Recent developments in two very tight local races show that political endorsements are not always as straightforward as “vote for X!”
In the Democratic primary race for Travis County Pct. 2 Commissioner, for instance, incumbent Karen Sonleitner got an endorsement from the Travis County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Association (TCSLEA) — not to be confused with the Travis County Sheriff’s Officers Association (TSCOA), the largest and older organization representing sheriff’s deputies. On Feb. 12, Sonleitner and Pct. 4 Commissioner Margaret Gómez sponsored a motion for the Commissioners Court to officially recognize the newly formed TCSLEA, comprised of officers from the law enforcement side of the office who apparently split with the corrections-side deputies over pay issues.
The TCSOA has become quite concerned about identity confusion, which they believe the TCSLEA’s endorsement of Sonleitner might cause. “[Sonleitner has] tried to confuse voters by showcasing a law-enforcement endorsement from a group that has a name similar to ours but has less than a hundred members,” said TCSOA Vice President Sgt. Alex Leo.
TCSOA endorses Sonleitner’s rival, Jeff Heckler, as well as Gómez and incumbent county judge Sam Biscoe. Leo told the Chronicle that TSCOA interviewed Sonleitner and other candidates on Wednesday, Jan. 30, and on the following day informed Sonleitner they would endorse Heckler. Sonleitner immediately began promoting recognition of the newer, smaller TCSLEA, he says — “right after that she got their endorsement. So it was one day after she did not receive our endorsement that she pushed [the recognition] through the commissioners court.”
Sonleitner denies any connection between the TCSLEA’s creation and her campaign. “They split this year,” said Sonleitner. “The [TC]SOA stayed with corrections, and practically every law enforcement officer left the SOA and started a new organization … street deputies, SWAT, those kinds of folks.” And, she adds, “actually, I wasn’t the one that was assisting [TCSLEA].” Before Christmas 2001, she said, Commissioner Gómez’s office had been working with the association, which had to earn recognition from the commissioner’s court in order to obtain dues from members’ paychecks. “That’s standard for any labor group.”
But Leo also accuses Sonleitner of harassing TSCOA for a fundraiser they held on county property. Sonleitner said she was responding to a constituent complaint that the fundraiser might be illegal. Once assured that the money was not going to TSCOA’s political action committee, she dropped the matter, she says.
Meanwhile, the heated six-way race for District 51 state representative also got a little hotter when the UT University Democrats rescinded their endorsement of Lulu Flores. The student group accuses Flores campaign manager Lisa Montoya — a lecturer at UT’s Center for Mexican American Studies — of stacking their endorsement meeting with new members in order to swing the vote, and possibly intimidating students to vote for Flores.
“She won our endorsement by four votes,”said UD spokesman Byron LaMasters. “Basically, there were several professors, one of them was a campaign manager, and they joined the organization on the day of the meeting. That really wasn’t the problem, because any student or faculty is allowed to join at any time. What we concerned about is that many of the students who had come were students of theirs or would have them [as instructors] in the future. … Interestingly, none of them showed up at our next meeting.”
“Basically, there were several professors, one of them was a campaign manager, and they joined the organization on the day of the meeting,” LaMasters said. “That really wasn’t the problem, because any student or faculty is allowed to join at any time.” What concerns the UD, he said, “is that many of the students who had come were students of theirs or would have them [as instructors] in the future. … Interestingly, none of them showed up at our next meeting.” The UD ultimately decided not to endorse a candidate for Dist. 51.
Montoya points out that in a letter to the Flores campaign, the UD admits that her actions did not explicitly violate their organization’s Constitution. “Whatever they allege, it’s absolutely false,” Montoya said. There was no orchestrated effort to get anyone, including students, to that meeting, period.” Montoya admits she didn’t show up for the UD’s subsequent meeting, but says the group never notified her or anyone else she knows. “It’s only my opinion, but it appears to me that they didn’t want everybody to come to that meeting.” She ascribes the controversy to “politics” and the UD leadership’s prior support for Flores’ main opponent, Eddie Rodriguez.
“They were all wearing [pro-Rodriguez] stickers at the endorsement meeting,” Montoya said. “They ran the endorsement meeting, and they all argued on Eddie’s behalf. … The evidence is that they were supporting Eddie and were unhappy with the results.”
This article appears in March 8 • 2002.