And Here's to You, Mr. Cascos

By Diego Garcia III ★ Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

People in the Rio Grande Valley's politics need to be defined by rationality and practicality rather than a political party.

For as long as I can remember, and until recent results have proven, Republicans didn't stand much of a chance in city, county, state, and national elections in the Rio Grande Valley.

Often times the Democratic primary chose elected officials. Once a Democratic candidate was chosen, there were times when they appeared unopposed on the ballot. Recently, lunatic fringe candidates who aren't Republicans began running as Republicans to avoid a primary fight and directly appear on the ballot for the general election.

The recent state senate election for district 27 had a Republican candidate who previously ran for office as a Democrat and a member of the Green Party. Her platform made her sound more like a Democrat, causing the Cameron and Hidalgo County Republican Chairs to disavow themselves from the candidate.

One of Cameron County's most well known Republicans is former Cameron County Judge and Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos. 

Cascos still displays the maturity and class of a traditional Republican, rather than the twisted version of what the Neo-Republican has mutated into. 

Cascos does not carry himself as a Tea Party, alt-Right conspiracy theorist who thinks vaccines are a hoax to track the general public and masks are a prelude to strippjng all your Constitutional rights. He is not a plumber who decided to run for office because the government is coming for his guns.

Cascos is a certified public accountant whose firm is located a stone's throw from Washington Park. If you visit his Facebook page, he doesn't throw political buzzwords like "transparency" and "accountability" around. His page is filled with his stance in several issues affecting Brownsville and Cameron County.

He has spoken out against the governor's position on masks and is encouraging the local school districts to implement a mask mandate to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

Cascos also believes SpaceX should be held to account for the frequent, and all too common road closures on State Highway 4. In one post, Cascos suggests Musk should pay for a loop that would provide Texans an alternate route to Boca Chica Beach. He also believes Musk should deliver on those local high paying jobs he promised.

Cascos has not formally announced his candidacy, and he may not be the Republican most people are used to nowadays, but keeping the citizenry informed with his opinions and positions in local issues leads me to believe he'd like to take a whack at the county judge position one more time. 

I certainly don't think that would be a bad idea. Cameron County leadership could certainly use someone with legitimate ideas on what direction we need to go. 

Voters need to put their partisan blinders aside and ask themselves if they'd rather have a Republican county judge who is interested in moving us forward or a Democrat whose going to keep the status quo and keep us stuck in the soft Gulf Coast sand.

I wholeheartedly hope Mr. Cascos takes a long, hard look at running, and I hope the voters of Cameron County consider a voting for a candidate who has the legitimate interests of the region in mind rather than showing blind loyalty to a political party.

Where have you gone, Carlos Cascos? Brownsville turns its lonely eyes to you.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Starcks, The Rabbs, and a Plantation House

Image
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon If Brownsville were split into boroughs like New York City, Southmost would definitely be one of them. Southmost is one of the oldest parts of Brownsville, and has recently gained notoriety for having some of Brownsville's best authentic home-style Mexican restaurants. Vera's Backyard Bar-B Que was recently featured on The Texas Bucket List. Brownsville residents regularly make their way to taquerias and eateries on Southmost.  When I was an elementary school student, I was bused to Morningside Elementary for school. Our school bus always drove down Southmost, and I clearly remember passing by a drive-in theater on the way to school. Eventually, the drive-in would be torn down and an H-E-B would eventually be built around the area where the drive-in was. If you continue driving down Southmost past Morningside Road, Southmost begins twisting, turning, and curving. Eventually, you'll reach Sabal Palm Grove Road. Whe...
Read more

Forces Beginning to Align Against LNG Projects at the Port: Clupper, Port Isabel, Et al.

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission handed down their decision late last year — the three companies wanting to construct liquefied natural gas pipelines and terminals at the Port of Brownsville had the green light to continue with the process to begin constructing their infrastructure. The next step is for the companies to make their final investment decision (FID) in regards to physically beginning to build the plants and pipelines. Industry experts believed the project could have gotten off the ground as early as the first quarter of this year. The port is a huge moneymaker for the city and the state, as a whole. Statistics show the Port of Brownsville as the second ranked port for the value of exports and has been ranked third of almost 300 foreign trade zones in the United States. Studies also show over 50,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly supported by the port. The LNG plants were a big feather in the cap of the ...
Read more

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: Dea...
Read more