| Key Point: Rick Perry's secret border plan doesn't involve local officials, and he's clamoring about a problem that the McAllen Police Chief says does not even exist! The Texas Border Coalition -- a group of mayors, city, and county officials from along Texas' border -- are upset that Rick Perry has failed to consult him on his secret border plan. And understandably so -- between his lies about reducing crime rate on the broder and attempt to scream about Washington instead of work with those in charge -- Perry is playing politics with an extremely dangerous and violent situation facing Texas citizens. From the McAllen Monitor story, "Senators call for openness in contingency plans for violence along U.S.-Mexico border" we learn that Rick Perry and Senator John Cornyn's grandstanding about the "spillover violence" in Mexico is actually a bunch of hogwash. But while some argue that Mexican drug violence has spilled over to Texas and is directly affecting border residents, others maintain that significant spillover has yet to occur. “The impression that we have is that violence is overtaking Mexico to the extent that we have an almost lawless situation there,” McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said. “But to suggest that that threat currently exists for U.S. communities is ridiculous.”
Yesterday, the Texas Border Coalition issued a release asking Perry to clue them into his plan. The members of the Texas Border Coalition include the following local elected officials -- people you would think may know something about what is actually going on in their communities: - Mayor Efrain Valdez, City of Del Rio
- Frances Rodriguez, City of Del Rio
- Mayor John David Franz City of Hidalgo
- Mayor Pat Ahumada, City of Brownsville
- Mayor Chad Foster, City of Eagle Pass
- Mayor John F. Cook, City of El Paso
- Mayor Richard H. Garcia, City of Edinburg
- Mayor Chris Boswell, City of Harlingen
- Mayor Raul G. Salinas, City of Laredo
- Mayor Richard Cortez, City of McAllen
- Mayor Norberto Salinas, City of Mission
- Mayor Ruben Villareal, City of Rio Grande City
- Mayor Rogelio Ybarra, City of Roma
- Judge Jose Aranda, Jr., Maverick County
- Judge Rene A. Ramirez, Hidalgo County
- Pat Townsend, Mission EDA
Their letter reads as follows (click here to a link to a Word document of their original letter): Dear Governor Perry: Along with my elected colleagues on the border, I have watched with interest the announcement that you are activating the first phase of your Spillover Violence Contingency Plan. We live on the border and have responsibility for our communities and our citizens. However, at this point we are learning about your plans from the media, along with everyone else. This makes it impossible for us to coordinate with your office to create the most effective strategy to keep our border communities safe. We would ask that you do us the courtesy of consulting with our coalition of elected mayors and county judges along the border, so that the state’s activities can be coordinated and we can have the best possible response to ensure that no violence spills over onto Texas soil. We appreciate your concern for the border region and the safety of our citizens. Please keep in mind that as Texans who live, work and raise our families in close proximity to the Texas-Mexico border, no one has a bigger stake in border security than we do. Thank you for your consideration. You can reach me or my city manager, Frances Rodriguez, at Del Rio City Hall at (830) 774-8558. Sincerely, Efrain Valdez
Mayor of Del Rio and Chairman, Texas Border Coalition
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