Latest / Corpus Christi Originals Podcast / EP104: Mayra Flores - TX-34 Congress Candidate

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EP104: Mayra Flores - TX-34 Congress Candidate · Corpus Christi Originals Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Covers Christie Originals podcast.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Jesus Fernandez.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Guest today, Myra Flotes, the first Mexican-born woman to ever serve in Congress.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_01: She won a special election in 2022.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Served as the about six months and then lost twice to try to get back.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: And she's now running again.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_01: Here's why it matters to you.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: The district map has changed.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: TX34 now includes Corpus Christie, and Myra Flores has never represented us before.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: I got questions for y'all on social media.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Some good questions regarding topics that actually matter for our city.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: We're going to get into it.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: All of that here in a minute.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Myra, welcome.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: How are you doing?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: You look good.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the kitchen table issues.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_01: Your hair looks really nice.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_01: It looks like your hair looks you look good.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: You look good.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: Cool, cool.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Of course.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: I have to get ready to come here to the show.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right on, right on.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: There was an interesting topic that came up in another podcast downtown down there in uh the valley.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you were working in the fields, right?
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: And then you're you you wanted some Doc Martins.
• 1:02
  unknown: I did.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I remember that, and you're like I was 14 years old, and for my dad, I wanted some Doc Martin's.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_01: Your dad's like, Well, you gotta work for it.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta work for him.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: That was funny.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: I started working alongside my parents.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh a small town up in the uh Panhandle.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Memphis, Texas.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Memphis, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's by Amarello.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Would go work there in the fields.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that's so crazy.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we'll start there.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh before we talk about the politics, let's talk about you, your story.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I think that's how people connect with uh people that are running for Congress and stuff like that.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, not so much policy positions, we'll talk about issues later.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but who are you actually?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: And let's get back to the beginning.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: So from Corpus Christi, uh people who don't know you for the first time, who are you?
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Who is Maida Flores?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm from San Benito.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm from San Benito, grew up there um class of 2004.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but before that, um we were migrant workers, so we moved a lot growing up.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Six months out of the year we'd live in South Texas, and six months out of the year would go up in the Panhandle small town called Manfred, Texas, and we would go work there in the cotton fields, uh El Asadon in the summer.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and uh my parents would work at a peanut factory there as well when school started.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And and I did that throughout middle school, high school.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, and then did y'all know people graduated?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, did y'all know people up there?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, my dad's brothers uh live there, um, cousins live there.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: We have a lot of family in Memphis and in South Texas as well.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's divided till today.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: I still have uncles and cousins in Memphis, Texas.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right on, man.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: So picking cotton is you did you work in the peanut garden?
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Not picking cotton, no.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: What was it?
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: What is it?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Hoeing?
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, hoe oh okay, okay, okay.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, like removing the removing the the weeds uh from the from the cotton.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, that's cool.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's different.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: I'm used to cotton picking, like down here, like thinking about rhapsodown and stuff.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: No, never did that.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: So take tell us take us back to Mexico.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, do you remember what uh Burgos before your family came here?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: What was that like?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I I love I love Burgos.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: I have an amazing family uh there.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't because of my grandparents who still who still live there, raised me with you know very conservative values.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: We're all about faith, family, hard work.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, unfortunately, in in in Mexico, you don't have the the opportunities that we have here in the United States.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: But my dad is an American, so it was very easy for him to put in the the right paperwork.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as I was born, I was able to get citizenship because my dad's an American.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's interesting.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my grandfather's from South Texas.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: He was born here.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: He just he fell in love with my grandma from Mexico.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's cool.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder if your dad was actually thinking about that when he became a citizen, like, oh, I want my kids to be citizens.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because, like, me as a father, I'm thinking about the city.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, his dad is from South Texas as well.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So he was he also, you know, got his uh his issue through his father because his father's also from here.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: We they just lived in Mexico.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's whoa, that's crazy.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: I wonder why, like, did they want to learn the culture?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what was the whole reason why?
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Fell in love with my grandma.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: There it is, there it is.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: My grandma didn't know.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes if you say stuff, it'll just fly right by and I'll go back to the back.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: For example, my mom's from Mexico and she did not want to come here to the United States.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's it took us to get a little older for my dad to convince her that it was best for us to live here in the United States.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's cool.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: But it was the it was not because we couldn't come here.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we did have, you know, we we were in a privileged position where we wanted to be in Mexico, and then when it was time, we came here to the United States.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Seems like they wanted to learn the culture or something like that.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because I I've got family too, like they born here.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Mexico has a beautiful culture.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's unfortunate to see what's happening in in Mexico.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh it's one of the reasons why, you know, I I don't want to see the the violence and the the cartel, what the cartel has done to Mexico to get for that to happen here in the United States.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people think, oh, that'll never happen, but we never thought that it would happen in Mexico either.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: And it's only getting worse and worse.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And every time someone crosses illegally into the country, you have to pay the cartel.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's funding a criminal organization, a terrorist organization that abuses women and children, and it empowers them and has the people of Mexico terrorized.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Mexico has the most uh rapes for women, killings for women.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a safe country for women.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, crazy.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: How much of an influence do you think they have in the United States government or uh like the border and stuff like that?
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because obviously we're so close to them and you you might see that their influence could be influencing our huge influence because a lot of the cartel's families, their wives and children live in South Texas.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: So their families are in South Texas going to school in South Texas because that's where they're they're protected.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, interesting.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's so cool, man.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this is cool.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's interesting.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the reasons why I it's so important for us to, you know, improve the legal process and encourage people to come here to the to the United States legally, yeah.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Where women and children don't have to put themselves in a dangerous position, yeah.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and not come here to the United States illegally.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: That makes sense, uh, especially if there's because you they might have the best intentions trying to come back to the city.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: You have to pay that quota.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't pay that quota, you they'll they'll kill you.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: I had a a a family member not too long ago, uh, taxi driver, he did not pay the monthly quota and he was murdered in Reynosa.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And this happened about a month ago.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I've I've I've lived it in my family.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: My dad's brother was also kidnapped a couple years ago, and he was able to escape that kidnap.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: If not, they would have killed him even though we had paid.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And my dad was brutally beaten by the cartel as well a couple years ago because he didn't want to give up his truck.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, crazy.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and they almost killed him.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we've I've lived it, and that's one of the reasons why I'm very big on enforcing the law.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that should be politicized.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's a Republican or Democrat issue.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's like we should enforce the law no matter what what the politics are.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's just unfortunate that politics have gotten on the way of doing what's right.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: So crazy.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, do you have a plan to influence more of the streamlined process for immigration?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: We might answer that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you want to answer that question, but it's interesting that you're from Mexico, and a lot of people, it's already obviously in a lot of people's minds, like, why are you against people coming to the United States?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not against people coming into the United States.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's not not you particularly, but in general, like say, or yeah, I guess you because you're you're from Mexico, right?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: Or not from Mexico, you grew up there.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: It's a big, it's a big lie.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's also to deceive um the Hispanic community.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: But we I am for immigration.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: We are uh for immigration, but legal immigration.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Why would anyone in their right mind encourage illegal immigration, knowing how dangerous the journey is?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so those who advocate for illegal immigration, they're somewhere or another benefiting from it.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's why.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: So crazy.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: But no one benefits from illegal immigration but the terrorist organizations, the cartel.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the day, it's the Mexican people that pay the consequences because illegal immigration is funding a terrorist organization that has the people of Mexico terrorized.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So crazy.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people live here in the United States and they don't know what's like to live in Mexico.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: They go on vacation in Mexico and they think that they understand Mexico.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: There's a huge difference you vacationing in Mexico and actually living in Mexico.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: For sure.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, uh, so we grew up in Memphis, Texas.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's good stuff.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh citizen ship at 14.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um how do how do you so what what was the day?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: What did the day mean to you and your family becoming Americ an American citizen?
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I was um I don't know that the age, I don't know why it says that.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: I was sorry, I got this off AI.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to it's okay.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well correct me.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, my dad was an American, so um we're we're granted citizenship um because your father is an American citizen.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I didn't have to file for for citizenship.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, right on.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I was gonna ask, did you remember the ceremony?
