Voters in Travis County Commissioner Precinct 4 have been barraged by campaign ads in recent days and weeks, and it should be no surprise that one local incumbent, Margaret Gomez has decided to go negative in the waning days of the election.
One attack ad run by the Margaret Gomez campaign against her opponent, former City Councilman Raul Alvarez, goes so far as to depict the Republican party's elephant-logo bearing the name of the well known Democratic challenger Raul Alvarez. It bears noting that challenger Raul Alvarez's record reflects a considerably more progressive pattern of votes than Gomez's.
Another ad run by the Margaret Gomez campaign involves the unauthorized use and implied endorsement of popular Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
Upon being contacted, Congressman Doggett's office has stated that they in fact did not endorse Margaret Gomez and further stated that the Gomez campaign has no permission to use either Congressman Doggett's name or his likeness.
The unauthorized use of Congressman Doggett's name and likeness is the latest in a series of controversies regarding the Margaret Gomez campaign's use of the names of high-profile residents and public figures without their consent, including her former chief of Staff Joe Vela. Joe Vela noted this in a letter to the Austin Chronicle, adding "the name Joe Vela appears on the supporters list of both candidates for Precinct 4 Travis County Commissioner. To clarify any confusion, I support Raul Alvarez for this office. We need an advocate who will show up for work and speak to the needs of precinct 4."
This shows the fevered pitch that the race for Precinct 4's Commissioner seat has reached, as well as the desperation of the incumbent Gomez to hang on to her seat.
While our campaign had previously garnered the endorsements of:
The Austin Firefighter's Association
The Austin Hispanic Firefighter's Association
The Austin African American Firefighter's Association
as well as Former Mayor Will Wynn
Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Martinez
among many many others - the last 48 hours have been extremely exciting for us.
last night we received the endorsements of:
Former Mayor Pro Tem Betty Dunkerly
Council Member Randi Shade
as well as both the
The Sierra Club
and
(Cap-Metro) Amalgamated Transit Union 1091
And most exciting of all we swept tonight's Travis County Democratic Party Mega-Forum by receiving the endorsements of the
Tejano Democrats
Capital City Young Democrats
Texas Environmental Democrats
Northeast County Democrats
Capital Area Asian American Democrats
"I am extremely honored and extremely grateful to receive the endorsement of these institutions, and I feel this shows the community's desire for new leadership and new direction." - Raul Alvarez
Raul Alvarez, former two-term City Council member and candidate for County Commissioner Precinct 4 has raised an impressive $30,000 by December 31st of last year, out-raising his opponent, incumbent Gomez by nearly $10,000.
At this early stage of the race, Alvarez has already raised more than any previous Challenger that Gomez has faced.
Raul Alvarez has run a largely grass-roots campaign, with over 200 donors and more than 80% of his donors having contributed $100 or less.
The number of small donors demonstrates his strong support in the community and a desire for new leadership and new direction on the Commissioner's Court.
(AUSTIN) - Raul Alvarez has received the endorsement of the Austin Firefighters Association.
He is also proud to receive the support of the African American Firefighters Association and the Hispanic Firefighters Association.
"Its an honor to be endorsed by the Austin Firefighters Association. I have been a strong advocate for the firefighters in the past when I was on the city council," Alvarez said. "I will remain a strong voice for the firefighters as long as I 'm in public office."
(Raul Alvarez is running for Travis County Commissioner in Precinct 4. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Fellow Democrats,
I'm Raul Alvarez, I am proud to have called Austin home for almost 20 years and I am excited to be running for Travis County Commissioner for Pct. 4
I'm running because our community is at a crossroad. We face serious challenges when it comes to:
Strengthening our local economy
Supporting educational achievement
Protecting our natural resources &
Promoting affordability, among others.
As your commissioner, I will provide strong leadership so that we can tackle these issues. I will be a strong advocate for Precinct 4. I will work to find new solutions to the economic, educational, environmental challenges we face. I will be a leader on issues that affect working families. Our community and Precinct 4 need relief now. We cannot afford to wait 4 more years for change to come. We can move forward now as a community by electing a new Precinct 4 Commissioner, and I am the right person for the job.
