Thoughts on Erasmo Castro and his Upcoming Candidacy for State Representative

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

The Erasmo Castro saga continues to hurl out of control. Like an obsolete, failing satellite falling out of orbit and plummeting back to earth, Castro announced his resignation from the Brownsville Independent School District board of trustees. 

Castro's castle walls were constantly bombarded by his critics, by parents and citizens of Brownsville, and by other board members. Eventually, all the cannonades were able to break through the walls and Castro hoisted the white flag of surrender. 

Social media, the Brownsville Blogosphere, and other online outlets, exploded a few hours ago as news of Castro's resignation hit the internet. The Brownsville Herald and KVEO posted articles saying Castro submitted his resignation letter this morning. According to his social media posts, Castro stated he would be resigning to take care of his "alleged Class B Misdemeanor Charge." His resignation letter reads:

Dear Board Secretary, Superintendent, and BISD Trustees:

Please be advised that I Erasmo Castro hereby resign as Brownsville Independent School District Trustee effective immediately. 

I am grateful to my community for entrusting me with your vote of confidence. I am opting to deal with personal situation which has unfortunately become a distraction to the amazing things happening in BISD.

I have had to take a step back from serving my spiritual family because of my well publicized personal situation. It is my ope to restore the balance that is everything for me.

Castro then goes on to list some of his accomplishments while serving on the board. The letter continues:

I will continue to serve my community as a public citizen until the day, hopefully in the near future, that I ask for your support.

I have been, am now and will continue to be your humble servant.

Most Sincerely,

Erasmo Castro, BISD Trustee

Castro saw his freedom to visit BISD campuses whenever he liked curtailed and eventually cut off after a motion filed to censure Castro after grievances were filed by people who were uneasy with Castro's penchant for taking "selfie" photographs with students at the various campuses. The censure came after a police report was filed and a subsequent investigation ensued into alleged inappropriate behavior that allegedly took place in the parking lot of a local night spot. After all this happened, the school board handed down their ruling — Castro would be banned from attending any district sanctioned or sponsored events. 

Castro got into more hot water when he was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated. He was found in the backseat of his Fiat off Morrison Road. The vehicle had impact damage. 

The arrest led more of his critics to call for his resignation. A petition and court proceedings were initiated seeking his removal. 

Throughout the entire ordeal, Castro remained defiant and steadfast. He assured his supporters, constituents, and anyone else who would read his Facebook posts he wasn't going anywhere. Almost immediately after his censure and ban, Castro began accusing several other board members of engaging in corrupt activities concerning campaign contributions and fiduciary malfeasance. 

Many of his supporters believed he was proven right when another board member was arrested by the FBI and implicated in a bribery scandal. His argument was now emboldened — why focus on someone with an alleged drunk driving charge when someone else is stealing money and taking bribes?

Apparently the DUI/DWI charge was too much to bear, and Castro decided it was time to step down as a member of the school board. However, the charge wasn't enough to prevent him from filing paperwork to appear on the ballot for Texas State Representative. He announced his candidacy amid a controversial play on words. He didn't mention whether he would be running as a Democrat or as a Republican. Eventually, the Republican County Chair would verify Castro was, indeed, running as a member of the GOP. Since no other Republicans filed for state representative, Castro is assured a place on the ballot in November. 

His resignation from the school board almost certainly guarantees his campaign for state representative will be sunk. His candidacy was questionable and on shaky ground to begin with, considering he was a staunch Democrat (he ran for Democratic Party Chair in a previous election) and appears to have switched parties to avoid the cost, and strain, of a primary fight he probably wouldn't have survived anyway. His resignation despite his many claims he would continue serving as a board member may be a sobering and rude awakening to some Castro supporters — when the going got tough, the tough got to resigning.

I am not attacking Castro for the sake of attacking Castro. I have said it before, and I'll say it again — I understand Castro is a polarizing public character. I get there are many out there who dislike him and want to tear him down for the sake of tearing him down. I also get there are those who will rabidly defend him no matter what he does. He's probably could pull a "Trump," shoot someone in the middle of Market Square, and not lose one of his Castro Superfans.

