Dirty and Corrupt Politics In South Texas

Doing or saying anything to win, that's a horrible standard for any politician. Sadly this seems to be the standard of my opponent in this election. I opened up my morning newspaper to what has been the latest in a series of falsehoods and dirty tricks that now seem to be the standard in his election efforts.

In an article in my hometown newspaper today the campaign consultant of Eddie Saenz published their latest deception. In an unfiltered article Kelly Fero was reported in the Edinburg Review as saying, using his direct quote, that I "voted to raise his [my] own retirement pension ..."

While I've tolerated from Saenz and his supporters, push polls, accusations of murder, accusations that I spent time in federal prison all the way to having a number of tractor trailers block the entrance to my kick-off, the brashness and frequency of these dirty tricks have reached a point that compels me to comment.

It is well known and the House Record is clear, I voted AGAINST the bill that would have raised my or any other legislator's pension. This fact is well known as it was published in numerous newspaper articles from around the state. David Diaz of Edinburg Politics news site carried the story and that same story was carried in the same newspaper that Saenz chooses to carry his most recent deception.

"Peña was the only Valley House member to register a “nay” vote against House Bill 11, by Rep. Will Hartnett, R-Dallas, that will increase the state pay for a state district judge from $101,000 to $125,000 annually."

When we started this campaign we immediately challenged Mr. Saenz to run a clean campaign free of the dirty tricks that plague modern politics. So far he has failed to respond to our challenge. Whereas my neighbors will clearly reject the more scurrilous lies of incarceration and murder, lies about my legislative record are easier to manipulate and more difficult to verify. I once again call on my opponent to run a positive campaign. Our community deserves better.

UPDATE: The Edinburg Review Newspaper agreed that the comments made on behalf of Eddie Saenz in their newspaper were false and therefore on November 21, 2007 entered a retraction on the front page of their newspaper. Saenz and his consultant Kelly Fero did not make themselves available for comment when the newspaper asked for comment on their false statements. No statement to date has been made by either of them regarding this unfortunate incident.