CARLOS CASCOS BACKS AND MENTORS CLUPPER AT MEET AND GREET DOWNTOWN

Grandpa Don Clupper 2013

Cameron County Precinct 1, that obscenely gerrymandered area that includes Southmost, eastern Cameron County, then skips over Port Isabel, Bayview, Laguna Vista and Laguna Heights to claim South Padre Island, deserves better representation.

Sofia Benavides, holding the job since the death of her husband, Pete Benavides, has done little in the position and seems clueless about the challenge or threat of LNG at the Port of Brownsville and the preservation of ecotourism on SPI.

While many of us hoped for a young, educated challenger for Sofia, someone with vision and some comprehension of the challenges facing Southmost, eastern Cameron County and SPI, what we got instead was crusty septuagenarian, Don Clupper,  a longtime BISD teacher with strong opinions, sometimes unnecessarily confrontational.

In a dimly lit back room of the Mariscos Lauro Villar downtown, Clupper held a fundraiser Friday night, a sparsely attended event graced by the presence of the local Republicans' only rock star, former County Judge and Secretary of State Carlos Cascos.

Clupper later characterized the event as a tussle between he and Cascos:  "I stood right up to him, Jim.  I told him that the abatements signed when he was County Judge weren't being monitored carefully."

Actually, seeing a video made by Republican luminary Jessica Puente Bradshaw, it seemed more like Cascos was educating the audience and Clupper about how tax abatements work with the candidate offering a few counterpoints.

"SpaceX is currently in violation of the abatement agreement I signed as County Judge calling for Boca Chica Beach to be shut down no more than one day per month, unless that contract has been modified since I left office," Cascos explained.

Cascos opened up the discussion for questions, encouraging all present to actually attend the monthly meetings of the Cameron County Commissioners Court.

"I don't remember seeing any of you in the audience when I was serving as County Judge," Cascos gently chastised.

So, Precinct 1 voters must decide between an incumbent obviously over her head in the office and an opinionated older man who, at least, is conversant on the issues despite occasionally needing some occasional tutoring from the former County Judge.