State rep straddling both sides of election

SULLIVAN CITY — Whether he likes it or not, state Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores is right in the middle of today’s elections in western Hidalgo County.

Flores, D-Palmview, is not up for re-election himself, and he doesn’t represent either of the two cities — La Joya or Sullivan City — where races have become the most heated.

Yet in backing the re-election bid of his father, Sullivan City Mayor Gumaro Flores, while supporting some of his father’s opponents, Rep. Flores has exacerbated an already bitter election season, according to his critics and several candidates.

“Right now, he’s putting more emphasis on the party than on the family,” said Maria Noemi Flores, Gumaro’s sister and Kino’s aunt.

That party, Team USA, is in its second year of trying to wrest control of western Hidalgo County from La Joya Mayor Billy Leo, Rep. Flores’ former ally and now adversary.

“They are positive role models for the community,” Rep. Flores said of Team USA, “and they can do a lot for it.”

TANGLED ALLIANCES

With Rep. Flores as one of its main backers, Team USA is hoping to expand majority control of the La Joya school board, unseat Leo in La Joya and win Sullivan City’s two commissioner seats.

As such, in Sullivan City, Team USA is supporting Rosendo Benavides and Oscar “Coach” Salinas, who are running against Gumaro Flores’ allies on the City Commission — incumbents Ginger Villarreal and Reynaldo Ruiz.

In the mayoral race, Gumaro Flores is running against Nidia Benavides, owner of the Benavides Drive-Inn off Highway 83 and aunt of Rosendo Benavides.

Team USA members are not actively supporting either Sullivan City mayoral candidate but believe Gumaro Flores is the better one, said J.A. “Fito” Salinas, one of the group’s leaders.

Kino Flores, meanwhile, said his support is consistent with what’s best for Sullivan City.

“In terms of thinking and philosophy and getting things done, (my father) is more aligned with the young people,” he said, referring to Oscar Salinas and Rosendo Benavides. “I’m just going on strictly what the community wants.”

Ruiz, though, said Rep. Flores’ conditional support for both sides “feels weird.”

“I feel like if Kino really wanted to support his dad, he’d support the team,” Ruiz said. “I feel like we were left out.”

“We’ll see what happens,” Ruiz added. “What goes around comes around. Kino’s going to need us some day.”

Gumaro Flores, who has been mayor of Sullivan City since it incorporated in 1997, declined to talk about his son’s role in the election, other than to say he has his son’s full support.

But privately, Gumaro is upset, said his sister.

“He’s very hurt, but he will do what his son tells him to do, even if his heart is not there,” Maria Flores said.

Maria, a member of Leo’s political party, has her own political issues with her nephew.

When she ran for a La Joya school board seat last year on Leo’s slate, Rep. Flores backed her Team USA opponent.

Leo said that decision, plus the state lawmaker’s support of the Team USA-backed candidates in Sullivan City, shows that Rep. Flores puts political power above family.

“There’s something wrong there,” Leo said. “That is totally cold and insensitive on the part of that man. I would’ve never let my father down.”

Since Kino Flores split with Leo several years ago, he has refused to criticize the La Joya mayor in interviews with The Monitor.

“They can say what they want about me,” Rep. Flores said Wednesday. “That’s a low road, and I’m not going to take it.”

“We’re a small community,” he continued. “We’re a big family and we’re going to reconcile our differences.”

WHY DOES KINO CARE?

Rep. Flores’ faction, however, is not reluctant to voice its displeasure with Leo, whose family has controlled western Hidalgo County for decades.

In an interview Wednesday, Kino Flores said Team USA has the better plan for the community’s future.

“I believe in what they’re doing,” the former La Joya school board president said.

But Leo alleged that Kino Flores uses his alliances for personal gain, steering jobs and work contracts to his friends — even though Leo’s opponents accuse him of doing the same when he controlled the school district.

Since Flores’ candidates gained majority control of the school board last spring, they have replaced many of Leo’s allies — including his wife, former superintendent Filomena Leo — with their own supporters.

And Gumaro Flores said his son uses his influence on the La Joya school board to give school district jobs to allies and people in need.

“That’s his only benefit from the school,” Gumaro said.

Kino Flores, however, said he “absolutely does not” use his influence for anyone’s financial gain.

“You support people who support you,” he said of Team USA. “They’ve been my supporters for a long time.”

KINO HAS BEEN LOW-KEY

By the accounts of even his critics, the state representative has kept a low public profile in this year’s elections.

He has paid about $1,500 to a billboard company so allies can display giant campaign signs along Highway 83. And he has lent his voice to radio spots for Team USA.

“He has not really gotten involved too much,” said FitoSalinas, the Team USA leader. “We haven’t really seen him.”

NidiaBenavides, Gumaro Flores’ opponent, said Rep. Flores is staying away from Sullivan City because it looks bad that he’s supporting both sides.

“It’s about time that he left this town and let people vote for themselves,” shesaid.

Kino Flores said that the Legislature’s being in session has kept him away from the races.

However, he was not on the House floor Friday when dozens of bills were passed. He also missed major votes earlier in the week on an overhaul of the Texas Youth Commission, spending of a proposed $100 million on border security and a rare vote that overturned a ruling by the speaker of the House.

Even if Kino Flores campaigned more, Fito Salinas said, western Hidalgo County residents aren’t focused on him.

“When we talk to people, at community meetings, they ask us, ‘Are you with the bus? Are you with USA?’” said Salinas, referring to his group’s support for busing all La Joya students. “They never mention Kino.”

____

Monitor staff writers Kaitlin Bell and Elizabeth Hernandez contributed to this report.

____

Michael Barnett covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447.