City workers express support for my campaign after Futuro RGV Forum

While Omar Ochoa attempted to shove the question of social class underneath the table, working-class city employees demonstrated that it's front-and-center.

Two city workers waited to speak with me after the forum to let me know they really appreciated my message focusing on fighting for the working-class.

The Futuro RGV Mayoral candidate forum is in the books. All candidates minus former Mayor Richard Molina attended. Although he was initially scheduled to be there, he announced a day before the forum he would not be attending, in order to attend a school function for one of his children.

I extend my condolences to councilmember Gerry Lozano whose son, we learned at the opening of the forum, had passed earlier that day.

The forum, hosted by attorney Laurel McLeaish and the reporter Sarah Cervera, was well-attended. The questions focused on education, “economic investment,” taxes and so on.

Constantly, I brought the focus back to the class-divisions within society, and how I would hand the office over to the working-class and to working-people. I talked about homelessness and evictions in the city, how city politicians butt-in too much in the arts, and how I would establish offices for tenants and for workers to unionize together.

The highest amount of altercations occurred between Mr. Ochoa and myself. He responded to points of mine directly, particularly on taxing corporations and how “economic growth” can or cannot be driven by city councils, if not by the workings of global capitalism which was my contention.

Ochoa, however, gave the game away with his closing statement in which he said (again responding directly to me) that “This race is not about class war, it’s not about east vs. west…” But by attempting to push away the class question, Mr. Ochoa demonstrated his willingness to shove the question of class, that most fundamental of questions which divides all society underneath the table.

As I walked out to the auditorium from back stage, two city workers were waiting for me in the aisles to shake my hand and tell me how much they appreciated my message. They said they’d seen so many forums throughout the years, and that nobody had ever talked about working-people and the issues we face.

They said I was “different,” and that they would encourage their friends and family to vote for me. They likewise chuckled at Mr. Ochoa’s suggestion that class distinctions don’t matter. I told them that endorsements and support from folks like them are the kinds of endorsements I’m looking for and have been getting.

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