Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Cuellar, Martinez vie for Demo chair

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Monday, March 6, 2000

Cuellar, Martinez vie for Demo chair
Race reveals tension in local party; Yowell unopposed for GOP position
By Jennifer Stump
Caller-Times

Candidate Profiles
Lauro Cuellar
Age: 48
Family: Wife, Alicia, three children
Occupation: Insurance agent
Education: Bachelor's degree, Texas A&I University, 1974; master's degree, Texas A&I University, 1976
Diana Martinez
Age: 33
Family: Single
Occupation: Lawyer
Education: Bachelor's degree, University of Texas, 1990; law degree, University of Texas School of Law, 1993.

Growing tension within the local Democratic Party has become the top issue in the race for Nueces County Democratic chair.
   Incumbent Lauro Cuellar, party chairman since 1998, is being challenged by lawyer Diana Martinez for the unpaid position. Joel Yowell is running for chairman of the Nueces County Republican Party unopposed.
   Infighting in the Democratic Party came to the surface recently when a candidate discovered that two names were misspelled on the ballots. More than 100,000 ballots misspelled the names of 214th District Court candidate Hector Rene Gonzalez and Cuellar. The printing of 100,000 new ballots will cost state taxpayers $27,000.
   In addition to the ballot dispute, the candidates have been discussing uniting the party versus encouraging competition and activism among local candidates.
   Lauro Cuellar
   Cuellar, 48, an insurance agent and former schoolteacher, said he already has proven that he can do the job. He said his duties as county chairman have included working with the state Democratic office, maintaining the Democratic headquarters in Nueces County, fund-raising, having meetings with party politicians and the Nueces County Executive Committee, interpreting party rules and running the Democratic primary elections.
   "This job is very demanding," he said. "There's no pay. A person has to be flexible. You have to be out at any time. That's the type of person that needs to be involved in the elections. There's not too many people out there that have the flexibility, but I have proven that I have the time to help all Democrats."
   Cuellar said his top goal for the party is success in November.
   He has not filed campaign finance reports with the Nueces County Clerk's Office.
   Cuellar said he does not have any endorsements, but isn't concerned about seeking any. "I didn't have any endorsements before either and I won," he said. "I expect to win again."
   But Cuellar said the party has had more community activism and involvement than in the past. He said that 22 of 122 precinct chairmen are running in contested races - a sign that more people are getting involved in local politics.
   "Traditionally the precinct chairs have never had competition among each other," Cuellar said. "I will continue to work with precinct chairs and promote party activism among precinct chairs."
   Diana Martinez
   Martinez, 33, is a lawyer with the law offices of Rene Rodriguez and has practiced law in Corpus Christi since 1993.
   She is the vice-chairwoman of the city of Corpus Christi's Civil Service Board, president-elect of the Corpus Christi Young Lawyers Association and sits on the Nueces County Juvenile Citizens Advisory Board. Martinez said her leadership experience qualifies her for the job of county chair.
   Martinez said her top priority if elected would be to unite the Democratic Party and try to welcome back people who have abandoned party involvement.
   "I think the one overriding reason I decided to run is that I don't think our Democratic Party is as united as it has been in the past," Martinez said. " I feel I can bridge the ethnic gap, the socio-economic status gap and make it (the Democratic Party) the melting pot it's supposed to be."
   Martinez said she would organize voter registration drives, establish a hotline at party headquarters that people could call for information about upcoming events and develop a Web site for the party if elected.
   Martinez has received endorsements from the Tejano Democrats, the Coastal Bend Labor Council, the Corpus Christi Firefighters Association and the Corpus Christi Police Officers Association.
   She has received $5,415 in campaign contributions, mostly from attorneys and accountants, and has spent about $5,600 on push cards, T-shirts, yard signs and bumper stickers.



Staff writer Jennifer Stump can be reached at 886-3778 or by e-mail at stumpj@caller.com

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