LUIS DOES MEXICO D.F., CAMPAIGNS; WHERE'S CHUCK?

By Juan Montoya
After a brief hiatus following the break after the July 31 runoff for Cameron County District Attorney, Democratic contender Luis Saenz, a former DA, has come off the blocks with fundraisers, community get together, and a major career-building appearance before fellow prosecutors in Mexico City.
Just yesterday we were at his well-attended Dinner on the Resaca Fundraiser off Alton Gloor Road between Cavazos Road and Dana Avenue. There's no question about it. He's off and running.
His Republican opponent Chuck Mattingly, however, has been nowhere to be seen. Except for a few "I'm With Chuck" signs scattered sparingly throughout town, Chuck has apparently assumed a strategy of keeping a low profile to get elected in November.
Followers of his campaign have to go to his website to find out what Chuck and whoever is with him are up to, apparently.
Saenz, meanwhile, was again invited by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Embassy to Mexico City the week of September 17 through September 22, 2012 to serve as an instructor in a Chain of Custody Course for Mexican Prosecutors, Investigators and Technical Experts. 
The course consisted of 75 students and involved lecturers and the execution of a mock search warrant investigation. Mexico, apparently, is seeking to modernize its system of dispensing justice and requested the that U.S. authorities recommend someone to introduce its justice system personnel to the finer points of prosecution.
"It was an honor to assist the country of Mexico as it seeks to modernize its criminal justice system and to represent Cameron County in such a historic endeavor in Mexico City," Saenz writes on his website.
As the campaign gears up, the fact checkers have told us that at least one claim that Mattingly makes on his website is dubious.
They say that his claim that he has been putting on his web page gives the mistaken impression that Mattingly has been putting criminals away for the better part of 20 years. They point out that when Saenz came into office, he hired Chuck. Saenz lost after just two years and Yolanda De Leon did not hireMattingly to remain on board.
Eight years later, Armando Villalobos beat De Leon and Chuck was on board again.
His claim, they say, that "Since 1996, Chuck has sent criminals to prison..." leaves the false impression that he has been a DA for the better part of two decades. In fact, they say, he was hired by Villalobos in 2004 until now, about eight years plus the two or so he was hired by Luis, and not the 20 years he would like you to believe.
The candidates have survived their parties' primaries but as the last 40 days of the campaign bear down on us, expect this spat to get even hotter.