Watts wins key Valley endorsements
By Joey Gomez
Mikal Watts speaks at a news conference in Edinburg Thursday. Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas is in the background. (Photo: RGG/Joey Gomez)
EDINBURG, July 26 - Mikal Watts is enjoying a growing support in the Rio Grande Valley in his potential bid for the U.S. Senate, judging by the public endorsement of key Democratic leaders.
At a press conference Thursday at the Echo Hotel in Edinburg, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas, and Hidalgo County Democratic Party Chairman Juan Maldonado stood beside the San Antonio-based attorney.
Watts has formed an exploratory committee to look into the possibility of running against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the 2008 general election.
“I’m thrilled to have the support of the County Judge J.D. Salinas, our wonderful state Sen. Chuy Hinojosa, and Democratic Chair Juan Maldonado,” Watts told The Guardian.
“These are the leaders of this county, and there are more coming. I think it’s emblematic of the wide base of support across south Texas that we will enjoy.”
Watts said he is enjoying increasing support among border mayors, and especially elected officials in Hidalgo County. He cited La Joya Mayor Billy Leo and Hidalgo County Clerk Arturo Guajardo, Jr., who was also present at the endorsement conference.
“These people understand that I’m not somebody coming down from Houston or San Antonio for the first time to carry votes,” Watts said. “This is where I raised my family, it’s where I built my business, I know these people, and know the values of south Texas.”
Watts said he believes that leaders in the area have confidence that he will not forget his values when if gets to the U.S. Senate, and believe that he is the right candidate to win the race against Cornyn.
State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston, has also set up an exploratory committee to consider a run against Cornyn. Noriega told the Guardian this week that he hoped Watts would stand aside for him.
“It’s not going to do us any good to nominate somebody who is going to disappear from the media radar screen for a lack of resources,” Watts said, alluding to the fact that Noriega may not have as much money to spend in a statewide general election campaign.
“I think South Texas is critical … if South Texas comes out in November as it traditionally has done in March, we’ll get to 51 percent of the vote, and we’ll have elected a new U.S. Senator.”
According to Watts, issues along the border include widespread distrust over long awaited promises by Cornyn that have never materialized.
“I have heard it over and over, Texans do not like getting lied to by their United States Senator,” Watts said. “This man came down here and said he was not voting for a fence and did. They’re angry about the fact that while he was in a position of power to help our veterans he did absolutely nothing.”
Watts said Cornyn now knows he has a political problem because of his neglect of veterans. “He is feigning interest for the first time …I don’t think South Texans have any reason to believe that if Cornyn were to get re-elected that he is not going to ignore them for the next six years,” Watts said.
State and local leaders have their own reasons for supporting the potential senator, who was born and raised in Nueces County. They said he enjoys broad support across the region.
“Mikal Watts has the experience, the education, and has always advocated for working families,” Hinojosa said. “He is a successful attorney who has never forgotten his roots, he is from South Texas, he will work hard for South Texas and take our opinions into consideration; his support is very strong.”
Hinojosa said that Cornyn has misrepresented his position to the region, and that can change with Watts. He said Watts brings a long track record of supporting working families and has always taken the side of voters, veterans, and public education.
“John Cornyn only cares about super rich people, and big corporations, he is not interested in working families or needs of the voter in the state of Texas. He doesn’t listen to South Texas,” Hinojosa told the Guardian.
“All he cares about is the fence he wants to build to separate Mexico from the United States. All he cares about is cutting programs that benefit working families; all he cares about is cutting education that benefits our children; all he cares about is cutting the benefits for our veterans that are fighting for our country in Iraq. We need to get him out.”
Watts said the endorsement conference was his 16th exploratory event in South Texas since he began his foray on June 1. He said he was finding that local leaders are eager to have a local face on the national stage.
“He’s from South Texas, he knows the area, and it’s finally time for South Texas to have someone in D.C. who knows what is right,” Salinas told the Guardian.
“We don’t have an interstate, the only metropolitan area in the U.S. to not have an interstate within a hundred miles, and the only metropolitan area in the U.S without a veterans’ hospital. Our county is growing faster in the next ten years than any county in the United States with the exception of Flagler County in Florida. Knowing that we need good strong representation in Washington D.C., that is why I am endorsing Watts.”
Noriega hopes Watts will step aside
EDINBURG, July 25 - State Rep. Rick Noriega says that before the filing deadline he hopes to have earned the support of Mikal Watts, the other Democrat currently looking at a potential run for U.S. Senate.
“Before we actually go to file, maybe we can get to visit again,” Noriega said of his potential Democratic primary rival. “We both share the same goal, and that is to defeat an ineffective senator. I would hope to earn his support.”
