Last Friday, at the Student Union Theater, Texas Governor Candidate Beto O’Rourke visited UTRGV during the Meet The Candidate Series event.
The Civic Engagement alliance held the event as part of their Meet the Candidate series, where two weeks ago, Texas Governor Candidate Joy Diaz was the guest.
The event was moderated by Civic Engagement Alliance Vice President of Education Samuel Valdez and Civic Engagement Alliance Vice President of Community Engagement Yailen A. Gomez.
After arriving on the stage, O’Rourke introduced why he was running for Texas Governor.
“I’m running for governor because I know that we as Texans can do so much better… If we can get past those fringe, extreme, cruel politics, I am convinced that we can come together and do the big things.”
During the question and answer portion of the event, Gomez asked O’Rourke how he’d ensure resources available in regions like the Houston area would also be accessible to the Rio Grande Valley.
O’Rourke answered.
“This last year, we learned that Governor Greg Abbott is going to spend 3 billion dollars additional on the border…it’s gonna go into walls, into additional DPS deployments.”
O’Rourke continued
“Imagine those 3 billion dollars going into the needs and the opportunities that you yourself describe and define. That is the partner I want to be.”
Later in the event, Valdez asked O’Rourke how he would help continue and increase funding for UTRGV.
The candidate Explained how he’d like to underwrite some of the state’s budget for higher education such as UTRGV.
“There’s got to be more resources directed to institutes like this one… As Governor, I want to make sure we underwrite more of higher education, especially for in demand professions.”
The last segment of the event was a Q&A portion from the audience in attendance.
During this portion of the event, O’Rourke was asked if the minimum wage in Texas should be increased and to what degree.
O’Rourke responded with this.
“Minimum wage in the state of Texas is $7.25. No human being can live on $7.25 an hour in this state unless they’re working two or three $7.25 an hour jobs.”
Once the Meet The Candidate event was over, O’Rourke left the theater where he took pictures and spoke with those in attendance.
To learn more about any similar upcoming events, visit the Civic Engagement Alliance’s V-Link page.
This is Rodolfo Alvarado for Vaquero Radio.
