ERIN'S POLITIQUEROS: VOTE EARLY...AND VOTE OFTEN
By Juan Montoya
Like a well-oiled (or shall we say, greased) political machine, the vans hauling the voters in for Erin Hernandez Garcia started rolling in with the van pictured at right making at least six trips to the early voting site at the Cameron County Elections Office.
Vanload after vanload made were driven to the curb to cast their vote. Hernandez-Garcia is in a runoff for JP 2-2 with Yolanda Begum, who garnered some 500 votes more that she did in the first go-round May 29.
Now, after activists with the Citizens Against Voter Abuse (CAVA) have analyzed the applications for mail-in ballots, they have discovered that about 500 applications were handed in for the runoff.
On Tuesday, the driver of the van (the same one pictured here) made numerous trips to deliver the Hernandez walk-in early votes.
When a poll watcher for Begum challenged some of the votes because they lacked identification, a brouhaha erupted and Erin herself made an appearance. Elections administrator Roger Ortiz walked across Harrison Street to soothe her ruffled feathers and spent some time pacifying her before walking back to the office.
How seriously Ortiz is taken by Erin Hernandez, whose father Ernie Hernandez is a county commissioner who oversees his budget is anyone's guess. Ortiz is also married to Elvira, who works for Cameron County District Clerk Aurora De la Garza.But nonetheless, when a representative of CAVA arrived to collect more information on the mail-in votes that have decided elections in favor of Hernandez in the past, Ortiz made himself circumspect and went into his back office.
In the picture below, the driver of the van was photographed speaking with Erin as her entourage at the corner of the parking lot across from the voting site as cheerleaders headed by politiquera Herminia Becerra shouted out chants against the Begum group across the street.
"I left early because we've already had double the number of the votes in two days that I was supposed to deliver the whole week," Becerra claimed later in a phone call. "We no longer have any need to be there."
On Monday, Ortiz received complaints that Erin had planted herself directly in front of the polling place and was actually approaching each of these voters as they were getting off. Since this was a violation of the election laws due to the proximity to the poll, Roger Ortiz was called and he asked Erin to please remove herself from this particular area.Now, Erin has sought the support of the voters with a slogan that she can deliver "Legal Experience You Deserve."
Yet,as her actions at the polls and in the photos above clearly show, skirting the law is more to her forte, as this blog has previously documented.
Meanwhile, at Cameron Park, reports that elections workers were providing curb service to voters who were clearly not incapacitated also generated a complaint from at least two candidates. According to the reports, the workers – and not the voting site elections judge – made the determination to take the ballots to the waiting cars and assisted the voters with their ballots.
Meanwhile, as this was happening, the voters who emerged from the polls were treated to a plate of barbecue chicken from the candidate they allegedly voted for.
Early Voting July 23-27~Democratic Polling Places and Times
BROWNSVILLE - Main Elections Office (8 AM to 8 PM)
BROWNSVILLE - Christ the King Catholic Church (from 10 AM to 7 PM)
BROWNSVILLE - Brownsville Public Library (from 10 AM to 7 PM)
BROWNSVILLE - Cameron Park Community Center (10 AM to 7 PM)
HARLINGEN - Cameron County Annex Building (10 AM to 7 PM)
SAN BENITO - San Benito Community Building (10 AM to 7 PM)
PORT ISABEL - Hon. Bennie Ochoa III County Annex Building (10 AM to 7 PM)
LA FERIA - La Feria Fire Station (10 AM to 7 PM)
LOS FRESNOS - Los Fresnos Community Building (10 AM to 7 PM)
Damn Jiim you guys bitch if they push people to vote by mail. You bitch they bus people in. How the hell do you want people to vote??? Begum doesn't want Erin supporters to vote at all.
ReplyDeleteErin supporters to vote at all.
Delete-------------
IT IS MY OPINION THAT ERIN, NORMA (SHE IS CALL BOSS LADY) WERE PICKING UP VERY SPECIAL KIDS (THESE SHOULD BE WITH A BLOOD PARENT) TO VOTE FOR ERIN, IF THE ELDERLY WANTED TO VOTE FOR YOLANDA THE ELDERLY WERE LEFT WIITHOUT A RIDE.
Mutha fuckas, nothing but cheucos, Jimmy, nothing but a vieja chueca. Y esta bien fea.
ReplyDeleteShe touts herself as a laywer, yet shows no respect for the law. And Erin claims she will make a better Justice of the Peace? Esta pendeja la pinche Erin, y tambien la gente que la apoya.
ReplyDeleteKim, I voted at Cameron park yesterday.. The begum tent had the grill fired up as well giving away food. Damn man. Anything Erin does bothers thenshit out of you all. I've always enjoyed your blog, but it's sounding like a broken violin.
ReplyDeleteBadly written story by Montoya. Too many "ins" in first paragraph. First sentence in second paragraph makes no sense. Comma-use is atrocious. Montoya must be drinking again. But, more important than that, why the breathless reporting of a typical early voting day scene in Brownsville? Is Montoya offering this as something new? It isn't. What the has-been Montoya is doing is simply dumping on a candidate his own wishes to defeat. That's not journalism; it's crap. What he needs from here on out is a disclaimer atop every posting, one saying he is typing in support of this and that loser.
ReplyDeleteAgree 100 %. Montoya can no longer be trusted. He is no different than a politiquera, doing dirty work for a candidate. But Montoya cannot be shamed. he is the quintessential border reporter, exactly like the Matamoros kind - vendido. He's unemployed and scratching out a few bucks with that free blog. Obrero! Mojado! Jediondo! Apoya a tus ninos, buey!!!
DeleteErin is a snake in the grass.
ReplyDeleteA snake in the grass is harmless; one up your ass is painful.
Deleteits all bullshit and you know it. everyone is out for themselves. we aint got a prayer. http://southtexasdaily.com/n-34th-congressional-district-race/#comments
ReplyDeleteMy vote is not for chucky's bride(Erin) keep corruption out of our Judicial System. Remember, this piece of fruit did not fall from the tree.
ReplyDeleteJim, why is everybody BUTTHURT about everything in this campaign? Everything seems to be against the law on ALL sides. Can candidates take a shit without Montoya blasting them for answering nature's call? His posts are so far fetched. Is he on meds? He has even resorted to using the Herald as a backup. Now that is really going low. Geez it is sounding like a school yard full of tattle-tales. What's a reader to do? On a serious note; I wish the best for ALL the candidates,volunteers and family.
ReplyDeleteDamn, all bloggers need editors, proofreaders, but that costs money and the blogs are free to us, the readers. I don't always agree with their slants on any given subject, but it is their right to say whatever they want, it is their blog. If they get some cash out of it, good for them. Even the "Brownsville Herald " is paid off to print or not to print certain stories. Life is hard enough, stop hating so much. Try being the administrator, writer, editor, proofreader of a blog and let's see how well you do.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to "Brownsville Truth"? That appeared to be well written anal then it just stopped posting, sad. I also wish the best to the candidates and all involved in they election process.