A Texas-based federal government lobbyist who served as Donald Trump’s Texas fundraising committee co-chair has signed on to push for a controversial South Texas garbage dump which, if approved, would house toxic waste imported under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) from neighboring Mexico.
According to a tipster, Gaylord Hughey is now pushing for the development, which is the pet project of wealthy local landowner C. Y. Benavides, a major figure in Laredo who has tangled with local law enforcement in the context of domestic abuse allegations.
The Hill reported in 2016 that Hughey was “a lawyer and lobbyist in Tyler, Texas, that occasionally lobbies the federal government” and that he had “donated $1,000 to the Trump Victory Fund.”
The Hill further noted that “[Hughey] serves as the co-chair of Trump’s fundraising efforts in Texas...”
Opponents of the planned waste dump had hoped that with Beto O’Rourke putting Sen. Ted Cruz in the fight of his life, and O’Rourke manifestly benefiting from increased outreach to voters in border areas of Texas, the planned waste dump would garner more attention- both from O’Rourke’s campaign, directly, and from Texas media.
However, most attention has been focused on the circumstances surrounding an O’Rourke DUI, and Cruz’s apparent efforts to secure support from Trumpite voters with attacks on O’Rourke over his criticism of a white police officer who recently shot an African-American man in his own home.
Opponents of the dump believe that O’Rourke highlighting the involvement of Hughey could help underline another way in which Trumpite Republicans consistently oppose the interests of poorer Hispanic Americans, thus adding a more local element to a core argument being made by Texas Democrats this cycle.
Thus far, however, O’Rourke has apparently taken a pass on calling out the proposed development, possibly because it is an issue better geared towards discussion in the Texas gubernatorial race or possibly because the landowner in question is rumored to have been a big backer of conservative Democrat Henry Cuellar, and O’Rourke would prefer to keep influential Democrats in the fold even if it means glossing over issues of significant concern to voters in areas where he showed weakness in this year’s Democratic primary.
In any event, Hughey’s involvement is an interesting new development that should underline where Trumpite elements really line up when it comes to basic concerns on the part of Hispanic Americans, including not being at potential risk of exposure to toxic chemicals thanks to inadequate efforts at environmental protection.