FEATURED: Business owner Michelle Vallejo of Alton and Attorney John Villarreal Rigney of Edinburg, the two candidates in the Tuesday, March 5, 2024 Democratic Party primary for Texas Congressional District 15, will participate in a forum sponsored by Futuro RGV on Thursday, February 15, 2024, to be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the McAllen Public Library, 4001 North 23rd Street. The event is free and open to the public. It will also be broadcast live, and remain available on videotape online until the party primary election day at: https://www.facebook.com/FuturoRGV/. A forum is a place, situation or group in which people exchange ideas and discuss issues. Candidate Forums are arranged when 2 or more candidates for a contested race on the ballot respond to the invitation. For the Primary Election, it must be a contested race on the ballot for the particular party.
Photograph Courtesy VALLEJO and RIGNEY CAMPAIGNS, RESPECTIVELY
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John Villarreal Rigney and Michelle Vallejo, Democratic candidates for Texas Congressional District 15, to participate in public forum to be broadcast by Futuro RGV, on Thursday, February 15, 2024, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at McAllen Public Library
By DAVID A. DÍAZ
Business owner Michelle Vallejo of Alton and Attorney John Villarreal Rigney of Edinburg, the two candidates in the Tuesday, March 5, 2024 Democratic Party primary for Texas Congressional District 15, will participate in a forum sponsored by Futuro RGV on Thursday, February 15, 2024, to be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the McAllen Public Library, 4001 North 23rd Street.
The event is free and open to the public.
It will also be broadcast live, and remain available on videotape online until the party primary election day at:
https://www.facebook.com/FuturoRGV/.
A forum is a place, situation or group in which people exchange ideas and discuss issues.
“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,” Kinerk explained. “For the Texas Congressional District 15 forum, the news media and the public will have an excellent opportunity to meet these Democratic Party candidates at the McAllen Library.”
Futuro RGV is a group of citizen volunteers who provide information regarding issues and concerns in deep South Texas, according to Kinerk.
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.Texas Congressional District 15 of the United States House of Representatives includes a thin section of the far south of the state of Texas. The district’s current Representative is Republican Monica De La Cruz.
Vangela Churchill is also seeking the Republican Party nomination for Texas 15th Congressional District.
Both women are from Edinburg.
https://ballotpedia.org/Texas%27_15th_Congressional_District_election,_2024
No forum has yet been scheduled for the De La Cruz/Churchill race because both candidates must be available on the same date and the same time.
Candidate Forums are arranged when two or more candidates for a contested race on the ballot respond to the invitation.For the primary election, it must be a contested race on the ballot for the particular party.
Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party primaries will be held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
Election Day in Texas is Tuesday, November 4, 2024.
Currently, Texas Congressional District 15 is made up of a narrow strip of land running from western Hidalgo County in the Rio Grande Valley northwards to eastern Guadalupe County, to the east of San Antonio. The district includes the entirety of Brooks, Jim Wells, Live Oak, Karnes, and Wilson counties between Hidalgo and Guadalupe counties.
Texas’ 15th congressional district – Wikipedia
All or portions of the following key cities, in alphabetical order, are in Texas Congressional District 15:
- Alamo (30 percent);
- Alice (100 percent);
- Alton (100 percent);
- Ben Bolt (100 percent);
- Edinburg (84 percent);
- Falfurrias (100 percent);
- Floresville (100 percent);
- George West (100 percent);
- Gerónimo (100 percent);
- Karnes City (100 percent);
- Kennedy (100 percent);
- La Joya (100 percent);
- McAllen (99 percent);
- Mission (100 percent)
- Premont (100 percent);
- Pharr (76 percent);
- Seguín (100 percent); and
- Three Rivers (100 percent).
https://data.capitol.texas.gov/dataset/b806b39a-4bab-4103-a66a-9c99bcaba490/resource/658f0689-521e-4238-a53c-1b52bad68cc7/download/planc2193r125.pdf
Also referred to as a congressman or congresswoman, each representative is elected to a two-year term serving the people of a specific congressional district. Among other duties, representatives introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments and serve on committees. The number of representatives with full voting rights is 435, a number set by Public Law 62-5 on August 8, 1911, and in effect since 1913. The number of representatives per state is proportionate to population.
As per the Constitution, the U.S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws. The House is one of Congress’s two chambers (the other is the U.S. Senate), and part of the federal government’s legislative branch. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law at no more than 435, proportionally representing the population of the 50 states.
https://www.house.gov/the-house-explained
Early voting in the Democratic and Republican party primaries begins on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 and lasts through Friday, March 1, 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:
• 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
• 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.
Hidalgo County Commissioner Ellie Torres recognizes Black History Month
Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Ellie Torres and the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court commemorated Black History Month during the Tuesday, February 6, 2024 commissioners court meeting by issuing a proclamation acknowledging the significance and countless contributions of African Americans to our society.
The first official observance came in February 1976 from President Gerald Ford and continues to be observed by every sitting President of the United States.
February was the month specifically chosen to coincide with the birthdays of two prominent figures in African American history: President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.
Black History Month celebrates the rich culture, heritage, triumphs and adversities that are an indelible part of United States history; and Black History Month affords special opportunity to become more knowledgeable about black heritage, and to honor the many black leaders who have contributed to the progress of our nation, and to reaffirm our commitment to achieve an ever-advancing prosperity for all people.
“Black History Month is an important opportunity to honor and celebrate the achievements and contributions African Americans have made, and continue to make, in the County of Hidalgo, the State of Texas, and across the Nation,” said Torres.
Additionally, the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court heard from Dr. Ray Howard, a community organizer and the Precinct 4 Appointee to the Hidalgo County Historical Commission, who announced the creation of the Valley African American Cultural Heritage Council (VAACHC) in Hidalgo County.
Collaborating closely with Precinct 4, Howard spearheaded the effort to work alongside the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office to draft bylaws and establish the organizational framework of the VAACHC.
Special thanks goes out to Asst. District Attorney Víctor Garza and Leigh Ann Tognetti, Assistant District Attorney, Civil Division for their guidance.
The purpose of the Valley African American Cultural Heritage Council shall be to advise the commissioners court, assist the Hidalgo County Historical Commission, and to initiate and conduct programs in the promotion of preserving the county’s African American historic and cultural resources.
The work of the VAACHC is not to duplicate the work of other historical preservation efforts in the county, but rather to complement and encourage this work.
Howard will collaborate with local leaders to convene and elect officers for the official organization of the council.
“Today we rise together a little bit higher in how we recognize and value our respective histories, and we stand stronger together in our resolve to protect, preserve and celebrate our diverse cultures and contributions to our society,” said Howard.
A message was sent to Howard from Ms. Tanya Debose, Executive Director of the Texas African American Culture and Heritage Council located in Houston, stating, “We are very excited and proud of the great work being done in the Rio Grande Valley to join our statewide efforts to discover, document and preserve the valued contributions African Americans, in particular, have made through years in Texas. Our collective efforts and achievements will make us all better for it.”
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Alicia Pierce and Evana Vleck 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).
