Why did DAD barter with TAMUK EDUCATION Money for a new district court (influence) in Cleberg

Lucio says all options open in paying for schools
Editor’s note: This one in a series of four stories profiling candidates for state representative, District 38, on the ballot for the March 7 Democratic primary. Other candidates are David Gonzales, Arnie Olivarez and Alfredo Montano. The winner will face Luis Cavazos in November, who is unopposed in the Republican primary.District 38 includes most of Harlingen, northern Brownsville, southern Los Fresnos, and all of San Benito, Rancho Viejo, Indian Lake, Rangerville and Los Indios.BY ELIZABETH PIERSONThe Brownsville HeraldBROWNSVILLE, January 26, 2006 — He entered the full-time work force less than one year ago, but Eddie Lucio III said he’s been learning skills to become a state representative all his life.The 27-year-old Brownsville native was just shy of his seventh birthday when his dad, state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1986, and had always known a father involved in county politics.He’s the youngest of the four candidates vying for the Democratic nomination to represent Texas House District 38, but the Brownsville native said he’s arguably the most qualified to represent the Valley.
“I would give them that credit (of experience) had they been in the Legislature or been mayors, but their experience comes in business and law,” Lucio said. “Politics wasn’t something that we read about; it was something that we talked about at the breakfast table.”Lucio said he considers himself moderate on business issues and liberal on spending for health and assistance programs for the poor.“I feel that a strong business community can contribute to a community by providing tax revenue, jobs ... but in terms of social services, I feel I’m very liberal,” he said.He said he wants to wait to study state expenditures more closely before taking a position on how to raise more money for schools. First, current funds should be spent wisely, he said.“Everything is on the table right now,” he said. “I’m not opposed to anything. We need to be very innovative on how we spend and generate tax revenue in Texas. We need to be very creative with what we have now before we raise any more.”Lucio said one of his top priorities is to help the municipalities of the Rio Grande Valley to work together on issues of regional importance.“My biggest concern is that we don’t think regionally,” he said.Lucio graduated from Pace High School in Brownsville in 1997 and moved to Lubbock to attend college at Texas Tech University on a golf scholarship. After two years, he transferred to the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his bachelor’s and law degrees.Last year, he returned to the Valley, moved into his parents’ Los Fresnos home, and began practicing law with the Austin firm of Minter, Joseph and Thornhill. The firm partners agreed to let Lucio open their first Brownsville branch and take the time he needed to campaign for office, he said.In December, he married Jaime Barrera, a Brownsville accountant, in a small ceremony in Las Vegas. They had previously planned a November 2006 wedding but decided on a small, intimate ceremony instead, Lucio said.“We looked at the calendar, and this year, we wouldn’t have had any time, and we were just in love and we wanted to start our life together,” he said.Lucio now lives in Rancho Viejo.During an interview on a November afternoon, Lucio tended to details of his campaign.Brad McCumber, the marketing specialist who has worked on Sen. Lucio’s campaigns, is working on Lucio III’s campaign. He said Eddie III is, “like his father, a grassroots campaigner.”“Eddie’s a sharp guy, he’s a quick study,” McCumber said. “He really studies the issues.”Lucio III thinks his father’s position as a senator has given him a ground-up education about politics but hasn’t given him any particular advantage in the race.“That just opens up doors,” he said during an interview in November. “It doesn’t really help you. People still want to look you in the eye. They ask you about issues.” Name: Eduardo A. Lucio IIIAge: 27Lives in: Rancho ViejoProfession: Attorney with law firm of Minter, Joseph and ThornhillEducation: Pace High School 1997; bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, 2001; law degree from UT-Austin, 2005.Family: Married in December to Jaime Lucio (formerly Barrera), accountant with Burton, McCumber and Cortez in Brownsville
Posted on Jan 26, 06 12:00 am