That Carlos Cascos:...All The Sounds Of A Candidate...

 

By EDUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ

BROWNSVILLE, Texas | You know the clues. A would-be candidate stays away from the country club golf course and the chatty bars. That's his wife headed out to the shopping mall and he's okay with it. Carlos Cascos is fine with all of it. He wants to talk issues.

Like this, from his busy Facebook page: [ "Many of us have to live within our means. We don't have the luxury of voting ourselves increases in compensation. The county commissioners court awarded themselves huge raises last year & once again they will award themselves raises again. Taxpayers are not ATM machines. This is what some of you voted for. So, think about these raises as you struggle to pay your property taxes, gas, & groceries." ]

Well, he's been talking (and been roundly talked about) as a potential candidate for the coveted 34th Congressional District seat currently kept warm by adept Democrat Vicente Gonzalez, but, here, here he sounds more like a surefire candidate for the Cameron County Judge's job.

You think?

Mr. Cascos is a learned, veteran politician, having served as county judge and as Texas Secretary of State. He's an Old Line Republican not quite in step with the mind-numbing bizarreness of one Donald J. Trump.

Pocketbook issues. Remember those? Mr. Cascos digs deep into his pockets to grab at that once-everywhere angle for the aspirant public servant - appealing to something quite familiar to all, money. Cash on hand for the household bills, Maria.

Property taxes are high, as declared 34th Congressional District candidate Laura E. Cisneros will tell you. Sit you down and tell you, in fact. Gasoline is relatively stable, although it's inching up. Groceries are the stunner, as prices keep rising on the basics. And Mr. Cascos might want to throw in shaving razors, for both men and women. Eight Gillette blades for $32! Blame Joe Biden for that one? We kid. Blame H-E-B.

When last we'd checked-in with Mr. Cascos about his political plans, we were led to believe that he had targeted Labor Day (September 4th) as the day he would make his decision on whether to run for any post. It's right around the corner, as old flower street vendors used to say in Matamoros when asked about the nearest barber shop.

It's nice that he mentions costs for the consumer, but we suspect Mr. Cascos, a principal in a local accounting firm, has no trouble meeting his taxes, gasoline or groceries expenses.

Plus, there's not much a county judge or single congressman can do about property taxes, gasoline or price of groceries.

Still, it sounds good, like he cares.

Really, we believe Carlos Cascos to be an honest man. His record as a public servant is positive, much more than a host of others still sitting pretty (and useless) in office.

We'll see what he decides to do...

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