Noriega made his comments during a two-day visit to the Rio Grande Valley where he met privately with Democratic leaders in Cameron and Hidalgo counties. In addition to giving an extended interview with the Guardian at The Adobe, a restaurant close to the Hidalgo County Courthouse in Edinburg that is frequented by many local politicians and attorneys, Noriega taped an interview for an upcoming edition of KRGV’s Valley Newsline with Ron Whitlock show.
Noriega, a Houston Democrat, and Watts, a San Antonio-based attorney, have filed exploratory committees to look into the possibility of running for the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Noriega said he hoped Watts would stand aside and allow him a free run against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the 2008 general election. Noriega said he believed he had the stronger resume and greater potential appeal to Texas voters.
“Whether it is serving in the war, serving in the legislative body, serving on the border, serving in disaster relief efforts after Katrina, I believe I offer the strongest contrast to John Cornyn, whose fundamental philosophy is one of division,” Noriega said.
“I would love to earn Mikal’s support. With his support we have a much better chance of defeating Cornyn.”
Noriega is a five-term member of the Texas House. A lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, he served one year in combat in Afghanistan. His connections to Laredo and the Valley are strong thanks to his service in the National Guard. In Laredo, he was sector commander for Operation Jump Start for five months. He has been in the operational cell for three Operation Lone Star projects.
And, he has worked closely over the years with the 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry at Weslaco. “We used to hit every armory in the Valley on weekends once a month,” he said. Noriega also knows Harlingen well because his son Alexander was educated at the city’s Marine Military Academy.
Noriega joked that he ought to come down more often to the Valley, so that the region gets more attention from Cornyn. He said it was quite remarkable that Cornyn would announce a bill for a VA hospital in the Valley within days of confirming his decision to set up an exploratory committee.
“I need to come back more often so the Valley can, maybe, get their levees fixed, get their interstate built, get better health care,” Noriega said. “I’ll keep coming back so that the Valley can finally be paid attention, after six years of the junior Senator not knowing where the Valley was on the map. If it holds people’s feet to the fire, I am coming down here more often.”
Noriega said his intention was to “speak truth to power” over the coming months on behalf of millions of Texans who have not had proper representation in the U.S. Senate for the past six years. “This senator decided early on to represent one Texan – the President of the United States. He has carried George Bush’s brief case. He has not represented the 22 million people that live in the state of Texas,” Noriega said.
Noriega offered an example of what he believes is inadequate representation. “You have a united border leadership saying that a border wall will not work. Not to listen to that advice is not to represent the people of South Texas,” Noriega said. “The question is will Texas voters hold him (Cornyn) accountable for voting for the border wall on two occasions? No one is holding his feet to the fire.”
On his visit to the Valley, Noriega met with Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio. He said Lucio told him a border wall was not the answer to the nation’s border security concerns. Noriega also pointed to the “countless occasions” Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar has said that a wall would not work.
“We all know the wall will not work. It is a ridiculous concept. Besides, we are fortunate in Texas to have a natural barrier, the Rio Grande,” Noriega said. “The junior Senator of this state should be listening to the professionals on the ground; those who walk the walk.”
Noriega promised that one of his first pieces of legislation would be an amendment to the Secure Fence that strikes the term “physical” and replaces it with “virtual” for the Texas-Mexico border.
“We need to stop this absurdity and shift the focus to the virtual wall, to boots on the ground, and to providing the resources necessary for local law enforcement. The Valley is the front door of this state, not the doormat. Its officials need to be listened to,” Noriega said.
Noriega was just as critical of Cornyn over his help for Valley veterans. Last week, Cornyn announced he was filing legislation that would require the VA to report on the inpatient care needs of Valley veterans.
‘The veterans have been screaming for a VA hospital for years. It has taken Mr. Cornyn six years and the threat of opposition to finally speak up on the issue,” Noriega said. “A veterans’ hospital would have been my issue the first year, not the sixth year. Not when it is election time.”
Noriega said his duties in the National Guard in the Valley have included “putting people on buses, either to Kingsville, to El Paso, or to Sam Houston, so some poor guy can get an appointment he made four months ago.” He said more people need to realize that Texas does not end in San Antonio.
“This is one of the most patriotic parts of the state. You look at the number of people who serve from the Valley, it is quite impressive. It’s powerful and it’s moving. The people should have a voice,” Noriega said.
Noriega concluded by saying he would be revealing a “very impressive list” of endorsements from Valley leaders “at the appropriate time.” He mentioned this in response to a question as to whether Watts had a lock on the Democratic Party bosses in South Texas, as some political pundits have said.
“What is clear is this, whether I am in Cameron or Hidalgo, is that I can walk over to a table, and hecho, done. Game, set and match,” Noriega said. He then proceeded to go over to another table in the restaurant and strike up conversation with a potential voter.
“That is not something you can just fund. It’s something real. It’s different. It’s not put on.”
So who are you going to vote for?
