CANDIDATES FOR 2014 JP RACES LINING UP EARLY AT THE ELECTION STARTING GATE

By Juan Montoya
Following the approval at their last meeting to open the offices of the Justice of the Peace Pct. 2-3 in Brownsville, commissioner have decided to open up an application period to appoint a caretaker JP until voters elect their new judge in the 2014 party primaries.
If the past is any indication, the new appointee will probably have to be an attorney and promise no to run for the office once the term is over. Such was the case when Kip Van Hodge was appointed to finish the unexpired term of the late Tony Torres in the JP 2-2 court. That court has since been filled by the Democratic primary winner and winner in the subsequent runoff and November election Erin H. Garcia.
As a sign that politics has become a year-round industry in South Texas, there are now three candidates for three JP positions in the county. One of the candidates is for JP 4 slot now filled by Manuel Flores. The candidate who has tendered his appointment for campaign treasurer with the Cameron County Elections Administrator's office is Luis Gonzalez,  and he listed a Linda Flores, of Los Fresnos as his treasurer.
Another is Nicholas Gonzalez who is seeking the JP 1 position now held by Bennie Ochoa. He listed his treasurer as Francisco Castellanos Jr., of Port Isabel.
The other candidate, who is vying for the newly-created JP 2-3 court is Maria Esther Garcia, who listed Lynette Benavides, of Brownsville as her treasurer.
The appointment of a treasurer allows the candidates to raise funds for the coming campaign. Other laws in the Texas election Code govern spending and advertising. Local laws govern the posting of campaign sings.
Aside from their names and treasurers, we know very little about the Los Fresnos and the Port Isabel candidates. The Brownsville candidate, Ms. Garcia, we know to be the court administrator for County-Court- at-Law 2 Laura Betancourt from our contacts at the courthouse.
We also know her from our previous experience with that court, having had to pay for our legal transgressions in the past. From our personal experience all we can say is that she treated lawyers, litigants and defendants in a professional, courteous, and efficient manner.
Ms. Garcia has been with Betancourt for the better part of a decade and has probably overseen the dispensation of literally thousands of cases before her judge's court. It'll be difficult to beat her on the issue of experience.
Before she became the administrator of the court, she was also the office manager for former commissioner John Wood. That probably allowed her to rub elbows with most influential political heavyweights in the county, giving her a leg up on political contacts critical to get elected here.
We're still more than a year from the 2014 primaries and we can expect more candidates for these and other positions to emerge from both parties as the time goes on. For now, all we can say is that if the early bird gets the worm, these three candidates are already up before dawn seeking their positions.