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: But that question's not obviously up to date.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: No Yeah, like I said, my dad was an American.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: My my family from South Texas were born here in South Texas.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's cool.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: So and you got into respiratory therapy?
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: What's what's up with that?
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: What drew you to that?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what drew you to that?
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: I always wanted to get in the medical field.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I honestly, one of the best years of uh of my life being a respiratory therapist, I I loved it.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: I I miss it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: I I miss it so much.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I I enjoyed it.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: As soon as I graduated, um, I started I worked in an EQ.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: I also did home health as well.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I worked with children um with disabilities and respiratory issues, and that was very difficult.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a mom of four, so you know, working with children on a ventilator really takes a huge toll on you.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um your children had had that experience?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: I being a mom, yeah, yeah, you know, it just takes a huge toll on you, taking care of children that depend on a ventilator because they can't breathe.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: So crazy.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: They depend on this ventilator 24-7.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: And them wanting you to disconnect them because they want to be able to run and they will want to be able to breathe.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: It it's it's the hardest, it's one of the most hardest but most rewarding jobs because there was a moment of in my life that I would get after my kids for jumping and running.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And when I became a respiratory care practitioner and took care of children with those types of disabilities, I I enjoyed watching my kids running and jumping and making a mess because all day I was watching and taking care of children that were on a bed and that weren't able to do the things that my children were able to do.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I did that for a few years, and it was just very difficult.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I took it very personal and decided to just work for the elderly.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I said, No, I'm gonna go work for the elderly, they've lived a long life.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: I and I thought it was going to be easier working with the elderly, but it's just as difficult because no matter what age we are, it's never easy to lose a loved one.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I I learned and became so much wiser um working with the elderly community and just hearing their experiences and what was like, you know, in their times, yeah, they all think hearing their advice and them sharing their their wisdom.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: I would always ask men like what would you change if you could go back?
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: And it was always spending more time with family.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: And the women would tell me that they wish they would have gotten some type of education, that they wish that they would have gone to school and got and got an education.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_04: Like it was very different.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So men overworked and they felt they wanted to spend more time with their family if they could go back.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: And the women, um, the elderly women would tell me that they wish they would have prioritized themselves a little bit more.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so I do I do resonate with that as the as women, as moms, we tend to put ourselves in the back burner and prioritize everything but ourselves.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's something that I I do think as moms, we need to prioritize ourselves and put us put us first because if we're if we're taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally, um, everything else will align itself.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's important.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: But us as moms, we we tend to put ourselves in the in the back burner.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's most women, um, elderly women, in their last moment, they would always tell me that they wish that they would have prioritized themselves a little bit more.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And because of that, I I I started changing as as well and prioritizing also my well-being.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can relate to that.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: My wife, uh we have two kids.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: But I love but I love I love respiratory.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: In respiratory, there's no politics.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, I love it because you don't care about if you're Republican or Democrat, you want to take care of your patient.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's what I love about it.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: Aside from all that, too, like it just to be knowledgeable about like what happens to your body after you give birth, you know, or even before you give birth, like that can take a toll on a woman's, you know what I'm saying?
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, aside from politics, physically, emotionally, yes.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: I had a lady on here, she was a doula or something like that, but she was explaining like to me like the process and all this.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, dang, you guys went, you guys actually go through.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's so crazy, yeah.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there's not um in enough resources, I also think, you know, for us, and we need to advocate for for more um for more resources uh for for women.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, absolutely.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: But that's what I I you know I learned in the medical field is just to take care of your patient.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so once you're in office, it's the same thing.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You know, once you're in office, you're there to serve all people, no matter what they're political.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Once you're in the position, yeah, I just hate it because you have to get through the politics, you have to go through the dark uh and then hear everybody's everybody's like complaint, like, oh, here, here you have to go through the political.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_01: I can't imagine how like you're like to get to the policies.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I wish we could skip the the politics and get to the policies, because at the end of the day, the policies are what's going to impact people's real lives.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, definitely.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: So the American dream.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh American dream.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's how you start a lot of your speeches.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm an American I am the American dream.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what we are, we are.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: So, what does it mean to you personally, not as a slogan, but like in your actual life.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a lot of people think that when I became a member of Congress, that I had accomplished the American dream.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, that being in Congress is not the American dream.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: I had already accomplished the American dream.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: The American dream is you know, you being you having a job, you having your family, you being able to provide it.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: It'd be different for America.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you like the American dream means different for different people.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, living the American dream is having a job, having your home, having your children that are healthy and strong.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you being able to provide for yourself and your family.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're living the American dream just by doing that alone.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: You don't the American dream is not you being in politics or you know running for office.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: You I ran to preserve the American dream because I feel that our children will have less and less opportunities.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And we're leaving our children a country that is$38 trillion in debt.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_02: Go crazy.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's not the country that we inherited.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we're failing our children by us leaving our children a country that is$38 trillion in debt.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Go crazy, man.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: My wife and I, we talk about that like a lot.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like we're we're afraid about what's gonna happen.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like you know, we run on them, you know.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we run on cutting spending, and then we get into off, they get into office and don't cut spending.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, right now, we haven't gone back to pre-pandemic spending.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I would love to know that because that's the minimum we can do.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, when COVID happened, we increased funding because we were in the middle of a pandemic.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: But why are we not going back to pre-pandemic spending?
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of times it's because they're afraid that the Democrat Party will say they're cutting on they're cutting on education, they're cutting on healthcare.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Can we like Absolutely?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: We just need to stop sending billions of dollars abroad that we don't have.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm sure you pay your bills first, you're not paying your neighbor's bills.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I definitely pay my taxes, I know that much.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: You're not paying your neighbors' bills first, right?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're paying your bills first.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: We as a country have to start paying our own bills first and not someone else's.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: If we're able to help other countries, great, but if we're not, we don't have the luxury to do that.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have a revenue problem in this country, we have a spending problem.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: We're on a budget here, so we need to put our own government on a budget.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: It's not only government, it's like person, like our own spending too.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I I'm an advocate of like not being in debt, you know what I mean?
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Living within our own means.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's hard.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard, but our government is not living within their own means.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're still borrowing and printing.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: Every single day we're printing money and we're paying a high interest because of it.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_01: Let's shift to your faith.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I want to shift to something that I know is important to me and you, all uh our faith.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I would say that I'm a Christian, quote unquote.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I would say more like I try to strive to live by biblical principles.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like to call myself a Christian.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: I like for people to call me a Christian.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I've been married 12 years.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: My faith is a big part of who I am.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I know uh you talk about yours a lot too.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I want to go deeper into that.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: And not not the bumper sticker version, but the the Myra version.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like what's what does it actually look like for you?
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you talk about being raised put uh to put God in family first.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what did what did that actually look like for you growing up?
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: How did your family practice their faith?
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_00: I was just born born into it.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what it's like not to have faith in God.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was born in into a family who's always believed in God and doesn't mean that I'm I'm perfect.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um no.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's because I'm not perfect, is that I always uh put God first because of it, you know?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: So it I wouldn't be who I am without my faith in God.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: And is it like uh you like you went to church every Sunday, uh like Catholics or like like what what what what was a typical like weekend or whatever?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: I stay in prayer every single day.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: I stay in prayer.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: I do go to church, not as not as often as I should.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: Um I should go go more to church.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do go to church um uh not as often as I wish, but I I it for me it's more about having a relationship.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can go to church every single every single Sunday and not have a relationship with God.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I believe that.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so a lot of people go to church every single and and there probably a lot of them are very judgmental.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh and I don't believe in that.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't believe in that.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's discouraging, like for me.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't like I don't like people that are constantly bringing people's past.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um so let's say that you you went to prison, never been to prison, but let's say you went to prison and you're wanting to strengthen your faith in God and start going to church, and then people start reminding you, oh, you you think you're all that and you went to prison and they try to bring your past.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: I I I can't with those type of people that are constantly bringing you down when you're trying to lift yourself up and improve.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: Remove those people from your life.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: If your past didn't kill you, why are you gonna let it kill your future?
