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| Ruben Cortez, SBOE Board Member, "Businessman" |
No doubt, hardworking Brownsville, Cameron County citizens, locked into a 40+ hours weekly grind are chagrined watching a local homeboy or homegirl win a seat as an unpaid BISD trustee, upgrade their ride from a an old Ford to a new Cadillac, open a restaurant or otherwise seemingly raise their lifestyle with no visible means of additional support.
Ruben Cortez, the son of Justice of the Peace Linda Salazar, is one of those homeboys, living proof that money can be made without working up a sweat, if you have the right political connections and chutzpah to make the deals.
Ruben is, perhaps, the poster boy for working the system, starting with his service on the BISD board. Quickly, Ruben ingratiated himself with insurance vendors, becoming a player of influence in contract negotiations. Did money change hands? Nothing's been reported.
Next, Ruben partnered with fellow BISD Trustee Attorney Rick Zayas in filling a "need" at the Ruckers-Carrizales Detention Center for toiletries, underwear, deodorant and feminine products for the detainees, who couldn't leave the facility for a run to Walmart.
Like most good "businessmen," Rick and Ruben "bought cheap and sold high," making hundreds of thousands of dollars during their tenure supervised by Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio.
Since 2013, Ruben Cortez has been involved in his latest gig, "serving" on the State Board of Education, where decisions involving millions of dollars are made annually concerning school textbooks, educational materials, policies and curriculum.
Yet, maybe, just maybe, Cortez is not using this office for personal gain. He may just have a passion for education, an insatiable thirst for knowledge with an overriding conviction to work for students.
Take a look at Cortez' work history above, coupled with his educational background and judge for yourself.
Cortez, a high school dropout, did, we're told, achieve his G.E.D. or high school equivalency document. We respect him for that effort.
There is nothing on his resume' to indicate that he's added a college degree since, not during his 5 year tenure on the SBOE or in his 30 years since achieving his G.E.D. Does that indicate a "passion for education?"
"Let the reader use discernment."
St. Matthew, Chapter 24, Verse 15
Ruben Cortez just won the Democratic Primary for SBOE Board Member. His Republican opponent is Tad Hasse.
Our next article will review Hasse's qualifications.
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Eric would have beaten Ruben.
ReplyDeleteHe's a rat, looking for the bigger pig trough
ReplyDeleteHis mommy won him the primary. We all know this.
ReplyDeleteJim, this article critical of Ruben will bring the blogsquatter back.
ReplyDeleteHey Barton, right about now it's time to check the filters and biases through which you see to construct your reality and that of others who for the most part trust your relative impartiality and sound judgement on city affairs, the drooling endorsement of annoying Tad Hasse notwithstanding. Up to now the only takeaways I'm getting about your assessment of Ruben Cortez is that he dropped out of high school (unforgiveable and unredeemable?)and that he is the son of the much-hated (for whatever reason) JP Linda Salazar. That's it? And some roundabout, unexplained shade because he made money with a lawyer friend, none of whom have ever been convicted of any crime. I, too, hated Ruben Cortez until a couple days ago when I asked myself: why do I not like this guy? never met him. Only read blogs. Then I read this in The Texas Observer:
ReplyDelete"Yesterday’s outpouring of support for a new Mexican-American history elective was prompted by Brownsville Democrat Ruben Cortez’s decision last fall to add the course to a “wish list” for new state standards. Heading into today’s meeting, the board was expected to vote on whether to create the new course and ask Texas Education Agency staff to begin the work of drafting new state standards—known, in the parlance of the state bureaucracy, as TEKS—in Mexican-American history...
After a very brief debate, the board approved Cortez’s proposal 11-3...
Republicans Pat Hardy, Tincy Miller and David Bradley voted against it. Board chairwoman Barbara Cargill abstained."
At first, and after reading bloggers like McHale and Montoya and you, I didn't like the idea of a GED guy and (for whatever reason) being the swarthy son of the swarthy Linda Salazar getting ahead. Talk about the crabs in a bucket syndrome. Had someone besides Hasse ran against Cortez, I probably would have voted blindly and blithely for him/her. But upon further, semi-thoughtful review, I like the idea that Cortez, despite whatever fuckups that prevented him from getting a high school diploma, has the tenacity to push and to speak his mind and show leadership in the textbook affair. Unless he is proven a crook or a child molester anytime soon, my vote will go to Cortez, his swarthyness notwithstanding.
