Our Visit With Alex Dominguez, Candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct 2, At Antonio's

Alex Dominguez

The 2014 Cameron County elections are already historic, regardless of what happens from this point.  The voters have finally rejected the indicted Ernie Hernandez, Jr., after he's used Brownsville and Cameron County as his personal ATM machine for 25 years.  His daughter Erin, the apple not falling far from Ernie's tree, has also received her pink slip from the sleepy, but not comatose, voters.

Now, who will replace Ernie?  After we published the impressions of our interview with Leo Lopez, Candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct 2, we received a call from Zeke Silva, Campaign Manager for Alex Dominguez, the primary's top vote getter in that race.  Nena and I met with Alex and Zeke at Antonio's on Paredes Line Road.  

One of nine children in a migrant farm family, Alex Dominguez became a valley resident at the age of five, when his mother insisted the children not miss school.  His father took a job supervising a Santa Rosa sugar field.  He's proud of his family's work ethic, how his brothers and sisters cared for a special needs' sibling, the fact that six of the siblings became teachers.  

When I mentioned that Rice University, where Alex received a BA in Political Science after transferring from Southwest Texas State, is not the easiest of schools, he replied:  "True, I'm not sure I could even get in now as they require a near perfect S.A.T."  Dominguez received his law degree from Arizona State.

Our discussion shifted to Precinct 2 and the county as a whole.  "The county could really benefit from a grants writing department similar to the city's," offered Dominguez.  

As to Cameron Park's future, Dominguez feels those residents have "earned the right to decide that for themselves."  He's not certain they would even prefer annexation by Brownsville at this point, perhaps even consider becoming their own "municipality."  He admires their community leaders, like Gloria Moreno, and the fact that they vote with a higher percentage of registered voters than the city.  He cites "loose dogs, trash pickup, lighting" as among that area's primary concerns.

He wants the county to take the lead in developing the industrial corridor.  He doesn't see United Brownsville so much as a scam, but aggressive businessmen making certain their companies get a piece of the action.  

He would not hesitate to approach developers to handle their responsibilities with regard to infrastructure, flood control, etc. Dominguez feels his public speaking skills in English or Spanish give him an edge in representing the county's interests by courting new business in Mexico or seeking consensus within the Commissioner's Court.  

While there's nothing wrong with someone entering politics immediately after law school, that's not the situation with the 42 year old Dominguez.  His twenty-year work history includes legal assistant, four years as a teacher, stints at a Prosecuting Attorney's office, the Cameron County District Attorney's Office(not under Villalobos), and over nine years as a lawyer, focusing on "civil, criminal defense and pro bono cases."  His practice, currently with 150 annual clients, would be greatly reduced to serve as Precinct 2 Commissioner.  

Dominguez cites "truancy" and Brownsville's high school dropout rate as critical, sees a need for the county to develop the area along Highway 4 to Boca Chica, not simply wait on SpaceX.  If Elon Musk does decide to locate near Boca Chica, Dominguez states "we don't have potential employees with the skills required for those jobs."  He says our educational institutions will have to react quickly with training for the job demand that enterprise would create.

Nena wants me to add that she found Alex "easygoing, approachable, not only able to express his opinion, but interested in ours."