Flores announces he won't run in 2010

PALMVIEW — The man who once described himself as a political “fighter not a diplomat” has finally met a battle from which he plans to back down.

Facing a costly criminal trial and a repeat challenger for his seat, state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election to an eighth term in 2010.

The Palmview Democrat said in a prepared statement that he plans now to focus on clearing his name and spending time with his family.

“I worked effectively, fought hard and delivered for South Texas,” he said. “I will not apologize for standing up for our region.”

A Travis County grand jury indicted Flores in July on 16 counts of tampering with government records and three counts of perjury, alleging he hid nearly $850,000 in personal assets from the Texas Ethics Commission over a period of six years.

Flores has vehemently denied the allegations and described omissions on his financial disclosure forms as an oversight. As recently as last month, he told The Monitor he had no intention of letting the charges slow down his bid for re-election.

But his announcement Tuesday opens up the field for Texas House District 36 — which stretches from Peñitas to parts of Pharr — to a host of potential candidates who have only known one representative since Flores first took office 13 years ago.

Former teacher and probation officer Sandra Rodriguez, who gave the legislator one of his closest challenges during the 2008 Democratic primary, has already announced her intention to run for the office again. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

And within hours of Flores’ stepping down, a second, relatively unknown candidate emerged: 27-year-old attorney Sergio Muñoz Jr., who declared his candidacy Tuesday afternoon. The son of former state Rep. Sergio Muñoz Sr., who lost a re-election bid to Flores in 1996, the younger Muñoz kicked off his campaign with promises to work for education and health care funding.

“If we want more jobs, more resources and more funding for our community, we all need to work together cooperatively,” he said. “A community that is united produces the desired results.”

During Flores’ 13 years in office, the lawmaker rose quickly by aligning himself with divisive figures such as former Republican House Speaker Tom Craddick, of Midland. Although criticized at the time for supporting the bombastic and combative leader, Flores’ loyalty paid off in the millions of dollars in government funding he secured for his district and his plum appointment to chair the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee, which oversees state gambling issues.

But it was Flores’ own pugnacious brand of hard-nosed politics that earned him many critics and prompted Texas Monthly to name him one of the state’s worst legislators in a June article.

“No sitting member has brought more discredit upon the Legislature,” its authors wrote.

Flores’ recent indictment is only the latest in a series of questions that have been raised over the years about his sources of income and financial transactions with people seeking influence in the legislative process.

Austin prosecutors allege he violated the law by failing to report thousands of dollars he earned as a consultant for various Rio Grande Valley firms as well as gifts he accepted, such as plane rides and a horse for his son. Flores has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is set to take his case before a jury later this year.

Still, as the second-most senior member of the Valley’s House delegation, his decision to step down Tuesday will be a loss for the region, State Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg, said.

“Whether they loved him or they hated him,” he said, “the one thing they had to admit was that he was effective.”

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.