MCHALE-ESPARZA CAMPAIGNS

Painter, poet and dancer Carlos McHale-Esparza is contemplating challenging BISD Board President Minerva "La Messiah" Peña this November. The former teacher, who has returned to the private sector, argues that Peña has a proven record of failure.

"She is the kind of incompetent who supports Trump," said McHale-Esparza. "She is one of those disgusting Christian hypocrites who is more effective performing the devil's works. I wouldn't have been surprised to discover that she was on the same yacht where Jerry Falwell Jr., Mr. God himself, was running around the deck with his pants unzipped and surrounded by drinking and smoking co-eds.

"I hate to use the word 'pendeja' for Peña, but one of the reasons we are one of the COVID-19 hotspots is because people in power like Peña insist that the pandemic is a hoax. As rabble rouser Erasmo Castro constantly reminds us on his Brownsville Talk, 'Minerva Peña is just plain stupid!'"

McHale-Esparza considers himself a proud member of the BISD family. Both his parents are retired BISD educators and his siblings have all attended and graduated from BISD schools with the exception of his little brother Michael who is a sophomore at Veterans Memorial.

"I have nothing but wonderful memories of the school district and the BISD prepared me for the future," continued McHale-Esparza--a UTB graduate with a major in biology--who is finishing his second book of verse entitled "La Cabrona" in which he displays his literary skills with the sonnet form.

"I come from an artistic family. My dad is a well-known writer, my brother is also a poet who has been playing his music for more than a decade in Austin and I have uncles and cousins on both parents' sides who are artists. For those of us who don't believe in God, art is our secular religion."

Like the Sara Stapleton-Barrera crusade against the old guard, McHale-Esparza sees himself as part of a youth vanguard that is not burdened with personal agendas and taking care of compadres. He looks at TSC's Adela Garza, COB's Ben Neece and BND's Steve Guerra as his political mentors. He also holds former Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos in high esteem, but he qualifies this admiration by spatting that Trump and his racist Republicans are a disgrace. He describes them as "Confederates who want to lynch Democrats from the nearest mesquites."

Asked about the present field, he feels he shares a similar purpose with Daniella Lopez-Valdez and Frankie Olivo, but he also values the experience of Phil Cowen. He asserts that he could find common ground with returning trustees Drue Brown and Prisci Roca-Tipton. He calls the likes of Jessica Gonzalez, Virus Cardenas and Carlos Elizondo jokes who would turn the BISD into the laughing stock of South Texas.

"Just like Trump has reduced national politics to a circus, these misfits don't have the interests of the teachers and students as their number one priority," stated McHale-Esparza. "With huge contracts on the table and the temptation of kickbacks always affecting objective decision-making, I perceive some of the aspirants as being more preoccupied with economic rather than educational issues."

McHale-Esparza will opt to throw or not throw his hat into the ring by the August 17th deadline. He confesses that he has mixed feelings about challenging the irrational Peña out of respect for Marisa Leal who has announced that she will vie against the incumbent.

"I fear if we elect the wrong trustees, they are going to try and showboat their power by firing Superintendent Rene Gutierrez," concluded McHale-Esparza. "I believe he has performed well under volatile conditions and I have no doubts about his commitment to the district.

"He has more than a decade of experience as a superintendent and he listens. We aren't dealing with a egomaniac who needs to dominate the spotlight. He is committed to a team effort. I can't say that about Peña or some of the other candidates."