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, and so I I for me it's about a relationship.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's not necessarily, you know, it's important to go to church, yeah, but most important, it's about you having a relationship with God.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, that's what matters to me the most, is having that intimate relationship with God and staying in prayer every single day.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so prayers are he's huge for me.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: Do you read the Bible at all?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: 10 15 days, 10-15 days.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Which which one's your favorite?
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: Which which part is your favorite?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Which part of the Bible?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: I would say, you know, Matthew.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew straightens you up.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you're like, oh, okay, okay, I got it.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: Proverbs is mine, like always Proverbs is filled with wisdom, you know.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but it's more inspiring, you know?
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: And but I feel like Matthew, it's like, okay, okay, I got it, got it, I got it.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do my best.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: Was there a moment yeah, was there a moment in your faith when your faith became your own and not just your parents?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I I think you know, being involved in politics, it got me closer to God.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: Especially right now.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: Especially I'm going through um a time where, you know, in politics, there's no a lot there's no loyalty.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: I have loyalty, but um unfortunately in politics, there's a lot of people that do not know what loyalty is.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so people are willing to betray you for a position of power.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_00: I just personally couldn't do that.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: I personally could never betray someone that um helped me be in the position that I'm in.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so if it wasn't because of that constant betrayal that I have faced, I I had God to turn to.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: And God has put me in a position where I only have Him to turn to, but it strengthened me.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so now all my faith and all my confidence.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: You know, is it it's grown tremendously because I know this victory is mine because God has already given me that victory.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so it doesn't matter who endorses my opponent, who endorses against me, like those endorsements don't mean nothing to me if because at the end of the day I know that victory is already mine because it's I'm like I'm called to do so and because of the hard work that I've put in, not just yesterday or a week ago.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: No, I we've been Team Meyer has been putting work in this district since 2021.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so, and you mentioned how we lost our re-election, but the reason why we lost our re-election was because of redistricting.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: So when I served in Congress, it was one map that President Biden won by four points.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Then they redrew the lines in uh in 22, and they made the district a district where President Biden had won by 17 points, and I lost that by two points.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm very proud of the hard work that we've put in.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: And now the lines have been redrawn once again, and we see the path to victory.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not just because it's redrawn, but also because of the work that we've been putting in for years, and we've always been um focused on the people, regardless of the politics.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it's about prioritizing the economy in this area, bringing good paying jobs because our children leave South Texas for better opportunities.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: They leave Nueces County for better opportunities.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't we bring that American dream here?
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not that the American dream, you know, a lot of people don't accomplish the American dream here.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that they do, but not enough.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people leave this area for better opportunities.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: I want those opportunities here.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: I want to promote, I want to show off our district.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: I want people to come invest in this area.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have the ingredients to be successful.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: Why not?
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: Why can't they come here and invest and bring good$20 an hour jobs,$25 an hour of jobs,$30 an hour jobs, and transform Texas District 34?
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: That shouldn't be political.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Me wanting good paying jobs and to see prosperity in this area and less people on government assistance, because I'm for government assistance, but I want to get people out of the government.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: So, how does your faith connect to all this, what you're saying?
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because God wants us to see us prosper.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, like you know, for you know cool.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, so you right, so you were in Congress six months.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_01: Those two times that that you lost, how were you what was your relationship with God like then?
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's always been great.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's all it's always strengthened in the world.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: What did you tell him, God?
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: How come I didn't win?
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_01: Or you know what I mean?
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: What was it like?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've never I've never questioned him.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: I've always trusted everything that's happened in my life, it's for a reason.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I was proud because every time we were getting closer and closer and closer.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes Did you feel like you were like, I'm gonna win this?
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, did you have it like I'm gonna win this for sure?
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: And then it didn't happen.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: How how did you how did you overcome that?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: To be I've never felt this confident.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like right now, the way I feel now, I didn't feel in in in those two cycles, but I felt called to do so.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so even though I was like, I'm gonna do this, this is what my gut instinct tells me to do, and I'm glad that I did because if not, I wouldn't have the name ID that I have right now.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I wouldn't have ran in those cycles.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I didn't win, but I won in so many ways.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes losing is not always losing.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you win in in many other ways.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so I wouldn't be why.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_01: No, I agree to that because a loss can be a win because it can teach you something for for the future.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, definitely.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh man, so uh I want to approach this with care because uh you're a Christian, I'm a Christian, quote unquote.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um you you you mentioned about your divorce, and this is in a lot of people's mind, and you've already been you've obviously been slandered for it and stuff like that.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I'm not what I'm trying to do.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to approach her like from like when I heard that, I was like, damn.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: Another Christian uh sister that has gone through this adversity.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like what's going on?
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've talked about this in my personal podcast.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is the church not teaching enough about this?
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like what's oh no, and it's not something you it's not something I promote or or celebrate.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: It it's the hardest thing that and e I'm sure anyone listening that's gone through it, it's it's very difficult.
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we have the right to do what's uh what's best for us, you know, and if we don't feel safe, we have the right to to make a decision that um is going to make us feel safe.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: How do how do your kids handle it?
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: Because I've got kids and I can't imagine you know what I mean, like what what that would how that would affect them, you know?
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because we have a much better relationship.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have a great real co-parenting relationship.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's no, you know, they're we share custody.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: And so they're with me, they're with him, um, every single day.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so that that's the difference.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're we respect each other, and so our kids are are doing really good.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_00: They're yeah, you know.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say to somebody else that's they might be going through the same situation?
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: I would say to to put your your feelings aside and put the well-being of your children and to do your best to respect each other because at the end of the day, you you're still family, you know, and you're they need mom and they need dad.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's something that both him and I understood that we needed to have that relationship.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't talk a lot about it because he's in a in a very serious relationship, and so I'm respectful of that.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we have a we have a very respectful uh relationship, and um he's a great father, and um he's there for them, and I'm there for my kids as well.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we have a co we we have a shared custody.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that must be uh yeah, must be tough.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so now we're getting to the political journey, which is obviously what you want to talk about.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get past that.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so um, because of your journey has been seems like a roller coaster, historic wins, tough losses.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and now you're back on another run.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: Uh walk walk me through that.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um in 20 in 2022, special election won.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, take me back to that night in 2022 when you won the special election, you made history, first Mexican-born woman in Congress.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: What was that like?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it meant everything for South Texas.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we hadn't elected a uh a Republican in over a hundred years.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we um we we put the Democrat Party in a position where now they needed to put they needed to get to work because they took the people of South Texas for granted.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: The Democrat Party wouldn't do anything because they thought they're always gonna vote for us no matter what we do.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: So they took us for granted.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: And so what we did, we put pressure on them that hey, if you don't get the job done, we're gonna vote you out.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just because you're Democrat doesn't mean that we're gonna vote for you over and over.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you think a lot of us like voted Democrat or vote Democrat?
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because we are raised that way, and we're raised to think that the Democrat Party's the party of the for the poor.
• 29:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I always heard this that the Democrat Party is the party of the poor, but it's the party of poverty.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I don't want my community to be poor.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: I want to also empower the middle class.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: The middle class is the one that works day and night, barely makes it, doesn't have housing, doesn't qualify for food stamps.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: Why?
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because they work and they're the ones that carry the big burden in this country.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones that are sustaining this country, the middle hardworking class that works every single day.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I am a very good thing.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Or the hardworking people.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that so the working class are are the ones that were led to think, okay, the Democrats are the ones that are for us.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: And and so I guess And the Republican Party is the party of the rich, you know.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: But in reality, we're we are for the hardworking people.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, not that you know Can there be any Democrats that are for could it be?
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: Because it seems like when you run for Congress or something like that, you have to pick red or blue.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: You can't be like, okay, well, maybe I agree with this.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: In a primary, you have to, you know, in a primary, you do have to ask for a Democrat ballot or a Republican ballot.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: In the general, it's different.
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_00: In the general, you can vote for whoever you want.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm talking about somebody that's running, like, say yourself, like well, not yourself or anybody.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_01: Like, say you're running for you want to be in Congress, right?
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I want to be in Congress.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I have to pick red?
