Villalobos announces bid for Congress

Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos has announced his bid for the 2012 Democratic Party’s nomination for Texas’ newly drawn 27th Congressional District.

“This race is about a leadership with a vision for economic growth in our district. We want to put an end to the chaos in Washington,” Villalobos said in his written announcement. “We have too many problems facing our nation to continue down this path. We need leadership that believes the American people are more important than politics. I’m ready to help get America moving again.”

The 27th District encompasses Cameron, Willacy, Kenedy, Kleberg and the western portions of Nueces County.

In the announcement, Villalobos, a two-term district attorney, said he knows how to get things done, having secured more than a 99 percent success rate on all cases that have come before his office. “I will fight for what’s right, but I know how to compromise when it’s in the best interest of the people and families I serve,” Villalobos said.

He said that the people of South Texas put family first: “We are no strangers to hard work and we honor our elders, country and community. We know adversity and we know how to keep a promise. I believe Social Security and Medicare represent a solemn promise and I will not yield the rights and security that our seniors have earned,” Villalobos said.

His focus also will be to turn this area into a leader in renewable energies and clean water, and to expand institutions of higher learning in the areas of research and development of new technologies.

“We must consider our children as the nation’s most precious resource and provide them with a world-class education. This is the path to returning to the land of opportunity and the path that leads to a brighter future,” Villalobos stated.

Born in San Benito and raised in a military family, Villalobos said he learned family values and hard work at a young age.

He earned a degree in economics from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from Southern Methodist University. Villalobos and his wife have two children who attend public elementary schools.

“I humbly ask the citizens of District 27 to send me to Washington, D.C., to help reignite the American Dream,” he added.