Congressional District 23 candidate Rick Bolanos is back on the campaign trail after personal setbacks

Rick Bolanos (photo)
Congressional District 23 candidate

Since his announcement last December, Rick Bolaños has criss-crossed District 23, still the largest congressional district in Texas, to find out first-hand what these communities need and to describe his vision for our national strength and for equitable, classless policies and legislation.

Concentrating in the early months on the remote western regions, Rick was eager to learn how our federal government and our politicians have ignored the needs of our rural areas and its citizens, in addition to those of our urban areas.

In August, the effects of global warming took its wrath on the El Paso area, bringing torrents of rain for days and days. With continued downpours, Rick's family home came under threat from flooding.

After days of fighting back the rising water, the back half of Rick's home was lost forever. The rains and flooding continued, threatening the entire house, but through Rick's nonstop running of pumps to attack the 28+" of water, he was able to salvage its front section.

During a lull in the hostile weather, and through Rick's hands-on brand of common sense and problem-solving acuity, he built protective berms to successfully protect the remaining section of his home. Now, along with the massive clean-up project, the Bolaños family also faces the unpleasant prospect of interfacing with a Bush Administration FEMA.

In the early weeks of these rains, before experiencing the partial loss of their home, the Bolaños family couldn't help but notice that this FEMA seems all too indifferent to the suffering of innocent American citizens.

It does appear to be an agency aimed at more rapidly and aggressively addressing the needs of whites and the affluent (the probable Republican voters) over the needs of average citizens and minorities (the probable Democrat voters).

With the record-setting rains turning the Bolaños two acre property into a small lake, both the Bolaños' and the neighbor's septic tanks overflowed. The raw sewage from this "lake", along with the mold from the ruined section of his home appear to be the cause of the alarming respiratory illness with which Rick's daughter, Alyssa, and his wife, Catherine, were stricken.

And, as if either of these incidents were not enough tribulation to completely derail anyone's year, or even decade, Rick's son Ricky suffered a vicious assault from the opposing team during his rugby game.

With broken facial bones, a concussion, a lingering numbness below his eye, as well as blurred vision, Rick has had his son seeing one specialist after another trying to get him back to normal. Rick and the rest of the family remain concerned, wondering what long term effects the hostile injuries will have on Ricky.

Even so, because the citizens of District 23 have the same needs they had before life decided to excessively- challenge the Bolaños family, and because Rick has promised to give these people the voice in Washington that, as citizens of the USA, they so dearly deserve; the staff of the "Rick Bolaños for Congress" Committee is proud to announce that Rick Bolaños remains committed to the Texas District 23 congressional race.

On Sunday, September 24th, Rick will again hit the ground-running, and re-commence talking to other district citizens that have felt ignored by their politicians and by Washington for too many years.

The staff wishes the Bolanos family God's blessings.