Candidate forum today at UTB-TSC

A public forum is scheduled Thursday on the UTB-TSC campus for local candidates in the Nov. 4 general election.

The forum will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Gorgas Board Room on the campus of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Candidates for the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees, and for the District 27 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives have been invited

BISD candidates include Position 3 incumbent Herman Otis Powers Jr. and challenger Catalina Presas-Garcia; Position 4 incumbent Pat Lehmann and challenger Richard "Rick" Zayas; and Position 5 incumbent Rolando Aguilar, running unopposed.

In Position 6, incumbent Susan Galvan did not seek re-election after moving to Austin to take a position as a middle school principal.

Former BISD board president Joe Cadriel is running for the seat, along with Minerva Peña, a retired Texas Department of Public Safety trooper, and Moises Gonzalez, a special agent for Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security. He is a former Border Patrol agent and Brownsville Police officer.

Position 7 incumbent Joe Colunga also is running without opposition.

District 27 candidates are the incumbent, U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, and Republican challenger William "Willie" Vaden of Corpus Christi.

The Communications Council's League of Student Voters and the Center for Civic Engagement at UTB-TSC are the sonsors.

A second forum is scheduled Oct. 30 on the third floor of the Science, Engineering and Technology Building.

It is for candidates for Cameron County Sheriff and in state House of Representatives races.