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I have to pick blue?
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_01: What if I agree with both sides?
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know what I'm saying?
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: You can't vote for both both of them.
• 31:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying vote for both of them.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_01: But if somebody has something that I like what they're saying that couldn't help the working class, absolutely.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: If they're red or blue, like why not?
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm trying to say, yeah, yeah, you see.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely, but and you have the right to do that.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you have the right to vote for whoever you think is best for your community.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you think a Republican or you have that right to decide that.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, has that ever like has it come through your mind?
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_01: Like has that come to your mind like that.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_01: Do I have to pick red?
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_01: Do I have to pick blue?
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I have to do that?
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, for me as far as a party picking a party to be able to be elected into Congress, right?
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_01: Not so much like, oh, I'm this, I'm that.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I've never questioned, you know, for me, it's it's the Republican Party.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's the the party that I align the the most.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: Is it perfect?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: But it's the party that I uh I align the most.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_00: But as a voter, you have the right to decide what you think uh is best for you.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'll tell you this, though.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've seen a lot of hate being instilled in in us and telling us that you have to hate that person because of their political affiliation.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's a good idea.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: No, if someone is instilling you hate towards your fellow brothers and sisters, like then you've already lost me.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because I don't hate anybody because of their political affiliation.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: I will disagree on your views and your policies, and that's okay.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: And would love to have a conversation.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just this morning, I had a conversation with someone that was very far left-leaning, and here I am.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: We were able to have a conversation.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: The more conversations we have, the better.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: If we are not having conversations with people we don't agree, that only divides our country.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, how do how do we decide?
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_01: How do we know what the people that are running for office, what they're saying is true?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of times what we see is what's in front of us and not what's the actual substance.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like, how do we know?
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: I would say go to their website.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: Go to their website, you know.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: Mine is www.maidaflores for congress.com.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but go to their website, do your own research.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_00: Don't just go based on, you know, ads.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, for example, right now, there's all types of ads.
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're all against me.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's all with with a purpose.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say that you can look at their track record like this is what they've done?
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: Look up my look at do your research instead of a an attack ad that already has an agenda.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: That agenda is for you to hate me.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh which is which is not good.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: Do your research.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're on a you're on a podcast now.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: You've been on several podcasts.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: How much of an influence do you think podcasts have on these elections?
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think podcasts have the most important people who don't even watch TV anymore.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: I don't watch TV.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't watch TV, but I know a lot of people that do.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that people are listening more to real conversations like this and watching a bunch of propaganda.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man, I can't stand the propaganda.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: Real quick, uh, guys.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, real quick, guys.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: We got a show on Friday, this Friday at R Walk.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Corpus Christi Originals presents comedy night.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: Go check it out.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_01: 20 bucks at the door.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: Ticket, uh, the ticket link, 25 bucks.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Lito, Javi Luna, Tina Lacocina, they're all gonna be there.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be a great night.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: Go check it out.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Friday, February 6th.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: Check it out, you guys.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Mara, that's awesome.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so your political journey, let's get back to that.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're talking about what did it feel like when you first went into the Capitol for the first time?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_01: Did it smell funny in there?
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, for me, it was just a you know, for me, it was just a very proud moment for us all in in South Texas.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I wanted to put us in, you know, in in the map.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I wanted everybody to know who we were here in South Texas because for a long time nobody was talking about South Texas in Washington.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I I wanted them to, hey, we're Americans too, like pay attention to us.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: And we need funding into this area.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: We need y'all to come and invest here and just promote it and show off.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: How how did you feel when when you got endorsed by the president at that time?
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like, was it like like what was what was your thought what were your initial thoughts?
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, the president's.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm always grateful for all the past endorsements.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: I've had all the endorsements, you know.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh people have both have endorsed me, have endorsed against me.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but I've never ran on endorsements.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm grateful.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: I guess what I'm asking is support.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: But for me, yeah, it's not about endorsements, it's about knocking doors.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm talking about like when so so President Trump, I was-I didn't want to say his name.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_01: President Trump endorsed you, right?
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_01: What like I I understand where you're coming from, like endorsements and stuff like that.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_01: But like, what did you think, like, why is he endorsing me?
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what was the did you think like, what was his purpose behind endorsing me?
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: No, you know what I mean?
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_01: Because because some people can look at it like, oh, she's a Mexican lady, she's from the South.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: Trump is bordered, whatever, or whatever, all that stuff is going on.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like, did you have those?
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's not at all.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_00: Not at all.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: Or you you just kind of trusted it because he's he's a Republican president, this and this and that.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um I I never I never saw it, saw it that way.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I'm I'm proud of my roots, I'm proud of being, you know, but I I'm also proud of being an American.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we do have the qualifications to be in these positions.
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: We've been brainwashed into thinking that only lawyers and certain people can be in these positions.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: People that have so much amount of money and stuff like that.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: And uh for example, my opponent said, Oh, I'm gonna donate my salary.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you vote for me, I'm gonna donate my salary.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, see, he comes from a privileged position.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: Right there, right there, I'm like, wow.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: You already know your I already know you come from a very privileged position.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: Who nowadays can say that they can go to work and donate their salary?
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so no, we don't want people like you in in Congress because people like us, the everyday American, yeah that understands what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, it's weird, also need to be in these positions.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: But when people hear, oh, he wants to, he's gonna donate his salary, that's wonderful.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, wait a minute.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_00: You you don't understand.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: He comes from a very privileged position.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can donate your salary, yeah.
• 37:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so why should only people that are wealthy?
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think like you're saying, we're trained to think like, okay, the Republican has money and the Democrat doesn't have money.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I'm saying?
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: So only people with the tie and a suit, you know, can be in these positions.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: But when a person like yourself is in respiratory.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's where we're in the mess that we're in.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like because we're not running our country.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and what I'm saying is like you, a person yourself that came from the working class, like, how is that person a Republican?
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just that's just where my mind is going.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not trying to like say that for me, it's just about the values.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: Look, I I can't get cannot comprehend how anyone can can tell me that you know a man can play in women's sports.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: We're not the same.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're not the same, and that's very controversial too, right?
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, a man should never a man should never play in women's sports, a man should never go into women's restrooms, little girls.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: We uh we should be respected, our privacy should be respected.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: Women shouldn't be playing in men's sports either.
• 38:48
  SPEAKER_00: We're not here to compete with each other, we're here to complement each other.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: But a child also should never be able to transition.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_00: How are you going to give an eight, nine-year-old puberty blockers?
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can't get a tattoo until you're 18, and you're telling me that this child should be giving puberty blockers.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can call me extreme.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like a lot of people call me extreme on this.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_00: For me, it's common sense.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: A man cannot get pregnant, okay?
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh that only biological women can get pregnant.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just cannot get ever on that side and that type of ideology that cannot describe not even what a woman is.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's a Republican.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: Would you say that that's a Republican stance?
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: And we're very strong.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the Democrat Party, you know, supports, you know, children transitioning, supports men playing in women's sports, supports men going into women's restrooms.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these are these are facts.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is what they voted.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: What if the person says that they're a woman or they're a man, but they're not?
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: How do you feel?
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like what are your thoughts?
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: They can think whatever they want, you know, and rainbows and butterflies, but you're not.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: But this is what you're a biological man.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you're a biological woman.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: You just because you put a dress on doesn't make you a woman.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_01: So talking about so for moving forward, uh, so we're talking about uh political journey.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: Ficente Fernandez, uh, he won both times.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Vicente Gonzalez.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, Vicente Gonzalez.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like Portum Maldi.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_01: The second time in 2024, Trump won your district for over four points.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_01: But um Vicente Gonzalez uh won by 5,000 votes.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: What what hap- what do you think happened?
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, actually, you know, Cameron County, we only lost it by two by 200 by 200 votes, and Senator Ted Cruz um lost Cameron County by thousands.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Governor Abbott lost Cameron County by thousands.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm actually one of the few republicans.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Cameron County.
