Adela Garza participates in CD-34 political forum (VIDEO)

Wednesday, Fernando Trevino and I had the pleasure of spending the day with congressional candidate Adela Garza before a political forum hosted by various local media outlets. Garza is in the race to be the first representative for the newly created Congressional District 34.

Over coffee and sandwiches at her home in Olmito, Texas, we discussed why Garza was running for office.

Out of all the candidates and public officials I’ve spoken with, Garza’s passion for public service certainly tops them all. She truly loves her community and thrives on being a public servant on volunteer boards from her church’s building committee to Healthy Communities of Brownsville to the Texas Southmost College Board of Trustees. Her experience on these boards makes her extremely well-connected and well-known in the district.

As a 36-year resident of Cameron County with more than 30 years of experience in volunteer public service, including work on school district boards and irrigation districts, in addition to the boards mentioned above, Garza has a clear advantage over her opponents in the Republican primary: she knows her district and has the experience to hold public office.

CD-34 candidate Jessica Puente Bradshaw filed for office from a Travis County address, and Paul Haring was not found in voter registration records anywhere in the district. At the political forum, Bradshaw said she has been a “professional political analyst” for three years; nothing compared to Garza’s decades of public service.

We were able to accompany Garza to record a video message at KGBT studios in Harlingen, Texas, where she emphasized her experience in making tough decisions as a small business owner and as part of the community college board of trustees.

Garza further explained her positions on issues such as same-sex marriage, border security and job creation at the political forum that evening held in South Texas.

Garza said she is a firm believer in the 10th Amendment and thinks the issue of same-sex marriage should be left up to the states.

She said it is necessary to secure our borders; this requires “boots on the ground” and working with local and state agencies to get necessary technology on the border.

When asked about health care, she said that as a pharmacy owner, she has seen first-hand the effects of Obamacare. She called the bill a “monster” and “convoluted”, saying it is tearing apart the relationship patients have with their health care providers.

Here is a clip of Garza speaking about job creation in South Texas.

I will certainly be casting my vote for Adela Garza in the primary on May 29 and urge all eligible CD-34 voters to do the same. Garza is the only Republican on the ballot who can win the district in November!

Early voting for the Texas Primary Election begins on May 14 and ends on May 25.