THE FLYING SANCHEZ BROTHERS ROCK ON AND ON AND ON

By Juan Montoya
We were making our rounds at the Cameron County courthouse this Friday when we ran into an old friend of ours.
An old political type, we won't embarrass him by divulging his name. Let's just say he know his way around politics in the county.
What he told us about the antics of Cameron County Pct. 4 commissioner Dan Sanchez and brother Dan, a district judge, left us intrigued with the overweening ambition of this duo.
It seems that both Dan and Dave went up to see Sen. Eddie Lucio so he could submit a bill in the Texas Legislature which would allow counties to include two county commissioners with the district judges to appoint the county auditor.
Under the Texas Government Code (Sec. 84.002. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY AUDITOR) it states that "In a county with a population of 10,200 or more, the district judges shall appoint a county auditor."
Now, Lucio was made to believe that the two Cameron County bros were there representing the county commissioners and district judges and proceeded to round up support for a possible bill to be submitted. As we hear it, there were about 10 other counties who were willing to go along with it.
Then people started hearing about it and word got back to the folks in Cameron County who grew alarmed at the plan. To make the story short, once Lucio was reached by judges here and by the other commissioners on the court, he backpedalled as did the other counties who were lined up to support the measure.
It is no secret that Dan has always nurtured dreams of being the county judge and this last time his supporters were pushing for him to be appointed by the commissioners court when Carlos Cascos left for Austin to become Texas Secretary of State. There were rallies staged by his supporters in Harlingen and elsewhere in his precinct to urge the commissioners to vote for Dan. The only catch was that he would have to resign as commissioner without a guarantee that he had the votes. Understandably, Dan demurred.
But now, as the two-year appointment of former county administrator Pete Sepulveda as county judge draws to an end, don't be surprised to see Dan throw his hat in the ring for the spot. Others named as potential candidates include Pct. 3 commissioner David Garza and even Pct. 2 commissioner Alex Dominguez. Dominguez – who was named county judge pro tem – was also considered for the appointment for judge before Sepulveda nailed it.
Our friend also said that Dan's brother, David, the district judge, also harbors aspirations to lead. He said that at the beginning of the year he was quietly lobbying the other district judges to choose him to replace judge Ben Euresti as administrative judge. But someone let the cat out of the bag and not only Euresti, but other judges got wind of it and the plan fizzled. Nonetheless, the mere attempt to overthrow Euresti didn't make him any friends, he said.
It takes a certain amount of chutzpah, if not ambition, to run for office. And it takes a certain amount of gumption to move around political circles and get your way. Apparently, the Sanchez boys certainly emerged from the county's hinterland with plenty to spare.