Editor's Note: This story has been updated from its original version to include new information from U.S. Sen. John Cornyn's office.
MCALLEN, Texas - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has failed to exhibit any crisis management skills during the coronavirus pandemic, says the Texas Democratic Party candidate for the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Air Force veteran and former teacher MJ Hegar was in the Rio Grande Valley on Sunday to learn how the region is battling COVID-19. She met with Dr. Ivan Melendez, Hidalgo County’s health authority, and community nurse Junsete Reyna, RN, outside the McAllen Convention Center, which has been turned into a temporary COVID-19 healthcare facility.
Asked by a reporter about Gov. Abbott’s decision to reopen the Texas economy in April before all the healthcare criteria for reopening was met, Hegar said:
“I am a proponent of small business. Small businesses got hurt hardest. As the governor’s stay at home order started to expire, which he did not enforce anyway, he went in reverse any time local government tried to enforce. As soon as that was expiring, I think that was April, I struggled to understand why he let that expire. I saw a failure of crisis management.”
Hegar said public health should not be governed by politics.
“It is not about Right and Left, Democrats and Republicans. It is not about politicians versus somebody who knows what the hell they are doing. It is about crisis management. Either political party can be good at crisis management. If you put the data and the facts and the constituents and the health and the economy ahead of your political ambition.”
Hegar worked in the healthcare industry for five years. She said that when she worked in this sector, and when she was in the military, crisis management was drilled into her.
“We used to do crisis management through rubrics. When 60 percent of ICU beds are full we are at orange, when 85 percent we are at red and we are at crisis level, I did not see a lot of decision-making based on that. Like, hey, we can only open when we have this percentage of people testing positive. I did not see that,” Hegar said.
“I just saw an order expire because our governor, seemingly, was told that is what he should do to be in line with some talking points he was handed. That is what it looked like. For me, I would like to see more numbers-driven, rubicons-driven, milestone-driven, science, data, facts, driven decision-making.”
Hegar said she warned back in April that small businesses would suffer most from the reopening the economy too early.
“I was saying in April this is going to kill small businesses. You are trying to open to save small businesses? You are going to decimate small businesses because if we do not open safely in a way that people have access to testing and contract tracing we are going to have to shutdown again. Or we are not going to shutdown but nobody is going to go out and patronize these businesses and you are going to elongate this period of danger and that is what is happening.”
Asked what she learned from her trip to the Valley, Hegar said: “I learned what I suspected, which is that is has been devastating to this community. The people here are dying at twice the rate of the state average.”
Asked to elaborate, Hegar said: “I am hearing staffing shortages, I am hearing testing shortages. Staffing this pandemic should be priority No. 1. Clearly we need focus and attention on the Rio Grande Valley. It is unconscionable what is happening down here and the lack of attention from our elected officials.”
Hegar said there is a “perfect storm” occurring along the border. “We have a broken immigration system, a broken healthcare system, a fumbling of a pandemic response, climate change, and 500-year floods it seems like every year. The economic crisis compounds the healthcare crisis.”
Hegar said she has been given reports of people having to wait to save up money for a COVID test.
“People should not be unable to find out if they are a threat to their family and their coworkers because they cannot afford a test. I know the answers are not easy, they are complex. I know resources are limited and we have to make decisions on where to deploy their resources.”
In addition to healthcare workers, essential workers need greater protection, Hegar said.
“Those who are keeping food on the shelves of our grocery stores and keeping our country going. We can do better than this. We have to do better than this. We are a global superpower and it is time we started acting like it. It pisses me off. I am asking people to put politics aside, to stop asking what is right for your re-election, to stop asking what is right for your party and pick up the phone and call people and find out what we need to do.”
In his remarks, Dr. Melendez said those working in healthcare field are as apolitical as can be.
“We will accept help from anybody whose heart is where they are coming from. Whoever comes down here and spends the time and is committed to speaking with us and seeing what is going on, that, to me, gives them great credibility. We have a person here (Hegar) who is interested in public policy. She is here and she is asking the right questions,” Melendez.
Asked what message he had given to Hegar, Melendez said: “Now is the moment we are trying to get all the resources we can so we can stem it (COVID-19), so we can stop it. We need more hospitals beds, supplies and most importantly, human resources.”
Hegar is running against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Asked if he had seen or heard from Cornyn since the pandemic started, Melendez said: “No.”
Reyna, a community nurse, said she was pleased Hegar had visited the Valley to learn first hand about the region’s battle with COVID.
“It is a big fight. We want somebody to come here and listen to us. We want to keep taking care of the patients in our community,” Reyna said.
“We would love someone to come in and give us expedited testing for healthcare workers. We would someone to put us up in hotels so we can stay away from our families. We just need the help. We are glad to be listened to.”
Asked if she had seen Cornyn in the Valley during the pandemic, Reyna said: “I have not heard of anyone that has come in and asked what do we need and what can we do.”
Sen. Cornyn’s office disputed claims Texas’ senator senator has not been proactive on the coronavirus issue in the Valley. While he has not visited the Valley in recent months, he has had numerous webinars and conference calls, they said.
Cornyn’s office provided this list of activities to The Rio Grande Guardian:
March
· Rio Grande Valley Partnership VTC
April
· Hidalgo County COVID-19 Daily Coordination Call
· Cameron County’s COVID-19 Coordination Call
· Statewide Faith-Based Teletown Hall (including faith leaders from the RGV)
· Texas Hispanic Chambers of Commerce VTC (including chambers and members from the RGV)
· Joint VTC with Border Trade Alliance, Borderplex Alliance, & South Texas Manufacturing Association
· McAllen Chamber of Commerce VTC
May
· Joint Call with National Border Patrol Council Leadership, Texas Border Patrol Sector Council leaders, and Texas Union Border Patrol Agents
· VTC with Texas Border Coalition
· Call with South Texas Rural Counties, Small Cities, & Economic Development Councils
June
· VTC with Brownsville Chamber of Commerce, City of Brownsville, Port of Brownsville, and Brownsville EDC
July
· Two Calls with Hidalgo County Judge Cortez
· Call with RGV hospital leadership
Additionally, Cornyn’s office said the senator will be in the Valley next week to discuss the battle against the coronavirus.
Following her meeting with the healthcare professionals, Hegar joined state Rep. Armando Martinez of Weslaco for a tour of parts of the Valley that were hit hardest by Hurricane Hanna. She later did some voluntary work at Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
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