I get writing about Castro and attacking Castro equals page views. I get some bloggers like boasting about their massive following and their rankings on GoDaddy. I get some people want to devote every other article they write about Castro. None of that is actual journalism, it is sensationalist and yellow-journalistic at its worst.

I tried remaining as neutral as I could when it came to Castro, but he crossed a line when he personally attacked a very good friend of mine via social media. This friend has done absolutely nothing other than being one of the strongest and most involved parent advocates and volunteers the district has seen in quite some time. She selflessly donates her time, money, and resources to her children's schools and doesn't ask for anything in return. 

She has always been vocal in her displeasure with Castro. She had openly called for his removal in the past. She filed a grievance against him. None of those things should have been grounds for Castro shaming and insulting her on his social media page. He questioned her mental state. As a politician and a public figure, that was absolutely inappropriate. In this country, it is our right and responsibility to question our leaders and, if need be, call for their resignation. 

That seems to be the problem with Castro. He never really took his position seriously. I suppose that is because he doesn't take himself seriously. He seems to pride himself on the fact that his followers love his slapstick and goofy antics. I don't think he ever fully appreciated the gravity of actually holding an elected office. I've written this in the past, but it bears repeating — Castro is the proverbial dog who caught the car he was chasing — when he finally caught it, he had absolutely no idea what to do with it.

I don't think he is a bad person. I think he is someone who is addicted to the fame social media has brought him, and I think he acts and reacts to the Castrio Cabal — his followers expect Castro to act a certain way and he always delivers and hardly ever disappoints.

Whether it is wearing a superhero medallion toy at high school graduations, allowing himself to be photographed consuming alcohol, passing out at Whataburger, or making light of his drunk driving charge by posting pictures of himself with an "El Borracho" lotería card, he constantly and consistently displays poor judgment. I just don't think he fully understands, or appreciates, just how important being an elected official is. It is also apparent he does not understand how important a role optics and public perception play in being able to be a successful politician.

It doesn't matter what you do, it matters how you do it. It doesn't matter how many things you accomplish for the district. If you act in an inappropriate manner, it distracts people from focusing on the good you did. Nobody is going to care what you did in being able to make the Food and Nutrition Services department better if you're too busy attacking people on Facebook and Twitter. Nobody is going to care if you tried to get teachers a raise if you're too busy passing out at Whataburger then making fun of the fact that you were inebriated in public. 

It also doesn't make things any better when Castro is asked about the allegations and his behavior, he brings up the alleged wrongdoing of other board members. He is very quick to mention Sylvia Atkinson and her problems. That isn't taking responsibility or accountability for your actions. Not addressing your own actions by using the, "look, they're doing worse things than I am" argument isn't a good tactic. This isn't multiplication. Two negatives don't make a positive. 

But in the end, none of it seems to get through to Castro. It appears as if he is of the mind that any publicity is good publicity. I don't understand why he and his followers complain when he is on the front page of The Brownsville Herald; then he posts a meme showing his displeasure that he didn't make the front page of the Herald. He thrives on the attention. The social media comments, blog posts, thumbs up, and hearts are the oxygen that fuels his raging fire. 

I think plenty of people thought he was going to be able to put his silly, foolish antics aside when he was elected to the board. It is a pity he squandered his one real chance at doing something positive for the community. The true measure of growing wiser and more mature is learning from one's mistakes. Many people believed Castro was more than the cartoon character he presented himself as. So far, he has proven those people wrong. 

Castro purports himself to be a man of God and a spiritual person. Perhaps he should take a break from the limelight, distance himself from social media, and seek spiritual guidance and wisdom to move beyond this tragedy. Maybe this downfall was exactly what he needed; much like the phoenix rising from the ashes maybe he can learn from his mistakes, pick himself up, dust himself off, and move forward to run a more positive, sober, and mature campaign for state representative. 

I won't hold my breath, though. I fear we're in for more of the same all the way through to November. I can't possibly imagine any real Republicans think Castro represents a legitimate Republican platform. As I mentioned before, he already sealed his fate; his candidacy's failure is a foregone conclusion.

Buckle up. The Castro Show isn't going anywhere anytime soon.