Sweetwater Mayor Orlando Lopez must be feeling the heat as the days get closer and closer to the runoff for his seat against former mayor and longtime nemesis Jose M. Diaz — and, perhaps, his ouster from City Hall.
Because on Monday and Tuesday, a week before the runoff, a mailer landed in some voters’ mailboxes touting what looks like endorsements from five electeds — when it should only be three.
“Community leaders support our mayor,” reads the headline over the photos of three city commissioners and two county commissioners.
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But while Lopez may be backed by newly-elected City Commissioners Saul Diaz and Sophia Lacayo and Commissioner Cecilia Holtz-Alonso, both county commissioners told Ladra that they are not supporting him.
“I don’t think I’ve spoken to Mr. Lopez since the FIU bridge collapse,” said Commissioner Joe Martinez. “I am not involved in that race at all.”
Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz didn’t return my calls and answered my text by pointing me to his social media.
“Today I received notification that campaign propaganda has been circulating indicating that I am supporting Mayor Orlando Lopez for the City of Sweetwater elections,” Diaz tweeted at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday. “I want to make it clear that I am not supporting any of the candidates, neither Orlando Lopez nor Jose M. Diaz…
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“However, I urge all the residents to go out to vote on May 28. I will work with our next mayor for the betterment of our city and our residents.”
Fake endorsements are usually a sign of desperation. But Lopez said it was simply a misunderstanding.
“Commissioner Diaz said he was going to vote for me so I took that to mean he supported me,” Lopez said.
An unlikely story. Not just because Lopez is the only mayor of a District 12 municipality not to endorse Diaz in the county commissioner’s re-election last year and because las malas lenguas say County Commissioner Diaz was behind the failed Lopez recall effort.
But also because Lopez hasn’t spoken to Martinez since the FIU bridge collapse. And Martinez doesn’t vote in Sweetwater.