MCALLEN, RGV – Carlos Cascos, former Secretary of State of Texas, will be campaigning alone on street corners again as he runs for Cameron County Judge in the November 2018 general election.
Cascos was known for campaigning alone on street corners across Cameron County when he started his political career. Since then, other politicians have phoned him asking if they could do the same. In response, Cascos suggests to campaign on the streets alone. That way when people drive by, they only focus on the politician. He says he finds this to be a very humbling experience.
“The first intersection that I stood at … was intersection of Sam Houston and Business 77 in San Benito,” Cascos, a Republican, said. “Why? Because that is what I considered the heart of just a lot of Democratic voters and I wanted to go into the stomach of a lion. It’s easy to go to Treasure Hills, South Padre Island and Laguna Vista–where you’re in your comfort zone, but I wanted to go outside of that simply because I wanted voters to get to see me.”
Cascos first began his political career as a Cameron County Commissioner from 1991 to 2002. He believes once one decides to become a public servant or politician then that person serves everyone. During his time as Commissioner, Cascos said there was not one person he turned away that walked into the County Judge’s office.
“You have to be accessible to everyone regardless of their walk of life, regardless of their financial stature [and] regardless of their party affiliation,” Cascos said. “People in Cameron County and much like anywhere else in the state, if they have a problem, we serve anyone. I say that time and time again. I represent republicans, democrats, libertarians and vegetarians. … It really doesn’t matter. You serve anyone equally and fairly.”
Editor’s Note: This is the third in a three-part series on a Facebook livestream conversation Rio Grande Guardian anchor Mari Regalado had with Carlos Cascos. Click here for the first story, about southbound inspections, and here for the second, about border colonias.
Editor’s Note: The photo of Carlos Cascos used in this story was taken by Joe Hermosa for the Valley Morning Star during the 2007 general election campaign. He is standing on the intersection of 77 Sunshine Strip in Harlingen.Cascos’ victory was judged by Star readers as the Valley’s story of the year for 2006.
