The people in Tucson, Arizona have watched for years as members of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board have used district resources to stay in power with little legal consequences. Fortunately for the people of Texas, there are consequences for this illegal action there.
A campaign manager was arrested late Thursday and Charged with paying voters to vote in the November 2012 school board election in Donna, Texas.
The four-count indictment charges Francisco “Frankie” Garcia, 47, of Donna, with conspiring to buy votes, paying for votes, and aiding and abetting others to buy votes stemming from the vote-buying scheme. Garcia was arrested the evening of Sept. 18, 2014, in Alton, Illinois, and made his initial appearance in the Southern District of Illinois Friday afternoon September 19, 2014. The indictment was returned under seal September. 16, 2014, and unsealed Friday following his arrest.
According to the indictment, during the November 2012 general election, Garcia worked as a campaign manager for four candidates to the Donna School Board. During that time, he allegedly bought votes and worked with other campaign workers to pay voters and to offer to pay voters in this election to vote for particular candidates. The indictment alleges that Garcia paid voters by giving the voters either cocaine or cash in exchange for their votes.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Three campaign workers – Rebecca Gonzalez, 44, and Diana Balderas Castaneda, 48, both of Donna, Texas, and Guadalupe Escamilla, 72, of Weslaco, Texas – previously pleaded guilty to vote-buying charges stemming from this election.