• 40:53
  SPEAKER_01: Is that is that nearly Bronzeville?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: Bronzeville, you know, so I am right next to President Trump.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: I had the the highest I lost in Mail-in ballots.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_00: I won all early voting at election day.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: I lost in the mail-in ballots.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people just didn't vote down the ballot.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they think there's a lot of fraud with those, with those, with that voting stuff?
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure fraud, fraud uh exists, and that's why it's important for us to, you know, make sure that we secure elections and require voter ID.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, to go to the bank and withdraw money, you need you need an identification.
• 41:27
  SPEAKER_00: To fly, you need an identification.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know why it's so offensive to ask for a vote, you know, to have voter ID.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you think people split their ticket, voted Trump, but not uh not you?
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a lot of people just didn't vote down the ballot, not certainly not me.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_00: They just voted for President President Trump.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: So there were a lot of were first time voters, never voted in their life, ever.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_00: First time, all they did was Trump and goodbye.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_01: Crazy.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: The maps changed.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Corpus Christi.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_01: The maps change Christian is now part of your district, uh, but you never represented us before.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: No, this is the first time.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_01: So people who are watching, uh, what do you need, what do you need to learn about this community and what do you need to know about Corpus?
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, for me, um it's about that's why I'm spending a lot of time in this in in Oasis.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm here on a weekly basis to hear the the needs of this community.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: It they're not necessarily the same from Cameron County.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here in Oasis, I've been hearing a lot of water, yeah, I was gonna say you know, water issues.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but in Cameron County, to be honest with you, it's it's water everywhere in the entire district.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: But here in Oasis, um I do hear a lot about water, but knocking doors is the economy as well.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: There, the cost of living is very high.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm listening, I'm reading.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Joaquin Rangel on YouTube, uh, he's mentioning about I got your question about uh about the special needs Ranghell.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um he actually runs a special needs thing.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get to that, his question here in a minute.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um an extension on Trump as per social media.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_01: What does the increasing how does increasing the cost to purchase a house help the middle class?
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: It it doesn't.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's why I I believe in bringing the cost down.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have to bring the cost down um for the everyday Americans.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_00: Right now it the the the cost of living is very high and the minimum wage just doesn't match.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you look at the minimum wage and you look at the cost of living, it it needs to it needs to drop.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the reasons why it hasn't is because of the constant overspending.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: We have to cut spending in order for for um the cost of living to go down.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: The cost of living will continue to increase if we continue to increase our our um our funding.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: Cool, nice, awesome.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so what going back to corpuscre and the valley, um what issues do you think are different here than over there, than in the valley?
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, knocking doors, you know, in both Cameron County, Willisie, Clayburgh, everyone that we're talking.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Talking, it's still the economy for everyone.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the number one issue, yes, water is an issue, but it's the economy.
• 44:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's the cost of living for everyone.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_00: Cameron, Clayburgh, Willissey, Kennedy, everyone in this area, it's about the economy.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: They want to see uh a reduction in grocery costs, interest rates for him to go down, which I President Trump, if I'm not mistaken, put a cap on all credit cards, um, no more than 10% uh interest rates.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because the interest rate for credit card debt was at 30%.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_00: We're at the highest right now in credit card debt.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, we see that's a name as a as a country where at our highest in debt, in credit card debt.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: So President Trump did put a cap that credit cards cannot charge you no more than 10%.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that's going to help because more money is gonna go into your actual debt and not into the the interest.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: Because a lot of people, the minimum they pay on their credit card just goes into the city.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: How will you represent the community?
• 45:03
  SPEAKER_01: You're still getting to know our community here.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_00: By bringing back the the bacon into this area again, and making sure we also have the right elected officials too at the local level, because I can bring the bacon, I can bring all the funding into this area.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if we don't have the right people at the local level, at the state level, that also makes it very difficult.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna be very involved in local and state elections and making sure that we have the right people that are actually gonna be helping the people and not just their compadres because we have a compadrismo.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_01: Trump uh switched his endorsement to Eric Flores.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I understand he just withdrew it or whatever, but he did flip nonetheless.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_01: Why do you think that he did that?
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, he made a mistake.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_00: We all make mistakes, and I'm sure this comes from the president made a mistake.
• 45:49
  SPEAKER_01: Are you curious?
• 45:50
  SPEAKER_00: We all make mistakes.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: We all make mistakes, absolutely.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: Did you see it coming?
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: Did you see it coming?
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um did you think he would like that?
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing surprises me anymore.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_00: No, I nothing surprises me, but I'm very confident in the work that I'm doing.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't need a, you know, an endorsement to win this election.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_01: Have y'all talked to his team uh about why?
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, not not at not at all.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do think this is coming from his advisors.
• 46:13
  SPEAKER_00: I do not think that um this uh this came from him.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of um bad advisors.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they've endorsed a lot of rhinos, you know.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: Eric Flores voted for Biden, worked for the Biden's DOJ, um, the same DOJ that was trying to put him in place.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: I really don't want to talk.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to talk about anybody that's not here to defend himself.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: These are facts.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: We're more welcome to have him on your facts, so people can actually go to work for the Biden's DOJ.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know the facts.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean I rather than easy research.
• 46:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'd rather than to look it up.
• 46:45
  SPEAKER_01: And not I don't want like I wouldn't want him in the back shoot.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say the same if he was here, I wouldn't have every single day.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: But if he was here, this is my platform.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's not it's not it's not a platform for Republican or Democrat or anything like that.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm running that's why I'm running up the city.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you you mentioned him why talking talk and talk because I'm like, hold on.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no.
• 47:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's important you mentioned the endorsement, right?
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_00: So and why he endorsed me and so.
• 47:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like my question was did you did did you reach out to their team?
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_01: Did you think he would flip?
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_01: So this was about Trump's decision and not who Eric Flores is.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: So and you you have to answer it.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure he doesn't know.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you answered it.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: It truly is.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh you answered, yeah, cool.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so does that that obviously does do you does that change anything about your campaign?
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_00: No, not at all.
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_00: We continue to knock doors and we continue to get the work done because at the end of the day, it's about the grassroots and you know, we're leading double digits um in this race and nothing's gonna change.
• 47:39
  SPEAKER_00: No endorsement can change the work that we've done.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh, yeah, so without getting into attacks with the people who aren't here to defend themselves, uh why should Republican voters choose you over the other four that are in the race?
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm the only one who has a proven record, and so I'm the only one who's you know actually been in office.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know exactly what you're gonna get.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: I had a a top America first Texas District 34 first voting record.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_00: I always prioritized the needs of this area.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: In just seven months, I brought more money than the prior member of Congress that was representing the district.
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: In just seven months, I brought over$200 million into this area.
• 48:20
  SPEAKER_00: So as soon as I got elected, I started working in making sure that we brought the funds into this area.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: We had we closed the highest um casework.
• 48:29
  SPEAKER_00: In seven months, we were number one in casework in this in the state.
• 48:34
  SPEAKER_00: What's casework?
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_00: Helping the community.
• 48:36
  SPEAKER_00: For example, uh, we'll have constituents calling issues with social security and making sure that they got their social security.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: How do we find how do we find all this information?
• 48:46
  SPEAKER_01: On your website or do we go on the website?
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: But once you're in office, once you're in office, there's gonna be a phone number.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: And doesn't again doesn't matter what side politically you're you're in, you go into your congressman's office.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any issues with social security, they should be able to help you regardless of the politics.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_01: No, like okay, cool, cool, cool.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: How do we find out about the you're because you're talking about your track record, you're the one that brought the most.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: How do we find so we go to your site or you can you can Google my name?
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can do Might Off Lotus voting record and yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like so, what's the credible source?
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: So what's the credible because because you could I can create a website and be like, oh, this, this, and this, and it can be true.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_01: So, like, what's the credible source?
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's different websites and that you can actually go into yeah, uh, once you you put on Google Might of Lotus.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: There'll be different websites and sources that you you trust or that you don't.
• 49:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's different websites, yeah.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, right?
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: But the Heritage Foundation is is one of them.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: But there's many other websites that you can find information.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: But my voting record always prioritized the needs of this area.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 49:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so obviously we're now we're gonna talk about the issues that corpus uh that we face here.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and Joaquin, I'm gonna get to your question here in a in a little bit.
