JUAN CARLOS FETES BEGUM TODAY AT CARINO'S, ERNIE'S DAUGHTER ANNOUNCES FOR JP 2-2

By Juan Montoya

On the same day that the local daily carried the announcement that Precinct 2 Cameron County Commissioner Ernie Hernandez's daughter Erin Garcia was a candidate for Justice of the Peace 2-2, adult day-care mogul and political kingmaker Juan Carlos Torre is hosting a "meet and greet" for her opponent Yolanda Teran Begum.

Although both candidates had filed their appointment of campaign treasure with the Cameron County Elections Office before, the public announcements appearing in the local daily make it official that they intended to run.
Begum, coming off a highly successful fashion style parade fundraiser this past Saturday, is viewed as a front runner in the race that many supporters of Garcia though she had in the bag given her father's connections.
The "Meet and Greet" will be held today from 6 to 9 p.m. at Cariño's Day Care, 2410 Russell Ave (behind Don Johnson Motors on Central Blvd.). In her invitation, Begum invites the public to join her relatives (the Teran, Torre, Lopez, Begum, Paredes, Gutierrez, and Saenz families) at the event.
 and In all, five candidates have announced for the position left vacant when Tony Torres passed away last year. The position is currently held by Kip Van Johnson Hodge, who was appointed by Cameron County Commissioners Court earlier this year. Hodge said he would not seek election when his term expires at the end of 2012 as a condition for his appointment by the Cameron County Commissioners Court.
Besides Begum and Garcia, bail bondsman Raul Lopez, retiree Refugio "Cookie" Covarrubias, and bailiff Javier Hernandez are vying for the seat.

Garcia lists among her qualifications the fact that she is an attorney and a municipal judge at Primera, Texas.

She, by the way, is also listed as the owner of the vending business that has machines in county buildings, as did her father while he was a city commissioner in the City of Brownsville. That fact came to light after the local newspaper disclosed that the Hernandez family owned the machines.

Many saw the transfer of the business to his daughter when he became a county commissioner as a subterfuge by Hernandez to do business with the county while he was an elected official with that entity.

In her announcement, Garcia also said when you have someone who knows that law and understands the law; “people will get the correct legal resolution to their case in an efficient manner.”

However, she served as a campaign treasurer for current city commissioner John Villarreal even though the Texas Judicial Code of Ethics forbids a sitting judge to lend his or her name in favor of any candidate. So far, no one, except for a few bloggers, have questioned the propriety of the matter.

Be that as it may, the fact that Torre – who says he is related to Begum by family – is openly supporting her must lend pause to the Garcia campaign. Any candidate worth his or her salt must often trek to his adult day care centers trying to entice the seniors to support them in their races.

With Torre openly supporting her, it will be difficult for Garcia to get her foot in that door.

"People would give their eyeteeth to ge that kind of support from Juan Carlos," said a current officeholder who courted his support in his race three years ago. "When Juan Carlos supports you, you can count on him to be there behind you all the way to the end. It's very rare that he openly comes out for any candidate."