Can Yolanda Begum Defeat Erin Hernandez Garcia for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2-2?

    
     The headline above was my question to a close friend at the Yolanda Begum Fundraiser held at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art September 22, 2011.  "Well, if she keeps getting turnouts like this, she could," my friend responded.  Master of ceremonies Evelon Dale orchestrated an entry worthy of royalty or maybe the late James Brown, putting special emphasis on Ms. Begum's middle name:  "Please rise for your next Justice of the Peace, Yolanda TERAN Begummmmmmmm!"   Ms. Begum entered from a side room to a mostly standing, roused crowd.  Evelon Dale repeated her name twice more with the same cadence and power.  Did I hear trumpets blare?   Ms. Begum approached but was not offered the microphone just yet.  That assignment fell to her son, attorney Alex Begum,  described by my friend as "likely her biggest financial contributor."




     Young Mr. Begum started his speech with a bit of melodrama, describing the Democratic Party as "under attack."  Aren't all political parties sort of under attack with politics being a war?  Begum then traced the party's development briefly, starting with Thomas Jefferson, finally ending in extreme south Texas, characterizing "our area as one of the last havens of the Democratic Party stronghold."  A couple sentences later, he delivered his best line:  "Candidates are supposed to be elected to give back. Since when did it become OK for candidates to be elected for personal gain? Where did we lose that?"
     Personal gain is, of course, what the Hernandez family is all about.  Ernie Hernandez, Jr., his wife Norma and now, kid Erin have used Brownsville and Cameron county as their personal ATM machine for years, tossing the ownership of various companies that do business with the city and county back and forth like hot potatoes, depending on who did nor did not hold office at the time.  Erin Hernandez Garcia has also declared for Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2-2.
     So, back to my original question.  Yolanda Begum said the right things.  She wants to work closely with BISD to control truancy among other things.  She read her speech from a notebook, flipping the pages, responding to applause with a broad smile.  Her campaign is largely dedicated to her late husband, Mike Begum, a cancer victim, as were two sisters.  She herself battled cancer, but has been cancer free for 13 years.  Her business experience includes running the family's New Yorker clothing stores and a restaurant in San Antonio.  She used her talent for art to teach children in the colonias.  This is a good resume', but can she beat Erin?


     I got a bit more insight as I went for a beer and brushed by Juan Montoya, the writer of the El Rrun Rrun blog.  Juan said: "I see money here.  Everywhere I look, I see money."  Nena took a picture of Juan and I with Pete Avila, former firefighter.  Back from the beer line, I asked Laura Miniel my question of the night.  "All of these ladies are voters.  In fact, this looks like an entire room full of voters."  Ok, money, voters.  That's a good start.