• 49:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh so uh the he actually sent the question.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's not that one that's up there, it's it's regarding uh actually let me see if I can find it real quick.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: He's already here.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we're talking about the Corpus Christi area, the this kind of the stuff that we face here.
• 50:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he's in special needs, and he says that it's basically hard to for Texas to work with his nonprofit because of the DEI situation, they kind of lumped them in to that.
• 50:21
  SPEAKER_01: So he's work, he works with a special needs uh foundation, and and he says that here it is right here.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I got this question from Joaquin Grang Hell.
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_01: He runs a special needs nonprofit here in Corpus Christi called Joaquin into Inclusion.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_01: He says, since Texas started banning the DEI programs, it's because nearly it becomes nearly impossible.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_01: It has it's become nearly impossible for his organization to work with public schools, even though they're just trying to help kids with disabilities get included.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_01: What's your position on DEI and how do you make sure special needs inclusion doesn't get caught up in that?
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, I'm sorry to hear that, but of course, you know, for me it's about you know the the the qualifications not very supportive of you know of that.
• 51:07
  SPEAKER_00: I understand his situation.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to, you know, get his contact information and learn more about it um and what the situation is because I do think that every situation is is different.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um so would love to to connect with him.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um but for me it's about you know the qualifications, you know.
• 51:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you have the qualifications, you you should be a part of that.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um so do do you think that the DEI bands have gone too far in some cases?
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I haven't seen that.
• 51:36
  SPEAKER_00: And so for me, no, but in some cases I'm sure.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would love to hear more about you know his his situation.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, would love to go to his uh his business, right?
• 51:48
  SPEAKER_00: To go see what it's about, um, the years that he's uh that he's been involved, and also the results, what the results have been.
• 51:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, so I would I would love to know more.
• 52:01
  SPEAKER_01: Should there be caveats for disability inclusion maybe separate from there?
• 52:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like say say that was a problem.
• 52:08
  SPEAKER_00: No, yeah, people with disabilities, you know, have their own their own fight and their own barriers.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and so we should have something you know separate because we don't start the in the same, yeah, right?
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those who have disabilities have it more difficult, yeah.
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's different, a lot, a lot more, more different.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, but it's also every situation is different, every program is different.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_00: And is this program bringing you know the the results?
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's about the qualifications.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right on.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thank you for not going for not continuing on you.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's so let's talk about the water.
• 52:44
  SPEAKER_01: Corpus Christi's Western Reservoirs, Choke Canyon, and Lake Corpus Christi are at about 10% capacity.
• 52:49
  SPEAKER_01: The city says we could hit a water emergency by November this year.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, the 1.2 billion desalinization plant was supposed to fix what got killed by the city council last September.
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_01: What's your plan?
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the water issue has been a problem for quite quite a while now.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_00: We lost the sugar cane in South Texas because of it.
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of it has to do with, you know, Mexico not releasing the water that were we they owe us.
• 53:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh President Trump did put pressure on Mexico and put in place tariffs.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_00: And Mexico responded about three weeks ago saying that to lift the tariffs and that they would release the water that they they owe us.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the problem is we also don't have the infrastructure and the reservoirs here.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_00: So Mexico has reservoirs all over, and that's at the state level.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: We need to make sure we can bring in the funding, but we need to build our own reservoirs that we don't depend on Mexico.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, Mexico is now saying that they're gonna release the water.
• 53:56
  SPEAKER_00: And um President Trump said, if you do not release the water, we will come back harder with higher tariffs.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that Mexico is kind of going to do it because of what happened in Venezuela.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think they want bad relationship with the United States.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_00: But having said that, we here in our side, we need to get funding from the state to build our own reservoirs because Mexico has them all over and we don't.
• 54:27
  SPEAKER_01: So what's the federal role?
• 54:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what can Congress actually do?
• 54:31
  SPEAKER_01: Is this a local failure, a state failure, or both?
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_00: We all we all have a responsibility.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do think that um it does the funding for the reservoirs is at the state level, but the federal government brings brings the funding as well.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh it's something that we're all responsible.
• 54:53
  SPEAKER_00: Not one of them is more responsible than the other.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think that uh the state of Texas needs to build more reservoirs.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_00: And if the federal government can help with that in making in making sure that they have the funding to do so, absolutely.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then state representatives, that their job is to making sure that the money is put in place in those in those places.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_01: Do you support the desalinization or uh do you have an alternative?
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I think that should be up to the the people of Noasis County.
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how do the people of Noasis County have that been put in in the ballot?
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that the people of Noasis County should be given an opportunity to decide what they think it's best for the count their their county.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_01: Right on, right on.
• 55:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so the port of Corpus Christi supports over 76,000 jobs in this region, refineries like Flint Hills uh resources, ExxonMobil has said publicly in council meetings uh that they might have to shut down and relocate if the water runs out.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh an ExxonMobil project supervisor told the city council he's going to tell his boss to transfer him out and sell his house before home values crash.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, how do you respond to that?
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the red flags are there, and that again that's that the local and the local elected officials need to make sure that they make the state aware of the of the situation in making sure that the water is released as soon as possible so we do not lose the you know these thousands and thousands of jobs just like we did in South Texas with the sugar cane.
• 56:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because it happened to us in South Texas.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_01: Should industry be getting water before residents?
• 56:28
  SPEAKER_00: No, the the people should be getting the water first.
• 56:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's like uh yeah, no.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: What happens to this economy if the refineries leave?
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, we we need we all need each other.
• 56:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's the thing.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about you know, okay, just us.
• 56:43
  SPEAKER_00: No, we need them because they provide jobs.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're all connected one another, and so it's important that we have we have the water for the residents, but also to keep these companies uh going because these companies are the ones providing jobs to pay our rent uh for us to be able to take care of our families.
• 57:04
  SPEAKER_00: So we shouldn't be competing with each other, we need to be working with each other, residents in these companies.
• 57:08
  SPEAKER_00: We're because at the end of the day, we're one.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_01: The desalinization plant costs went from 160 million to 1.2 billion.
• 57:17
  SPEAKER_01: The city council killed six to three after a 13-hour meeting, and the three people actually got arrested.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, there are reports that the governor's chief of staff uh called a city council and threatened to cut state funding if they didn't approve the plant.
• 57:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what's going on here?
• 57:33
  SPEAKER_01: Is this a failure of leadership?
• 57:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, no one should be threatened.
• 57:37
  SPEAKER_00: And again, this is a decision that the people of Noasis County have the right to decide.
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, whether the state likes it or not, uh the people of Noasis County have the right to decide what's best for their county.
• 57:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right on, right on.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh would you have voted uh against or for the DSAL plant?
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm not I'm not in Noises County, and I I don't want my vote to, you know, yeah, persuade anybody because again, the people of Noasis County have the right to decide what's best for them.
• 58:06
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones that live here.
• 58:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they're the ones that live, you know, on a daily basis.
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I do not want my opinion to persuade them to think differently.
• 58:15
  SPEAKER_01: Nice, nice, nice.
• 58:16
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 58:17
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for thank you for answering those questions.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we'll get into the border and ice.
• 58:20
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, that's a topic that's gotta come up.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you gotta bring up your ex-husband was a border patrol agent.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you lived on this you live with this issue up close in a way most politicians haven't.
• 58:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what do people misunderstand about border security?
• 58:35
  SPEAKER_00: They're just enforcing the laws.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter who the president is.
• 58:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they're just enforcing the laws.
• 58:41
  SPEAKER_00: The majority of our border patrol agents, ICE agents are Hispanic.
• 58:45
  SPEAKER_00: They're Hispanic and they're just enforcing the laws.
• 58:47
  SPEAKER_00: If the elected members of Congress, Democrats, don't like what our men and women are doing, then why are they not introducing to change the law?
• 58:57
  SPEAKER_00: Change the law.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because at the end of the day, deportations have always existed.
• 59:01
  SPEAKER_00: ICE has existed way before President Trump.
• 59:05
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, Obama was the deporter-in-chief.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_00: Tom Holman, who's in charge of the deportations right now, was in charge of the deportations under the Obama administration.