Thank you, Rafael Collado! But why go "anonymous"? Not willing to do that for Cortez? LOL
Deleteel burro hablando de orejas
DeleteIsn't it unfair to write "businessman" in quotations under Ruben Cortez picture when in fact he is a businessman, at least according to his campaign reports where he lists all his businesses he owns or of which is a partner. Is throwing shade, instead of facts, your way of tipping the scales of public opinion against Cortez? And that's ok, too. Just say it; "I don't like this guy, don't know why" and move on. In any other place besides the "Crab Valley", Cortez would have been applauded for making something out of nothing. Instead of becoming another arrested development slacker posting hobo videos (like you know who), or a dropout-to-drugs crime statistic, Cortez hustled his ass off with the help of his (insert pejorative here) JP mother...because that's what mothers do, right? Help their kids, especially if he dropped out of school or got kicked out or maybe he didn't fit in the traditional educational model and just wanted to be "home schooled" by his doting mum. I'm not saying Cortez' Olmec mug (no debate there) should be inserted in Mt. Rushmore anytime soon. But at the very least he deserves a fair shake from you... because that's the way you roll?
DeleteI initially figured Cortez would win this due to the greater number of Democrats in the region. Yet Hasse actually got more votes in the primary. Many more Democrats will turn out in the general, and with that, the Democrat wave is going to sweep Cortez in for sure, was my first thought. But the Democrat wave across Texas didn't hit Cameron county, for too long abused by Gilbert and his cronies, here the demos have lost interest and stayed home. Will that also happen in november? Third, straight ticket voting has been eliminated. That means every vote must be bubbled in by hand in november. The Republican SBOE is probably one of those races that will benefit the most from this. Of course both sides know who they want for the big races like governor, but the Democrat raza has been told for years to just bubble the straight ticket bubble y ya. Is every Democrat really going to flip the page over and keep bubbling in democrats names in these other less advertised, downballot races? This is why the Republicans wanted to do away with straight ticket voting was to help the downballots. Hasse may be the first to benefit from this new practice. Especially since he received a greater number of votes in the primary than even the Democrat incumbent who has been there for 8 years. Finally, the voters who chose Arevalo Davila did so because she is educated, had multiple degrees. Are people who value education more more likely to vote for the math whiz Hasse? Upon reflection, I give Hasse a fair shot at winning.
ReplyDeleteYou abuse the palanca myth. It's been dead for years. hasse needs to earn his way in. Cortez is strong.
DeleteThis is Cortez quoted in the Rio Grande Valley Guardian: "Asked why Mexican American Studies is important, Cortez said that if students learn about heroes they can relate to they will perform better in school and life. Cortez said he was inspired to go into public life by his mother, Linda Salazar, a former school board member at Brownsville ISD and longtime justice of the peace in Cameron County.
Delete“How do we as a state inspire our young people? The woman who inspired me to run for public office had been inspired herself by a rally and march she attended as a young lady in Salinas, California. She was a migrant worker and she participated in a rally and march that was organized by Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers,” Cortez said.
And you think the math guy that works in some city basement with computers can come anywhere close to this cat's skills? Hasse inspiring brown kids? Not close. http://riograndeguardian.com/valley-hero-ruben-cortez-to-give-keynote-speech-at-mas-event/
He was inspired by his politiquera Mother? For fucks sake. That’s like being inspired by Tony Soprano in drag.
DeleteYou need to get your facts straight. One the palanca vote does not go away until 2020, so in November Democrats will be able to mark the one box.
DeleteYou numbers on the turn out are misleading which is why you never stated them. Hasse got fewer than 500 more voted than Cortez - hardly a big number. Further 18,000 more or less more Democrats voted than Republicans. Hasse is dead in the water. The Democrats are not going to give this seat to a racist Republican Party. Reality matters and the numbers speak for themselves. TAD HASSE 31,717
TOTAL REPUBLICAN VOTE 47,253
RUBEN CORTEZ : 31,289
TOTAL DEMOCRATIC VOTE 59,776
Hasse messed up big time by sidetracking the question on guest workers versus slaves. Arguing all sides must be presented on this issue was political suicide. The Dems will never cross over in the numbers needed
Hasse is German? We have enough of those idiots in government, including the shitty president. Germans do play in Brownsville.
DeleteRepublicans vote in the Democrat primary. Shhh. But don’t tell that to Bobby.
DeleteCortez and inspire do not belong on the same page of written text.
DeleteI believe that this pro-Cortez comment wins an honorable mention in the horseshit I have read today category.
DeleteWe hate Cortez because he likes barbacoa.
ReplyDeleteSon of a bitch. The blogsquatter is back. Are you proud of yourselves? Fuck off, irrelevant fart blossom.
ReplyDeleteHasse can't win. Too much bad baggage.
ReplyDeleteThe race is heart vs head.
ReplyDeleteWho in the valley doesn't love a not so educated guy who wants to debate racial history? Ok that guy is annoyingly common in every dive and vape bar. But the brain says we need our kids to excel in math, science, and STEM. We don't want to become like the African Americans producing a bunch of lib arts culture majors who take courses in analyzing racism in movies about prisons from the 1920's. Are we going to train our kids to become culturally erudite baristas or are we going to train them to become scientists, mathematicians and physicists?