Erin Gets Ugly in Justice of the Peace Race

                                                                    Erin H. Garcia 

Lies and Slander from the Hernandez Camp

"How could they do this?" asked Yolanda Begum of the blogger sitting across from her.  "One of my friends, Letty, said a bank teller told her that I was buying voter cards from the adult day cares.  She said a Erin H. Garcia campaign worker told her that."


"And yesterday, Jim, we were in the same area as Erin's people.  A lady told us that Erin's blockwalker had told her that I was bi-polar and an alcoholic.  Jim, I almost never drink anything alcoholic.  Why do they say stuff like that?"

"You know, Jim, when Erin got the endorsement of the teacher's union, I congratulated her, but when I got the firemen and paramedics' endorsement and so many others, she calls them 'losers.' How can she be so hateful?"

Actually, as I told Yolanda, this is to be expected from the Hernandez's.  After losing the primary by nearly 500 votes, they are desperate and bound to get dirty.  That's how they stole the election from Ruben Pena in 2010.  They will go all out to steal this election.  Ernie Hernandez is the poster boy for corrupt Cameron County politics and Erin is his biological and methodological daughter. 

Hernandez Known for Sign Stealing

An old dirty trick frequently alleged of the Hernandez's is the stealing and defacement of campaign signs. Ms. Begum lost several hundred of her campaign signs once it was just her and Erin in the run-off.   As one former opponent of Ernie's expressed it:  "One of my friends admitted to me after the election that she had been hard up for gas money and heard that Ernie was paying $5 for every opponent's sign.  She admitted she took 3 of my signs to Ernie for $15 worth of gas money."  Another current candidate actually bought her signs from Ernie, but also experienced a huge theft of signs.  "I don't think it was my opponent", she explained.  "I truly believe it was Ernie's people stealing my signs so that I would buy more."

Paying Cheezmeh to do Hernandez' Dirty Work

Yolanda Begum According to Erasmo Castro of Brownsville Cheezmeh

Shortly after Erin Hernandez began paying Brownsville Cheezmeh for "advertising", the caricature of Yolanda Begum above appeared on the Cheezmeh site.   Below the pic was an article written in the semi-literate, yet sanctimonious style of Erasmo Castro, the guru of Cheezmeh, charging Ms. Begum with bad cell phone manners, overuse of makeup and bad hair:

"n Taste…and we are not talkin about the free food at the Mattingly Meet and Greet

4 February 2012 By cheezmeh

And now is the time for soirèes and “Meet and Greets” , where there is a man (or a woman) of the hour who is surrounded by his/her supporters, critics, and the gadflies who are there for the free food.
But what about good manners and taste when one political firecracker attends the event of another election hopeful? We know class cannot be bought, nor can it be supplemented by campaign funds from well-meaning supporters and political groupies.
Why oh WHY would Yolanda not silence her phone during Chuck’s speech? A ringer should not be allowed to go off THAT many times during such an important point of an event. What are you like at funerals, Madam? And why – furthermore – was she “pressing flesh” with people sitting at their respective tables (whose names she did not know) to prevail upon them with flyers bearing her name and, without discussing anything she stands for, soliciting that their votes be hers?
The humble author is about to take it down a level:
Honey, it is CHUCK’s shindig. Why would you overpower his flyers and stickers with your own? And lay off the eyeliner. Maybe even lighten up the cut of your ‘do a bit – you come off as har d ad harsh and almost glaring with the way you make yourself up. Do yourself a favour. And keep the pamphlets away from the ones that belong to the person these people have come to support.
There is a “time” and a “place” to further your political interests in such an insistent and pressing manner. Such as, for example, YOUR OWN MEET AND GREET.
There were a couple of “may the best candidate win” quips to be heard after such an intrusion during what would have otherwise been a night of gladhanding and support for gentle giant Chuck.
Luckily, the White Knight man of the hour, Chuck Mattingly, was visible and prevailed with his notably palpable presence, as well as the many supporters in tow who acknowledged his accomplishments and CONVICTIONS – both legal and moral. Cheers, all."

Hernandez's Condemn Spanish Accent

"How can you even understand her?"  "What do you expect from someone born in Mexico?"  

Statements like these and many more began to come from the Hernandez camp, especially on the Brownsville Cheezmeh Facebook page, criticizing Yolanda Begum for her Spanish accent.  Even though many of us tried to reassure her, Yolanda was initially a bit self-conscious of her accent, although, unlike several other candidates, she is proficient in oral as well as written speech in  two languages.   A turning point for Begum came at an appearance with Denise Blanchard, a candidate for congress.  Begum observed Blanchard first try to address the group in English.  No one understood.  Then Blanchard tried attempted some phrases in Spanish with great difficulty.  It was at that point that Begum realized that her proficiency in the two languages was certainly adequate.

Juan Montoya, publisher of the El Rrun Rrun blog recently observed JP candidate Erin Hernandez attempt Spanish.  He indicates that she struggled mightily with mismatched nouns and pronouns with a proficiency in Spanish similar to many Winter Texans.

Certainly, Ms. Begum need not be concerned about these attempts to mock her accent by the Hernandez camp.

Begum's Plan for Justice of the Peace Position

While teaching art to truant students in Cameron Park for a number of years, Begum became familiar with the huge truancy problem in Brownsville.  Not only do truant students eventually drop out of school, they frequently become involved in crimes such as burglary, vandalism and drug use.  

Ms. Begum would like to make some adjustments in the way such truancy cases are handled that come before the JP Court.  First of all, she does not want students to miss classes or parents to miss work to handle such cases.  She proposes to travel to the school in question as JP and meet with the parents, student and teacher there.  All the parties involved can work together to correct the problem without delay.  

Begum has also contacted the UTB administration about utilizing students pursuing advanced degrees in psychology and sociology as volunteer mentors for these students.  

Ms. Begum wants to utilize the JP position to actually make a difference in our community.