BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A candidate running for Cameron County Commissioner’s Court is making a last-minute pitch to voters.
Joseph Lucio said back in the day, the local newspaper would feature the candidates. He said that has not happened this election.
Lucio is challenging County Commissioner for Precinct 3, Joey Lopez, in the Democratic Party primary. The runoff election is on Tuesday.
An interview with the Rio Grande Guardian, Lucio said he is the candidate for change. He said his criticism of his opponent is based on facts.
"These are the facts. You can look them up right now in Cameron County campaign finance reports. My opponent hasn't reported his last two campaign finance reports. He’s not submitted them. He is out of compliance. That’s not right. He should be getting big fines right now,” Lucio said.
Lucio said he suspects Lopez has not filed his campaign finance reports because he does not want voters to see where he is getting his campaign funds.
“The truth is that the majority of his money comes from current Cameron County vendors. They have current contracts where they are making thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars off the county.”
Lucio said that by contrast, his campaign is “grassroots driven.”
The Guardian will bring Lopez’s response in our next edition. Lopez has spoken about his campaign on social media, however.
“I’m your county commissioner for precinct two, Joey Lopez. This year has tested me in ways I’ve never imagined. Losing my beautiful wife, Sylvia, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face,” Lopez said.
“I’m human. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve taken full responsibility, but, through it all my commitment to precinct two hasn’t wavered, not for a single second. I’m here to lead, to serve, and to keep delivering for the people of Cameron County.”
Lucio reiterated that he is sticking to facts.
“We have these hard-hitting, very important facts to share with the public. We want to get these facts out there so that the people can decide. We hope they open their eyes.”
Another criticism of Lopez made by Lucio is that the incumbent holds ribbon-cutting ceremonies for sports fields and parks that are not fully developed. He cited a soccer field in Cameron Park.
“They presented it in a certain way, that it's open to the public, it's open to the kids of Cameron Park. But now they can't maintain it. It's half dirt. It’s a dirt field. The gates are always closed. You can go there right now. The gates are being closed. It's never open to the public, only for special events.”
Lucio continued: “They built a big splash pad, right, super exciting news. I love Splash, guys. I'm not against it. I have two kids, and I love it. But in the middle of the summer, when it's 105 degrees, it's pure concrete. There's no shade. On the first day you have people coming in and complaining, it's too hot, we're getting burned. The door handle to the restroom is burning hot. I can't even open it.”
Asked what he is hearing from voters, Lucio said:
“What I'm hearing most from voters right now, the hot topic, is infrastructure. People are tired of their roads being in bad shape. They're tired of roads that are full of potholes, that don't have shoulders. That’s the biggest thing. And then drainage. Drainage is a huge issue because we know that we are flood prone. If we had a united Commissioners Court, that focused on infrastructure, that focused on safety, we would have gotten these things done a long time ago, but that's just not where their focus is.”
Lucio said the current commissioners court has focused on economic growth. He said if elected he would focus on responsible economic growth.
“That is part of my platform, responsible economic development. I think with the current commissioners’ court, they've left behind our infrastructure. I'm an emergency manager by trade, like that's where my mind is at, that's where my heart is, so I think that's what we need to shift back to, that infrastructure, and simple things too, like fixing potholes. It’s like pulling teeth just to have a simple safety measure put in a certain place, but those are all things that I feel like our current leadership is failed at.”
Another example of Lucio being the change candidate - he wants county employees to be better paid and to have an outlet where they can speak their mind. He said it was wrong for commissioners to vote themselves a hefty pay raise and give employees a raise that barely keeps up with the cost of inflation.
He said he would like to see mandatory evaluations of staff each year.
“Let’s say there is a staff member who has worked there for ten years. He or she has done well, maybe exceeded expectations. And then a new manager comes in, and they don't see eye to eye, they have issues. Well, now that new manager is pushing that person out. What do they have to show HR? What do they have to show the county? They have nothing, they have no proof, they have nothing that says I've done well for ten years, I'm an asset to this organization. It's not there,” Lucio said.
‘What happens now is everything in Cameron County becomes the buddy system, or as we call it, the compadre system. If you don't have a good relationship with your supervisor, well, good luck, because who else do you have to protect you?”
Lucio finished the interview by talking about the political scene at the national level.
“The thing that worries me is the state that we're in. I feel like all across the US, our standards seem to be sinking lower and lower. We’re accepting more and more the lies and the negativity from our political officials. When there is a demonstrable fact, too many people out there dismiss it. I've seen comments (on social media) defending politicians, saying, oh, we've all done it. I'm hopeful that's not the majority. Because if we continue this way as a society, where we normalize this stuff. It's going to become the norm. We have to make our standards higher. We have to be better than that as a society, as people. So, we have to keep fighting that kind of stuff.”
