| Earlier this month a letter on LULAC letterhead criticizing Houston Mayor Bill White and the city's participation in the 287 (g) program was distributed by the campaign of John Sharp. While the letter was on LULAC letterhead and was written by Angela Garcia, who was Texas State Director of LULAC during part of the 1990s, it was not authorized by the organization. LULAC's current Texas State Director Joey Cardenas issued this statement in response to the letter: The letter from Angela Garcia is not, as it may appear to be, a letter from LULAC. It is a single point of view. Mayor Bill White and the Hispanic community have historically had a great relationship. Mayor Bill White was the keynote speaker at LULAC's convention in Dallas this year and also spoke at the state board meeting just a few weeks ago. We're having an ongoing discussion about many important issues affecting LULAC members. LULAC stays out of partisan politics and does not endorse candidates. Katy Bacon, communications director for Bill White's campaign, had this to say: It seems, yet again, the Sharp campaign is choosing to misrepresent something in an attempt to tear down Bill White, this time by presenting one person's letter as a letter from an entire organization. Texans are tired of this kind of negative, politics-of-the-past approach. Bill White has earned the support of 34 State Representatives, raised more dollars from more people than all the other candidates combined, and is traveling the state reaching out to Texans who want to work together on our state's future.
The Sharp campaign could have accurately sent out the letter as a "Letter from Angela Garcia" but sending it out as a "Letter from LULAC" is misleading. Despite Garcia's involvement and past leadership in LULAC, to say she speaks for the entire organization just does not make sense. There is no open seat, there is no election date, but there is some consistently negative campaigning going on in the U.S. Senate race here in Texas. We will have to wait and see whether the last few months are a preview of what is to come once the race really starts. |
