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House 76 Runoff: Ads accuse hopefuls of being Republicans
March 30, 2010 |
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House 76 Runoff: Ads accuse hopefuls of being Republicans
By Ramon Bracamontes \ El Paso Times
Posted: 03/30/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- The race between state Rep. Norma Chávez and Naomi Gonzalez is getting nastier, as both sides recently mailed slick brochures accusing the other of being a Republican.
Gonzalez sent voters a mailer showing Chávez kissing former Texas Gov. George W. Bush, a Republican. The ad also shows Republican Gov. Rick Perry hugging Chávez. A headline above the pictures states, "Republican darling since 1999."
A political action committee working with Chávez countered with a mailer criticizing Gonzalez for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a business group that wants to limit lawsuit awards. This mailer accused Gonzalez of selling out to Republicans.
For most of the campaign, Chávez, D-El Paso, has accused Gonzalez of being a Republican because she has received financial backing from Republicans.
Gonzalez said Chávez was trying to get voters to forget that Chávez helped a Republican overthrow a Democrat as speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
The two candidates are in a Democratic runoff election to represent House District 76, which stretches from the University Medical Center area to the Tigua Indian reservation. Early voting begins Monday. Election Day is April 13.
"If she is going to attack me and say I'm a Republican, she has to first take a strong look at herself and her actions," Gonzalez said. "I think it is important that voters know that Norma has Republican ties."
In 2003, when Republican Tom Craddick of Midland became the speaker of the Texas House, Chávez was one of the first Democrats to pledge her support to him. Craddick later named Chávez as chairwoman of the House Border Affairs Committee.
Chávez, 49, in her 14th year in the Legislature, said she did that because she is willing to work with Republicans if it benefits her district. She said Gonzalez, 31, is distorting the facts.
As evidence of Gonzalez's tactics, Chávez wants voters to take a closer look at the picture that Gonzalez put on the mailer that shows Chávez kissing Bush on the lips. The picture was taken in 1999 during a bill-signing ceremony that included El Paso's legislative delegation, as well Dr. Manuel de la Rosa, founding dean of Texas Tech's Paul L. Foster School of Medicine in El Paso.
"The entire El Paso delegation was united on that legislation, and we were all proud to be there when Gov. Bush signed the bill that would eventually bring the medical school to El Paso," Chávez said. "Now Naomi wants to pretend that no one else was there, and she wants to criticize me for reaching across the aisle for El Paso.
Gonzalez said using the photo was not misleading because it showed that Chávez has had close ties to Republicans for years.
As a counter to Gonzalez's ad, a Texas lobbying group that supports Chávez sent voters its own slick mailer. The anti-Gonzalez ad was paid for by the Texans for Insurance Reform, a group made up of trial lawyers. It says Gonzalez has sold out to the Republicans.
The flier points out that another group called Texans for Lawsuit Reform, an insurance lobby, has donated more than $169,000 to Gonzalez. Chávez previously received money from the same group, but has not received any funding from it this year.
Overall, Gonzalez has raised about $192,000. Chávez has raised more than $272,000.
Chávez said she did not see the latest mailer before it went out but she has no problems with it.
"The issue of her taking Republican and developer money is documented," Chávez said. "If you look at the flier, everything is sourced."
Gonzalez, an assistant county attorney, says she is not beholden to the insurance lobby, despite its contributions to her.
"I want the voters to know that I am a strong Democrat and have always voted Democrat," Gonzalez said.
Longtime Democratic party volunteer and precinct chairman Don Kirkpatrick said he sees why each candidate is trying to paint the other as a Republican.
"If you can credibly allege that your opponent is in the pocket of Republicans, you are probably going to make some political points in that district," Kirkpatrick said.
In previous elections, about 70 percent of the voters in El Paso County voted Democrat, according to the El Paso County Elections Department. In House District 76, about 90 percent of the voters are Democrats.
Ramon Bracamontes may be reached at rbracamontes@elpasotimes.com; 546-6142.
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