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_01: What was it like being married to someone on the front lines?
• 59:17
  SPEAKER_01: Like, would he would your husband like talk about it and stuff?
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what was it like?
• 59:21
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, no.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_00: And um he's very private with his job.
• 59:24
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I have family in border in Border Patrol as well, uncles and cousins involved in Border Patrol.
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so did it change how you see immigration policy.
• 59:35
  SPEAKER_00: No, I grew up with my cousins and uncles being in Border Patrol.
• 59:39
  SPEAKER_00: So we South Texas is very friendly with law enforcement.
• 59:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's very unfortunate what's happening right now.
• 59:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but we've South Texas has always been very supportive of law enforcement or Border Patrol agents.
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_00: Again, they're our family.
• 59:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know, when you we see the disrespect, it's a it's we you know, we take it personal because it's they're our family.
• 59:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, for sure.
• 1:00:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Serge on Instagram, he asks he asked a lot of questions.
• 1:00:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, how do you reconcile being well, you're not a Mexican immigrant, right?
• 1:00:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I I'm from Mexico.
• 1:00:09
  SPEAKER_01: How do you reconcile being a Mexican immigrant yourself with supporting aggressive ICE reinforcement?
• 1:00:15
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to the people who see that as a good idea?
• 1:00:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, I find it very disrespectful for people to think that because you're from Mexico, you don't have status.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think why do people think that if you're from Mexico, you don't have status in this country?
• 1:00:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually very insulting because a lot of people from Mexico come here to this country and and do it the right way and do it legally.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's very insulting that you assume that because they're from Mexico that they don't have status.
• 1:00:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of people who, you know, who come here to this country and and do it the right way.
• 1:00:45
  SPEAKER_00: And again, you of all people, this individual, if you're from Mexico, you're probably not.
• 1:00:51
  SPEAKER_00: You probably just go on vacation.
• 1:00:52
  SPEAKER_00: You probably have no idea what it's like to live in Mexico.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, a lot of these people think they're Mexican and they're not.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_00: Most of them don't even speak Spanish.
• 1:01:01
  SPEAKER_01: I was just sorry, I was listening to a podcast.
• 1:01:05
  SPEAKER_01: Somebody was telling me, like, because they're from here and they and they spend time in Mexico, and he's like, I you could spend so much time there, but they still know that you're American because of how you carry yourself.
• 1:01:16
  SPEAKER_01: I thought that was interesting.
• 1:01:17
  SPEAKER_00: It is that you said that in Mexico, you can't go and wave the American flag.
• 1:01:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's a huge disrespect.
• 1:01:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's so crazy.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 1:01:26
  SPEAKER_00: But yet here in the United States, you can come and wave the Mexican flag.
• 1:01:29
  SPEAKER_01: Or any other flag.
• 1:01:30
  SPEAKER_01: Or any other flag.
• 1:01:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's America.
• 1:01:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's the beauty of America.
• 1:01:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, in Mexico, you go to Mexico and you speak English, they'll tell you, hey, aquí se habla español.
• 1:01:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, is there a difference between legal and illegal immigrant that people don't understand?
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, of course, when you cross illegally into this country, you're putting yourself and your children's lives at risk.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_00: Most women get raped.
• 1:01:52
  SPEAKER_00: Most children also get raped.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_00: Why would anyone in their right mind advocate and promote illegal immigration when the cartel del Golfo Los Zetas are in charge of the southern border?
• 1:02:04
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean, you go to Tamaulipas right now.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's on fire.
• 1:02:08
  SPEAKER_01: What would you say to a family facing deportation right now?
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter who the president is.
• 1:02:14
  SPEAKER_00: Deportations have always existed.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_00: But the media right now is portraying it like it's something new.
• 1:02:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the media.
• 1:02:22
  SPEAKER_00: The media is is creating this idea that, you know, like as if deportations didn't exist.
• 1:02:26
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, under the Obama administration, he was a deporter-in-chief.
• 1:02:31
  SPEAKER_00: He deported more people than President Trump.
• 1:02:33
  SPEAKER_01: And do you think that's some media is biased to either side?
• 1:02:36
  unknown: Yeah.
• 1:02:36
  SPEAKER_00: Well, because it's it work midterms are coming.
• 1:02:39
  SPEAKER_00: And every midterm, every midterm, it's about immigration.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like I'm I'm sick and tired of it.
• 1:02:45
  SPEAKER_00: And they're always using immigration and using emotion, and people fall for it.
• 1:02:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, they've been in power before.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: Obama promised all kinds of things.
• 1:02:56
  SPEAKER_00: So did Biden.
• 1:02:58
  SPEAKER_00: Did they do any of it?
• 1:02:59
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 1:03:00
  SPEAKER_00: They allowed millions of people to cross illegally into this country, gave those people status, not the people that have been waiting for decades.
• 1:03:08
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_00: Gave the people that cross illegally into this country, gave them stat status, care.
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_00: And the people that cross illegally into this country under the Biden administration, they damaged the immigrants in this country.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a question about Joaquin, the guy we were talking about earlier with the inclusion.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_01: He says, Do you feel like Obama did deportations the same way Trump is doing?
• 1:03:32
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I don't recall due to I don't recall due process being thrown away during his time in office.
• 1:03:38
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, absolutely.
• 1:03:39
  SPEAKER_00: Children were in cages.
• 1:03:40
  SPEAKER_00: You remember that?
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_00: You remember that, Joaquin?
• 1:03:43
  SPEAKER_00: He's the one that had children, he's the one that had the children in cages.
• 1:03:46
  SPEAKER_00: President Trump stopped the cages.
• 1:03:49
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing, it's the media.
• 1:03:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's how it's being portrayed.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_00: And just comply with the law.
• 1:03:58
  SPEAKER_00: You have the right to protest, but you don't have the right to assault.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's it's simple.
• 1:04:03
  SPEAKER_00: Comply to the law.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, most immigrants, a lot of these people, they're Americans protesting.
• 1:04:09
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, these people are not even, they're not even Mexicans.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_00: The people protesting, majority of them are all white liberals.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're not even, they're not no San Mexicanos, because most Mexicans are actually working.
• 1:04:20
  SPEAKER_00: What's your pitch to the and not protesting and assaulting agents?
• 1:04:24
  SPEAKER_01: What's your pitch on the economy specifically for South Texas and the coastal ban?
• 1:04:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, what do we need here that Washington isn't giving?
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_00: Jobs.
• 1:04:33
  SPEAKER_00: Good paying jobs,$20 an hour jobs,$25 an hour jobs,$30 an hour jobs.
• 1:04:39
  SPEAKER_01: What industry should we be investing in here?
• 1:04:41
  SPEAKER_00: We need to bring those corporations here, those big corporations.
• 1:04:45
  SPEAKER_00: We need to bring more billionaires.
• 1:04:46
  SPEAKER_01: Which corporations?
• 1:04:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like Amazon.
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_00: What type?
• 1:04:49
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, okay, okay.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_00: You name it.
• 1:04:51
  SPEAKER_00: I want whatever corporation that's going to come here to this area and offer thousands of jobs that are going to pay$25,$30,$40,$50 an hour and bring prosperity to this area.
• 1:05:02
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 1:05:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to be the biggest PR for Texas District 54.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_01: That'd be the face for Texas.
• 1:05:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it really is.
• 1:05:11
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't care what side you're on, but I do want to be the biggest PR for this area.
• 1:05:16
  SPEAKER_00: We're almost out.
• 1:05:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're almost out.
• 1:05:18
  SPEAKER_01: I got a few more, uh, which which I'm trying to keep it before 1:30 up there.
• 1:05:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um here's here's a topic that's interesting to me.
• 1:05:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um Rachel Caballero, she came on here.
• 1:05:27
  SPEAKER_01: She she runs for uh uh city council down here.
• 1:05:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um talking about the beaches, the privatization of the beaches.
• 1:05:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh she asked in 2013, Texas changed the Open Beaches Act to let SpaceX close Boca Chica beach for rocket launches.
