12 Valley mayors backing Perry for governor
Joel Martinez/The Monitor
Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday receives endorsements from some of the Rio Grande Valley's mayors, including Mission Mayor Norberto Salinas, far left, and McAllen Mayor Richard Cortez, left Perry was giving a speech at the Club at Cimmon in Mission.
By KAITLIN BELL
The Monitor
MISSION - Twelve Rio Grande Valley mayors are officially backing Gov. Rick Perry for a second term in office, the governor announced at a Wednesday afternoon event in Mission.
The mayors hail from Mission, McAllen, Harlingen, Hidalgo, Donna, Pharr, Palmhurst, Rio Grande City, Progreso, Edcouch, La Villa and Elsa.
Perry, whom spokesman Robert Black said traveled to the Valley expressly for the event, called the show of support in a traditionally Democratic region as evidence of his good work during his first term. He also said it demonstrates his loyalty to South Texas.
Of the 12 mayors who endorsed Perry, just three - Beto Salinas of Mission, John David Franz of Hidalgo and Ric Morales of Donna - backed him during his 2002 campaign. Harlingen's previous mayor also supported Perry in 2002, as does his successor, Rick Rodriguez.
Perry called the mayors' support this time a sign they want to back a winner.
On hearing just four Valley mayors supported him in 2002, he joked, "My Aggie math tells me that's a factor of three better."
Several of the mayors offered thanks for what they called Perry's generosity toward South Texas. Franz thanked Perry for an "open-door policy" in Austin, while Salinas called Perry "the best governor we've ever had," and credited him for highway funding.
The campaign of Perry's Democratic challenger, Chris Bell, could not have disagreed more.
"He's been just horrible for South Texas," said Cameron County Judge Gilberto Hinojosa, who is acting as Bell's unofficial spokesman in the Valley.
"I think they're feeling like they're being held hostage to the governor because his office controls the purse strings," Hinojosa continued. He also said the endorsements show the mayors are out of touch with their constituents, whom he predicted would continue their heavily Democratic voting trend in November.
State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who is running as an independent, responded to Perry's announcement Wednesday with a press release reiterating her South Texas endorsements, including that of San Juan Mayor San Juanita Sanchez.
Independent candidate Kinky Friedman, on the other hand, didn't think twice about how the endorsements would affect the outcome of the election, said spokesman Laura Stromberg.
"Eleven mayors really amount to just eleven notes," she said. "This isn't a surprise; politicians will support politicians."
Valley Freedom Newspapers reporter Elizabeth Pierson and Monitor Staff Writer Andres R. Martinez contributed to this report.