Pinthouse Pizza
"Mamá" Garcia Responds
RECEIVED Mon., March 16, 2020
Dear Editor,
In your recent article regarding my U.S. Senate candidacy ["Point Austin: Future Outcomes Not Assured," News, Mar. 13], you characterized me as a "pretender" in waxing wistful at an alternative outcome in which Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez was presumably one of the candidates left standing if only "Annie Garcia and Sema Hernandez ... had better judgment than ambition."
Let's take a quick look at my campaign, why don't we? Despite the fact that I had less than 5% the campaign budget of Ramirez, was in the race for half the time and, as made clear by your characterization of my candidacy, had none of the adoration or coverage of the media, I got 191,409 votes to her 245,062 votes. In comparison, Chris Bell spent 10 times more than I did and got less than 160,000 votes. Chris came in sixth place while I managed to pull out a fourth place finish, right behind Cristina. So, to be clear, per vote I spent $0.11 (11 cents), versus the $4 per vote Cristina and the $2.27 per vote that Chris Bell spent.
The irony is apparently lost on you that you singled out the only two other female candidates with Latin surnames on the ballot while lamenting the lack of a more "progressive" candidate. Maybe you should take that introspection and consider why you don't categorize Chris Bell as a "pretender," why you don't question the motives or judgment of, oh, I don't know, a hetero white male.
I walked 420 miles across the state of Texas and ended it at the Walmart in El Paso where 22 people were massacred and 24 injured. I sat down with Republicans and talked about my own abortion. I spent 2 nights in a tent in Matamoros. And the day after the election, I flew to Brownsville to represent 4 clients in their asylum hearings, whom I had met on the campaign trail. I put my own money in my campaign because I truly believe that we have run out of time and we need to be the party to inspire people with our political courage and moral clarity, something I didn't (and don't) see in any of the candidates. I waged a social media campaign unlike any other candidate and I used every asset I could come up with, including johncornynsucks.com and the use of my nickname "Mama" on the ballot.
Further, I am an attorney, hablar 3 idiomas (dass wir auch auf Deutsch halten koennen), founder of a nonprofit organization and 2 small, profitable businesses. Oh, and did I mention that I homebirthed my three children, ages 4, 5, and 7?
So please don't characterize my campaign as one of ambition over good judgment or me as a "pretender." If you maintain that I am a candidate that puts ego over judgment or is not a serious candidate, then perhaps you should consider the sexism, racism, and outright misogyny that leads to your assumptions about what makes a "real" candidate.
In your recent article regarding my U.S. Senate candidacy ["Point Austin: Future Outcomes Not Assured," News, Mar. 13], you characterized me as a "pretender" in waxing wistful at an alternative outcome in which Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez was presumably one of the candidates left standing if only "Annie Garcia and Sema Hernandez ... had better judgment than ambition."
Let's take a quick look at my campaign, why don't we? Despite the fact that I had less than 5% the campaign budget of Ramirez, was in the race for half the time and, as made clear by your characterization of my candidacy, had none of the adoration or coverage of the media, I got 191,409 votes to her 245,062 votes. In comparison, Chris Bell spent 10 times more than I did and got less than 160,000 votes. Chris came in sixth place while I managed to pull out a fourth place finish, right behind Cristina. So, to be clear, per vote I spent $0.11 (11 cents), versus the $4 per vote Cristina and the $2.27 per vote that Chris Bell spent.
The irony is apparently lost on you that you singled out the only two other female candidates with Latin surnames on the ballot while lamenting the lack of a more "progressive" candidate. Maybe you should take that introspection and consider why you don't categorize Chris Bell as a "pretender," why you don't question the motives or judgment of, oh, I don't know, a hetero white male.
I walked 420 miles across the state of Texas and ended it at the Walmart in El Paso where 22 people were massacred and 24 injured. I sat down with Republicans and talked about my own abortion. I spent 2 nights in a tent in Matamoros. And the day after the election, I flew to Brownsville to represent 4 clients in their asylum hearings, whom I had met on the campaign trail. I put my own money in my campaign because I truly believe that we have run out of time and we need to be the party to inspire people with our political courage and moral clarity, something I didn't (and don't) see in any of the candidates. I waged a social media campaign unlike any other candidate and I used every asset I could come up with, including johncornynsucks.com and the use of my nickname "Mama" on the ballot.
Further, I am an attorney, hablar 3 idiomas (dass wir auch auf Deutsch halten koennen), founder of a nonprofit organization and 2 small, profitable businesses. Oh, and did I mention that I homebirthed my three children, ages 4, 5, and 7?
So please don't characterize my campaign as one of ambition over good judgment or me as a "pretender." If you maintain that I am a candidate that puts ego over judgment or is not a serious candidate, then perhaps you should consider the sexism, racism, and outright misogyny that leads to your assumptions about what makes a "real" candidate.
Annie "Mamá" Garcia