FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Monday, April 15, 2024 

Contact:  Josette Cruz Hinojosa, josettecruzhinojosa@gmail.com and (956) 466-4046 or Aly Schmidt, portforallteam@gmail.com and (956) 578-2211

Brownsville Navigation District Commission Candidates Everitt, Rios, and Cruz Hinojosa Sign Clean Campaign Pledge

BROWNSVILLE, TX – Patrick Everitt, Andres Rios, and Josette Cruz Hinojosa, candidates for the Brownsville Navigation District Commission (BND), announce the Clean Campaign Pledge, released their signed copy, and issued a challenge to all their opponents to sign on. Everitt is running for Place 1, Rios for Place 3, and Cruz Hinojosa for Place 5.

The Clean Campaign Pledge is a commitment to reject campaign donations from corporations and business interests active at the Port of Brownsville. It also pledges that the candidates do not and will not own, operate, or invest in businesses at the Port, and neither will their family members. 

The purpose of the pledge is to make it very clear that these BND candidates, Patrick Everitt, Andres Rios, and Josette Cruz Hinojosa, are running for office strictly to represent the needs of the community. They don’t owe favors to Port insider campaign donors, and they will not financially profit from any business at the Port. 

“I'm a mom, I’m running for office for a better future for my kids and all our kids. I’m not a business owner or an insider, and neither are Patrick Everitt or Andres Rios. Bottom line, we are running for the Port commission to represent the community. We’re not asking for campaign contributions from companies that do business at the Port, and if they offered the money we wouldn’t accept it. That is a conflict of interest,” said Josette Cruz Hinojosa, candidate for Place 5. 

The three BND candidates who signed the Clean Campaign Pledge are running for office as a team and campaigning for votes not just for themselves but for each other. They’ve dubbed their group the “Port for All” team.

“One out of the five Port commissioners working alone probably can’t make much change, so I’m proud to be running on a team with Josette Cruz Hinojosa and Andres Rios, and proud that we’re all running clean campaigns. In my career as an environmental investigator, I help keep our community safe, I can do the same at the Port of Brownsville. Let’s improve and modernize the Port to better serve the community,” said Patrick Everitt, candidate for Place 1. 

The Port For All candidates created and signed the Clean Campaign pledge in response to the 30-day campaign finance reports recently filed by their opponents. Most of their opponents are not eligible to sign a pledge against taking Port-associated campaign contributions since they have already done so. But there is still time to give back that money and/or pledge to refrain from taking any more of those types of contributions. 

“I’m the chief financial officer of a big company, and I’ve worked in similar roles for around 30 years, so I know complex budgets, and I know how to plan for growth. But I want to be very clear, I’m not a Port insider, and I have no investments or ownership stake in any entity doing business at the Port of Brownsville, and neither do my family. I am running strictly to work towards a better future for all the people in the Brownsville Navigation District. And I know the same is true for the other Port for All candidates,” said Andres Rios, candidate for Place 3. 

The Port for All candidates invited the opponents at the candidate forum hosted by Democrats of Southern Cameron County on Thursday to sign the pledge, and received no response.

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Port For All is a team of three Brownsville Navigation District Commission candidates running for clean jobs, better working conditions, and a healthy environment in the 2024 Brownsville Navigation District Commission election. They are Patrick Everitt for Place 1, Andres Rios for Place 3, and Josette Cruz Hinojosa for Place 5. Learn more at www.portforall.com/about. 

Social media: www.facebook.com/portforallteam, www.instagram.com/portforallteam, twitter.com/portforallteam