By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The public is invited to an accountability session for state candidates seeking to represent Val Verde County to be held Sunday, Oct. 4, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
La Organizacion Fronteriza/The Border Organization will host the session, which will be held in the San Felipe Exes Hall, 302 Mendez St.
Gage Brown, an organizer with The Border Organization, said Eddie Morales, Robert Garza, Katy Padilla Stout, Roland Gutierrez and Marcus Cardenas are among the candidates expected to attend the accountability session.
Morales, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to the District 74 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Morales, an attorney and small business owner in Eagle Pass, has represented District 74 in the Texas House since 2021. He won the Democratic Party nomination for the seat in an uncontested primary earlier this year.
Morales will face Robert Garza, the Republican Party nominee for the seat. Garza, a Del Rio attorney, small business owner and former Del Rio mayor, beat John Mcleon in the Republican Primary. The race between Garza and Morales will be a rematch of the 2024 General Election contest, which Morales won.
Katy Padilla Stout, a Democrat, is seeking election to the District 23 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stout is an attorney and a former public school teacher and lives in San Antonio.
Stout will face the Republican Party nominee, Brandon Herrera, in the Nov. 3 General Election. Stout and Herrera seek to replace Tony Gonzales, the San Antonio Republican who was elected to represent District 23 in 2024. Gonzales resigned from Congress in April following accusations of sexual misconduct.
Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat, is seeking re-election to the District 19 seat he currently holds in the Texas Senate. Gutierrez, a former member of the San Antonio City Council, first won election to the Texas Senate in 2021. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2008 to 2021 and is the Democratic Party nominee for the Texas Senate seat.
Gutierrez will face Marcus Cardenas, the Republican Party nominee, for the seat. Cardenas is the owner of a small business, a specialty concrete company based in San Antonio. Cardenas won the Republican Party primary earlier this year against Robert Marks.
In accountability sessions organized by The Border Organization each candidate is given time to introduce him- or herself and the issues on which they are campaigning to the audience.
A series of leaders of The Border Organization then ask questions of each candidate. Those questions deal with issues The Border Organization has identified as important to their communities.
A flyer for the accountability session gives a hint as to some of the issues that might be raised during Sunday’s session. The flyer reads, “Do you want better infrastructure? Data centers out of our community? Fully funded public schools? More living wage jobs? Safe neighborhoods? Water conservation? Healthcare? Join us in holding our future legislators accountable.”
Persons attending the accountability sessions often have a chance to meet face-to-face with candidates who attend following the session.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