• 1:05:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now, Starbase, which is basically SpaceX company now, company town, controls beach access to Camera in Cameron County, which is part of your district.
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, do you believe the space exploration should supersede Texans' constitutional right to access to the coast, their coast, or would you vote against corporation?
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_01: take over of the Texas.
• 1:06:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well that's actually that was actually at the state level.
• 1:06:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so the people of Cameron County, you know, should have the right to decide.
• 1:06:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that was at the that was a that's a that's at the local and state level.
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's not at the that's not at the federal yeah my thought is like I don't want my beach to be privatized like because I like to go to the beach you know what I'm saying?
• 1:06:18
  SPEAKER_00: We have South Padre Island though.
• 1:06:20
  SPEAKER_00: We have south that's where most people go okay no no one was going there.
• 1:06:24
  SPEAKER_00: We were going okay we weren't going to South Pyra Island too many crabs or South Pyra Island.
• 1:06:30
  SPEAKER_00: So come on come on and SpaceX you know has to provide thousands and thousands of jobs.
• 1:06:36
  SPEAKER_00: Should there be a limit to how much SpaceX can close the beach like can they take do you think they should take over more I guess that's what the question is should they be able to do pick up more parts of the again I think that's a decision at that's at the county level and the people of of Cameron County have the right to decide that but if it's bringing prosperity if it's bringing more jobs that's something that the people of Cameron County need to see.
• 1:07:02
  SPEAKER_01: Which is the economy you're basically talking about having jobs economy and all that good paying jobs.
• 1:07:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah I mean it's it's transformed that area and that's that's what I'm big on.
• 1:07:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know they've given also millions of dollars to a lot of the elementary schools there um and it's important that they that SpaceX invests in in Cameron County.
• 1:07:21
  SPEAKER_00: How do you balance economic development with public access with with communication with the people of Cameron County I think it's about explaining the people of Cameron County what they're doing.
• 1:07:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's about transparency.
• 1:07:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like you just have to talk to the to the people and tell them why you're doing what you're doing and how it's going to benefit them.
• 1:07:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's important and not just jump and make decisions without explaining the people of Cameron County why you're doing it.
• 1:07:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm big on protecting uh South Piedra Island and our beaches because I do not want South Padre Island to look like Galveston.
• 1:07:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
• 1:07:59
  SPEAKER_01: Uh a last policy question uh if you if you went in November what's the first thing you would try to get done for this district uh uh not not the whole platform just the first priority so in my time in Congress I introduced a bill called the RGV Act and because Nancy Pelosi was the speaker she did not allow me to put it on the floor so the first thing I want to do is put my bill on the floor.
• 1:08:24
  SPEAKER_00: Wow this is a bill what's that like how does that feel it's diff it's so crazy it's difficult because this is a bill that has bipartisan support it's billions of dollars for our public schools and it's money to secure the schools in making sure that every school has the security um so we do not have another tragedy like crazy you know we secure um banks and we don't we don't do that for our children and our children they're our engine without them we're nothing you know they're they're our purpose and we're not doing enough to keep our our school safe so a tragedy like that doesn't ever happen again.
• 1:09:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so I introduced the RGV Act it's billions of dollars in uh in safety but also in uh psychological health mental health for children starting in elementary so we see something happening it's important that we act on it when they're when they're a child to prevent them from going from doing anything as they get older so it's it includes mental health uh it includes resources for teachers as well um and a lot of uh funding for for top security for all schools why do you pick that one first because I'm a mom and when I uh I'm a mom my children go to public schools as well I'm probably one of the few um most of them most uh members of Congress have their children in private schools but mine go to public schools and when I saw the tragedy happening in Uvalde I resonated with that I cannot imagine what these parents went through and so we shouldn't we should act on it that happened we should we shouldn't wait for another tragedy to happen so one of my biggest priorities making sure that our our schools are are safe before something ever happens again yeah we've covered a lot of heavy stuff thank you for going with me through that appreciate you yeah I'm trying I'm trying to keep it keep it as neutral neutral as possible and just not trying to pick a side and that you understand I think you understand.
• 1:10:32
  SPEAKER_01: I do um uh so I want to end on something lighter uh get to know you as a person uh not just a candidate so you have four kids what do they think about all this like their mom running for Congress?
• 1:10:43
  SPEAKER_00: They're my biggest supporters they are I mean my oldest is going into the Air Force and before he leaves to the Air Force he's like I'm gonna be you know knocking doors mom so I'll help you get you across the line in the primary uh right before I head to to the air force did he try something else other than the air force or did was did he want to go to the air force he's always wanted to really why he's he always wanted to do the the air force for for quite a while now that's so cool.
• 1:11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah my son's five man yeah I love the little dude so much and uh and Jaden who's then who's a junior he wants to go into into the army or border patrol uh like his dad he's still kind of indecided but in their military which is pretty cool because they're the first in my family who actually you know go into the military so I'm really proud that's cool but the army does worry me a little bit as a mom the airport not so much yeah do they help you with the campaign events oh my gosh yes I had my little girls were here with me this weekend cool um yeah at the Trade Center and they were there with some moms I I saw the pictures and stuff did you enjoy how'd you like the Trade Center out there?
• 1:11:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah they loved it I loved it it was it's great interacting with people it's my favorite part yeah uh so how do you balance being a mom with with all of this by um including them as well and having that communication with them which is very important yeah having that constant communication with them and including them like I said my oldest knocks doors yeah about a hundred doors a day who every single day and he's like hi um and that's my mom I need you to vote for my mom they're like that's really your mom's like yeah because he's he's a big boy he's like six foot and so we're like are you are you are you serious like yeah that's my mom I need you to vote for my mom so yeah he knocks over a hundred doors every single day he's working doors and he's I'm so grateful.
• 1:12:34
  SPEAKER_01: What do you want for them to learn from all of this?
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_01: To never give up not to be quitters you know if it if it's something that they truly believe in for them to fight and fight and fight and fight and fight and fight yeah for sure man work have a good work ethic having that work ethic which is something that I inherited from my parents yeah definitely hey baby that's my wife Christina hi Christina yeah um yeah what what do you do when you're not campaigning uh do you do you even exist anymore um what's a normal day like for mitochloy I love exercising um but I love being home you're a home body I love being home I enjoy it my cup of coffee in my port yes I I love being home so cool yeah so exercising your hobby uh what's your comfort food tacos for sure tacos like mini tacos or actually no bistec you know cebolla cilantro yeah so does the valley have the best tacos yes we have amazing food calacas is one of my favorite taquerías right on uh what's something uh people would be surprised to learn about you something that doesn't show up in the news stories I'm very approachable you know anybody can you know can come up to me and have a conversation with me I don't care what side you're on and and we can carry a conversation and focus on what we agree and not what we disagree um and just how approachable I am yeah nice yeah a lot of people think that I'm not but I am yeah that's cool all right so we'll come into an end here mitra thank you for for coming in thank you guys my friend I'm so happy that I you know had an opportunity to come here and introduce myself and yeah thank you for having me so I want to give you the last word uh what do you want people from Corpus Christi to know about you that they're not going to hear in a campaign ad or a debate my faith my faith in in God in uh my loyalty uh for for my family and my loyalty for the people that elected me to be in the position that I'm in and so I'm 100% all in for Texas District 34 like I said um I will be your biggest PR cool cool and we'll always put this area first right on uh where where can people find you follow you learn more about your campaign Facebook Instagram on X Maida Flores and I do have my website Maida Flores for Congress yeah it's easy to remember Maida Flores cool thank you for coming on I appreciate you uh taking the time for this real conversation uh yeah I think that's about it everything I have um so that was my flores candidate from Congress in uh cacalacas is ball that's my Lito hey Lito's gonna be out here uh Corpus Christi originals comedy night uh February 6th check him out he's a funny clean comedian uh so that was my flores candidate in uh Texas uh 34 thanks to everybody who sent his uh sent in questions Joaquin Rachel uh Joshua and Serge uh y'all made this better appreciate you guys if you got something out there share it uh uh subscribe we'll see you next time I'm Jesus Renandez Copiscript originals appreciate y'all bye