FEATURED: Dr. Nedra Kinerk, President of Futuro RGV, on Friday, December 8, 2023, is congratulated by Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortéz for that citizens group’s most recent forum, hosted by South Texas College in McAllen, which focused on helping improve South Texans’ quality of life in the Rio Grande Valley. On Thursday, February 1, 2o24, Futuro RGV will be hosting its next forum, featuring the two Democratic Party candidates for Hidalgo County Sheriff: J.E. “Eddie” Guerra and Frank Guerrero. The event will take place at the Monitor newspaper in McAllen, and will be available for viewing, at no charge, at https://www.facebook.com/FuturoRGV/. The forum will be broadcast live from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, February 1, 2024, and the videotaped recording will remain available on Futuro RGV’s Facebook until the party primary election day, which is Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Ezequiel “Zeik” Jurado, III is the only candidate seeking the Republican Party nomination. The Democratic and Republican Party primary elections both take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Photograph Courtesy FUTURO RGV FACEBOOK
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Hidalgo County sheriff Democratic Party candidates J.E. “Eddie” Guerra and Frank Guerrero to participate in forum to be broadcast on the Internet by Futuro RGV on Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
[email protected]
Futuro RGV is scheduled to host a forum featuring the two Democratic Party candidates for Hidalgo County sheriff – J.E. “Eddie” Guerra and Frank Guerrero – which will be televised on the Internet from the Monitor newspaper facility on Thursday, February 1, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The live broadcast, and the videotaped recording of the event, will be available online at no cost at:
https://www.facebook.com/FuturoRGV/.
Ezequiel “Zeik” Jurado, III is the lone Republican candidate for Hidalgo County sheriff, so no forum will be held by Futuro RGV since he most likely will be that political party’s nominee.
Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party primary elections will take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
“As part of our upcoming candidate forums leading up to the party primaries on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, Futuro RGV has organized forums for key races in the Valley which have more than one candidate seeking their respective party’s nomination,” explained Dr. Nedra Kink, President, Futuro RGV. “For the Democratic Party campaign for Hidalgo County sheriff, the public will have an excellent opportunity to see and hear from both of these men.”
Futuro RGV is a group of citizen volunteers who provide information regarding issues and concerns in deep South Texas.
Futuro RGV is among numerous prominent public affairs organizations in deep South Texas. It began as Futuro McAllen as an advocacy citizen group in 1999 for quality-of-life issues that were in danger of being side tracked due to the tremendous growth taking place in that city.
In Texas, the sheriff’s key duties and responsibilities are:
• Serves as a licensed peace officer and is responsible for enforcing the criminal laws of the state.
• Manages and operates the county jail.
• Provides security for the courts.
• Serves warrants and civil papers.
• Regulates bail bondsmen in counties with no bail bond board.
• May serve as the Tax Assessor-Collector in counties with fewer than 8,000 residents.
Visit the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas website to learn more.
Early voting in the Democratic and Republican party primaries begins on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 and lasts through Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson has been traveling statewide with her 2024 voter education tour, which designed to make sure Texans know where to go for official voting information, including vote-by-mail requirements and the acceptable forms of photo ID voters can present at the polls.
“My goal is to make sure every qualified Texan who wants to vote has all the information they need to cast a ballot,” Nelson said.
Nelson and elections officials across Texas continue preparing for the 2024 elections, and they are alerting voters to requirements that have changed since the last presidential election.
For example:
• Texans voting by mail must provide one of the following numbers on their mail-in ballot application and the carrier envelope of their cast ballot:
•• Texas Driver License;
•• Texas Personal Identification Card;
•• Election Identification Certificate; or
•• The last 4 digits of their Social Security number.
• Texans who have not been issued one of these numbers must indicate so by checking the appropriate box on the application for ballot by mail or carrier envelopes; and
• Texans are eligible to vote by mail if they are 65 or older, sick or disabled, expect to give birth within three weeks of Election Day, or out of their county of registration through both early voting period and Election Day.
• More detailed information, in English and in Spanish, about voter registration, voting in person, voting by mail, voters with disabilities, getting involved, frequently asked questions, resources, and other key information, are available online from the Texas Secretary of State’s Office at:
More About Futuro RGV
The Board of Directors for Futuro RGV are, in alphabetic order:
• Herica González-Brondo, Entrepreneur and Business Owner of “Red 2 Black” Business/Non-Profit Improvements, Founder, With Love from the RGV in partnership with Soldiers Helping Soldiers.
• Annette Franz, Office Manager, John David Franz Law Office, and Past President, McAllen Chamber of Commerce;
• Thomas García, Founder and Director of College Leadership Access Program (CSLAP), and Member. Hidalgo County Prosperity Task Force;
• Alex Garrido, Director of Digital Marketing, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley;
• Dr. Nedra S. Kinerk, Retired Professor and Chair, Division of Education, Indiana University at Kokomo, President, Futuro McAllen, and Founding Member, McAllen Heritage Center, Inc., Past Member, Park & Recreation Board, Traffic Commission Board, Civic Center Board, Founding Member of Palmfest International Folklife Festival, and Palmfest Board, all in McAllen;
• Laurel T. McLeaish, Retired Staff Attorney and former Assistant Director for Government Relations, Pennsylvania State Education Associates, and former Assistant to the Secretary of Legislative Affairs, Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey;
• Albert Morales, Longtime Project Coordinator, AACT (Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas), and former Coordinator/Director 2020 Census for Rio Grande Valley, United Migrant Opportunity Services (UMOS);
• Davis Rankin, Talk Show Host and News Reporter, KURV-AM, and former part-owner KURV-AM; and
• Rhonda Salinas, Broker, GRI, owner of The Studios at Bio Bar Gardenia, Hacienda León Real Estate Group, and Infrared workout studio HOTWORX, all in McAllen.
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Alicia Pierce contributed to this article. For more on this and other Texas legislative news stories that affect the Rio Grande Valley metropolitan region, please log on to Titans of the Texas Legislature (TitansoftheTexasLegislature.com).
