MANRRIQUE: I WELCOME (SHERIFF) ERIC GARZA'S ENDORSEMENT

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

A youtube.com interview with a Spanish-language news medium has indicated that Democratic Party lame-duck Cameron County Sheriff Eric Garza has conveyed his endorsement for Republican challenger Santiago "Jimmy" Manrrique   against Democrat primary winner Manuel "Manny" Treviño.

Posted in youtube.com by Enrique Lerma, a reporter for Prensa Territorial, Manrrique said he was aware that Garza was endorsing him and said he welcomed his support and said he would gladly work with the sheriff to provide county residents the safety and security they needed. The acknowledgement that Garza had extended his support comes at 6:07 into the full interview. Manrrique denied that he had promised Garza any position in his administration should he win in the November 5 general election.

However, other sources have indicated that Garza was angling for the chief deputy position and that that he had secured Manrrique's promise to protect the positions of department administrator Charles Hoskins and his longtime friend Ricardo "Rick" Cornejo, currently the sheriff's office administrator.

The alleged endorsement by Democrat Garza of Republican Manrrique has irked Democratic party supporters and they questioned Garza's motives for jumping parties. Prensa Territorial's efforts to get confirmation from Garza have gone unanswered, Lerma said. 

Ironically, this will not be the first time that a Democrat who has lost a party primary has endorsed a Republican candidate in the general election. In fact, it was the late sheriff Omar Lucio, a Democrat, endorsed Republican John Chambers against Garza, who had beat him in the Democratic party runoff in 2020.  

At the time Lucio said that he could not see Garza, the former county district clerk who had no law-enforcement experience, take over the department. Chambers had 20-year plus experience as a police chief.

A statement from Lucio published on Chambers’ campaign Facebook page at time read, “I strongly and wholeheartedly believe that electing the democratic nominee for Sheriff would be a step back in the wrong direction at this time. I genuinely think that to sit in this chair and to be responsible for other people’s lives, you must possess the necessary law enforcement experience.”

In turn, Garza's endorsement of Manrrique would go counter to the statements he made after Treviño beat him in the primary runoff. At the time, Garza conceded early with an announcement. 

"Congratulations, Chief Manuel Trevino, on your Democratic Primary Runoff win! Your leadership and dedication shine brightly, and I’m excited to see the positive impact you’ll make moving forward. Best wishes for continued success,” Garza wrote.

However, Cameron County Democratic Party chair Jared Hockema said that if true, Garza's endorsement of a Republican after he lost the Democratic Party primary runoff indicated a disrespect and betrayal of the trust by the 4,359 voters who cast ballots in his favor. Trevino won with 5,415 votes, or 55 percent of the votes.

"I'll have to talk to Garza myself to see what he says about this, " Hockema said.

Incidentally, shortly after the runoff elections, there was also talk of loser Ruben Cortez in the Texas House of Representatives District 37 race trying to convince the voters to consider voting for Janie Lopez, the Republican incumbent. Both Gracia and Hockema said they had heard the same.