HOJA SUELTA DERIDES MINNIE PENA'S JP 2-3 BID, "MISDEEDS"

By Juan Montoya
The saying goes something like this: If you run for office, you will  find out who your ancestors were.
In Spanish, it goes something like this: "quieres recordar tu pasado y conocer a tu familia?: Métete a la política."
The gist of the phrase in either language is that once you become a candidate for something, someone will remember something you did that you probably want to forget.
In South Texas, these reminisces usually appear as the notorious "hojas sueltas," or anonymous fliers directed at reminding the candidate so some long-forgotten peccadillo. We've described them in th past and we have just receive another being passed against current Brownsville Independent School District trustee Minerva Peña inh her bid for the newly-create JP 2-3 position. Three other candidates – Maria Esther Garcia, Pete Avila and Albert Garcia – are also in that race.
The hoja suleta gainst Peña first call her JP candidacy "a joke" and assail her performance as BISD trustee where the writer alleges that "Minerva and her colleagues on the school board have squandered literally millions of dollars of working class taxpayers due to incompetent, irresponsible and ignorant mentality.
"She is now being sued by her own peers. Is this what  taxpayers want?  I don't think so. Rumors have it that she has aligned herself with Ernie Hernandez for the politiquera vote. We have heard enough ;lies from your friend Ernie. We don't need yours."
The mention here of that alliance is in reference to still another hoja suelta which has appeared bearing the apparent ticket made up of Pct. 2 commissioner Ernie Hernandez, his daughter JP 2-2 Erin Hernandez Garcia, county clerk candidate Sylvia Garza-Perez, 357th District Court candidate Juan Magallanes and a democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate David Almeel, and Minerva Peña. No one knows who is printing those fliers or whether the candidates listed gave the publisher authority to distribute it or lists their names.
The writer is obviously also harboring a grudge against Minerva for some misdeed involving the North
Brownsville Little League Park. He alleges that she wore out her welcome when she teamed up with a local doctor and others to sue the league after the physician's son failed to "make the grade" The lawsuit, according to the flier, was deemed frivolous and thrown out and the League was awarded $500.
"You ran to the Pony League and now do not recognize North, South, East or West Brownsville. Little Legue parents, do not vote for this obnoxious person."
The writer then goes on to allege that Peña used her position at the Texas Department of Public Safety to intimidate North Brownsville Little League board members that resulted in a department probe that ended when she was transferred to Hidalgo County.
"Minerva , I have seen your political posters and ...it shows what the rest of us know already. You are... arrogant, obnoxious..."
As we said at the beginning, whatever misdeed you (or your parents) might have committed in the past will be remembered by someone once you run for office. In this case, Minnie apparently left a trail of bad karma which fueled this hoja suelta.