By Steve Taylor
AUSTIN, July 6 - A state senator has blasted Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chairman Juan Maldonado for interfering in Harris County politics.
Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said he took great exception to comments Maldonado made to a reporter that state Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, should forsake a possible bid for the U.S. Senate and instead announce for the Texas Senate when Gallegos retires.
“I think Juan Maldonado is full of the Christmas turkey,” Gallegos said. “For him to tell Rick to step aside and where to run, and for him to talk about what should happen in Harris County politics, that is strange. I do not tell Maldonado what to do in South Texas.”
Maldonado made his comments after co-hosting a Democratic Party town hall meeting in Edinburg two weeks ago. Noriega spoke at the meeting and said he was “seriously exploring” a 2008 run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Another speaker at the event was San Antonio attorney Mikal Watts, who has set up an exploratory committee to consider a run against Cornyn. Watts could face Noriega in next march’s Democratic primary.
After the meeting, which was co-hosted by State Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie, Maldonado told the Guardian that the minds of many party leaders in the Rio Grande Valley were already made up.
Maldonado confirmed he had held a gathering for Watts in Pharr, that former Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa had held one for Watts in Brownsville, and that Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas had held one for Watts in Corpus Christi.
“It’s a difficult one because I have always been one that has always promoted Hispanic/Latino candidates. I think Noriega is a tremendous candidate. I like him and I am going to try very hard to encourage him to run for another position statewide,” Maldonado said.
“Those of us in South Texas are committed to Mikal Watts. Rick Noriega is a fine gentleman, a good leader, Latino, we want him. But let’s see if we can do maybe Railroad Commission or maybe he might want to step in when Mario Gallegos steps aside. Those are the kinds of things we want to recommend to him.”
Gallegos said he heard that Maldonado told Noriega to run for his Texas Senate seat, regardless of whether he retires or not. Gallegos had a liver transplant operation in January that caused him to miss much of the 80th legislature. He said he was recovering well and had no intention of retiring.
“My health is improving. I have been doing what the doctors told me to do. I am at work in my office,” Gallegos said. “Contrary to what Mr. Maldonado says or thinks, I am running for re-election. I do not intend to step aside. I do not know where Juan comes up with that.”
South Texas politics has long been known for the way political bosses dictate which candidate runs for which elected office. It used to be called the “patron” system. Gallegos said he found it “strange” that Maldonado would call on Noriega to stand aside in favor of Watts before either potential candidate had presented their platform or given Democratic primary voters across the state the opportunity of getting to know them.
“I do not know Mikal Watts. I have nothing against him. I believe he is well-qualified. But for Maldonado to tell Rick to stand aside, I find that pretty strange,” Gallegos said.
Gallegos said he was backing Noriega for U.S. Senate. An announcement that Noriega is setting up an exploratory committee could come next week.
“I think you are looking at the next U.S. senator from Texas in Rick Noriega,” Gallegos said. “Rick has already talked to his colleagues in the House and a lot of people have called him and encouraged him to run. I think he will beat Mikal Watts and anybody else in the Democratic primary and then we will see what goes happens further down the road.”
Gallegos said if Maldonado were to look at previous statewide primaries in Texas he would see that Hispanic Democrats do really well. He pointed to the 1996 U.S. Senate primary, when the relatively unknown Crandall schoolteacher Victor Morales scored a stunning upset win over three seasoned politicians, including two congressmen.
Gallegos said that having served in Afghanistan with the National Guard, and with ten years behind him in the Texas House, Noriega had a lot more public service experience than Morales.
“Juan Maldonado ought to look at what Victor Morales did with his pick-up truck and no money. I respect Maldonado but he needs to look at the overall picture and see what Morales did to John Bryant in the Democratic primary. He needs to take another look at what is going on and support Rick,” Gallegos said.
