken it upon herself to undergo training in anger management resolution and domestic violence. She is counting that her life experience, business background, education and social service, will give her a foot up on her opponents for the position.
"I don't come from a background where my parents have dominated politics, or made a living dealing with people's misery," she said. "I am a survivor who has struggled to raise my children to become productive citizens in their community and I want to continue contributing to my city. I truly believe that at our very basic foundation, one must have integrity to shape our future. This is not make believe for me. This is real life. I look forward to meet as many people as I can to share my ideas with them."