Special to El Rrun-Rrun
The gloves have come off.
If you thought that the race for the 2020 Democratic Party primary for Cameron County Sheriff was going to follow in the normal gentlemen's agreement tradition, think again.
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Eric Garza, currently the Cameron County District Clerk, announced just last week that he will be challenging the 18-year incumbent Omar Lucio for sheriff. Lucio was first elected to office in 1997, lost a term, and then took over again in 2005. He has been in office since.
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On the other hand, Garza has served one full term after being elected in 2014. He was then reelected in 2018 and is in the first year of a four-year term.
Garza will remain in office until the commissioners court appoints a replacement, but he has signaled that he isn't going to wait and has come out swinging.
In an attack ad that started airing today, he goes after Lucio for what he alleges is "wasteful" spending that results in the department going "consistently" over budget because of inept management, the cost of housing inmates outside the county at taxpayer expense, and a failed attempt to get a $30,000 pay raise.
The ad seeks to link the overspending to the recent tax increase by the county that will cost county taxpayers additional $7 million. Will it stick? See the ad for yourself by clicking on the link below. https://vimeo.com/365882572
In the ad, Lucio is depicted before the commissioners court lamely answering "I don't know" to questions on these issues.
Now, remember, we have a full five more months of campaigning before the primary, so it's only going to get hotter before it cools off. Attack ads are pricey endeavors. It's now or never for Garza and his ad bears witness that he knows this very well. Will Lucio engage?
If this is any indication of what awaits Lucio down the road, he may not have much of a choice in the matter. It'd either take a pummeling in television ads and social media or come out swinging himself. Does he still have the vigor to respond to this new challenge?
The gloves have come off.
If you thought that the race for the 2020 Democratic Party primary for Cameron County Sheriff was going to follow in the normal gentlemen's agreement tradition, think again.
Eric Garza, currently the Cameron County District Clerk, announced just last week that he will be challenging the 18-year incumbent Omar Lucio for sheriff. Lucio was first elected to office in 1997, lost a term, and then took over again in 2005. He has been in office since.
On the other hand, Garza has served one full term after being elected in 2014. He was then reelected in 2018 and is in the first year of a four-year term.
Garza will remain in office until the commissioners court appoints a replacement, but he has signaled that he isn't going to wait and has come out swinging.
In an attack ad that started airing today, he goes after Lucio for what he alleges is "wasteful" spending that results in the department going "consistently" over budget because of inept management, the cost of housing inmates outside the county at taxpayer expense, and a failed attempt to get a $30,000 pay raise.
The ad seeks to link the overspending to the recent tax increase by the county that will cost county taxpayers additional $7 million. Will it stick? See the ad for yourself by clicking on the link below. https://vimeo.com/365882572
In the ad, Lucio is depicted before the commissioners court lamely answering "I don't know" to questions on these issues.
Now, remember, we have a full five more months of campaigning before the primary, so it's only going to get hotter before it cools off. Attack ads are pricey endeavors. It's now or never for Garza and his ad bears witness that he knows this very well. Will Lucio engage?
If this is any indication of what awaits Lucio down the road, he may not have much of a choice in the matter. It'd either take a pummeling in television ads and social media or come out swinging himself. Does he still have the vigor to respond to this new challenge?