SUCIO LUCIO, MAYRA, HINOJOSA, PINS AT A BALLOON CONVENTION: MR. AMIGO'S $75,000 CITY GRANT USED TO PUSH FLORES; SHERIFF USES DEPARTMENT ASSETS TO CAMPAIGN

(Above, former state senator Eddie "Sucio" Lucio poses with senate Republican candidate Adam Hinojosa running for for Lucio's old seat of state senator for District 27. Lucio, who asked for the Democratic vote all his life, poses in the Republican tent along Elizabeth Street. That's Mayra Flores, the Republican candidate for U.S. District 34 against Democratic incumbent Vicente Gonzalez standing behind Sucio trying to get in the frame of the photo with Deborah Bell disguised as a Mexican senorita.)    

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

This Charro Days weekend the Mayra Flores and Adam Hinojosa campaigns – both Republicans – invaded a fundraiser at the private dining room at Celia Galindo's La Escondida for Daniella Lopez, a  board member of the Brownsville Independent School District, a non-partisan position. 

The event was invitation only, but since the Lopez family, including Cameron County Pct. 2 commissioner Joey Lopez,  have always identified themselves with the Democratic party, the event was attended by Democrats, including Texas District 27 Senator Morgan LaMantia, who now occupies Lucio's old seat, and, incidentally, the one being sought by Hinojosa against LaMantia. 

Tagging along was Deborah Bell, a candidate for the Cameron County Republican chair. 

Leading the pack was former Democratic senator Eddie "Sucio" Lucio Jr., who walked up and grabbed the microphone to introduce Flores, never once mentioning the hostess (Daniella Lopez), the subject of this fundraising event. And although Lucio relied on Cameron County Democrats to send himself to Austin for 34 years, first as a House member and later in the state Senate, he turned out to be a snake-in-the grass openly campaigning for Republicans against Democratic party candidates.

Daniella's husband approached Mayra Flores and Deborah Bell and asked them to leave, as they were not invited. They refused after being asked repeatedly because they were there as guests of  the senator at which time it was pointed out that he wasn't a guest either, so they weren't a guest of a guest. They did not look too
happy at being detained at the border.

CITY GIVES MR. AMIGO $75,000 FOR EDUARDO VERASTEGUI TO CAMPAIGN FOR FLORES

True to form, Eduardo Verástegui, the failed  homophobic candidate for the Mexican presidency and a right-wing zealot who is an advisor to Donald Trump, used his time funded by $75,000 the city's Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) and other publicly-funded entities to stump for his friend Mayra Flores, who is trying to get the Republican nomination for November's general election to face incumbent Vicente Gonzalez. 

Verástegui's selection for Mr. Amigo 2024 was pushed by a loud minority on the Mr. Amigo Association led by Arturo "Turi" Treviño, owner of Los Trevi's Drive-Thrus, who also received a $10,000 grant from the Brownsville Community Incentives Corporation (BCIC) even though he was a board member and against the BCIC's bylaws.

Apparently, living off the public funds for a personal political purpose is the norm in Brownsville, whose tax money funded this publicity effort by Mr. Amigo, who is currently being investigated by the Mexican elections commission for receiving foreign funds (from the U.S.) to influence Mexican elections. Well, this old boy is now doing it – on the U.S. side – using his city-financed trip to Brownsville to inject himself into local politics.

SHERIFF GARZA BRINGS OUT THE HEAVY ARTILLERY FOR HIS REELECTION

Many readers commented on the use of numerous vehicles and personnel by Cameron County Sheriff Eric Garza, who chauffeuered his own four--wheeled vehicle during the parade. They charged that 
Operation Stonegarden (OPSG) money which is a federally-funded program that provides grants to enhance cooperation and coordination among state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement agencies to jointly enhance security along the United States land and water borders. The uses of these funds are strictly enforced across the country.

In 2023, Operation Stonegarden was budgeted nationally at $90 million, with the San Antonio area – which covers South Texas including Cameron County – garnering $3.8 million. Was Garza's use of this vehicle improper?

The sheriff's supporters argue that although the vehicle may appear and be labeled OOPSG, it was actually gifted to the department through a raffle. Yet, the overkill of parading sheriff department equipment to push for his candidacy elicited comments from social media which criticized him.

Said one:

"This is a lot of public security equipment used for a parade when Garza is running for reelection and while the rest of the county continues unprotected and without sufficient patrolling in the rural areas, where crime is on the increase."