RIO GRANDE CITY, Texas - Rio Grande Guardian editor Steve Taylor recently met up with educator, organizer and activist Tannya Benavides from Laredo.
A leader in Laredo’s No Border Wall Coalition, Benavides is running in the Democratic Party primary for Congressional District 28. .
She is a graduate of Texas State University and Johns Hopkins University.
Taylor wanted to meet up with Benavides after she was denied the opportunity to explain her campaign at a planned candidate forum that was to be hosted by RGV Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Taylor was due to moderate the forum, which was scheduled to be held at South Texas College’s Rio Grande City campus. Benavides confirmed her attendance at the forum but her opponents in the CD 28 primary, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros signaled they would not attend. Reluctantly, RGVHCC President Cynthia Sakulenzki had to cancel the forum because the group has a policy of not holding such forums when only one candidate is available. To compensate for the fact that no CD 28 candidate forum was to be held in the Rio Grande Valley this primary season, Taylor scheduled a Meet the Candidate podcast with Benavides.
Benavides said the goal of her campaign was to uplift all the voices in CD 28. She said that, if elected, she would represent all residents in the district. “For far too long, South Texans have been sidelined in the political process by representatives who do not understand the everyday experiences of working-class families or share their community’s interests,” Benavides said.
Benavides said her platform includes Medicare For All, advancing Green New Deal legislation, immigration reform, worker’s rights, investment in infrastructure, protections for seasonal migrant workers, educational justice, women’s rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
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