Posted on 07/14/2004 4:53:21 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Henry Cuellar tried taking a victory lap through San Antonio on Tuesday, but U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez still isn't willing to give up his fight for the Democratic nomination in the 28th Congressional District.
Cuellar won the nomination by 58 votes after two recounts and a ruling Monday by the 4th Court of Appeals. That court denied Rodriguez's attempt to raise the issue of illegally cast votes in Cuellar's home base of Webb County.
Cuellar said he is moving on.
"My goal is to give Democrats a voice at the negotiating table in Washington, D.C.," said Cuellar, who would face Republican Jim Hopson in November.
But Rodriguez still contends that he has sufficient evidence to prove he won the nomination.
Rodriguez said he is conferring with lawyers later this week to consider a remote and highly unlikely legal maneuver to hold onto his seat.
"I'll probably be making a decision on Friday," said Rodriguez, a seven-year incumbent.
Rodriguez, who has been trying to raise $200,000 to cover the costs of the protracted legal battle over the March 9 primary, would have to persuade the Texas Supreme Court to consider his election challenge — an extreme long shot, legal experts said.
"I don't know of any real wiggle room, unless the court were to decide on its own that there is a constitutional issue involved here," said Rolando Rios, a local attorney who specializes in voting rights litigation. "That is a very slim possibility."
Only hours before Cuellar and his wife, Imelda, appeared in front of City Hall, about 30 Rodriguez backers expressed outrage with the outcome of the case.
The justices "have violated the most sacred right anybody can have, and that's the right to vote," said Henry Rodriguez, a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
In its majority opinion Monday, the court found that Rodriguez raised a new basis for his lawsuit without giving Cuellar enough notice.
Rodriguez said he had a strong legal case that was thrown out on a technicality and that the court's decision could adversely affect future civil lawsuits in the same way.
"If there is an opportunity to correct this, I will," he said.
An embittered Rodriguez went on to say that supporting Cuellar in November is "just out of the question."
"I'll support all the Democrats, but when it comes to that vote, I think I'll just leave it blank," he said.
Although Rodriguez's case appears on its last legs, there remains at least one final option.
He can file a written petition asking the Texas Supreme Court to review the case.
According to the Texas Government Code, election cases end with the appeals court, unless the appeals court was split on the original decision.
It would take four Supreme Court justices to grant the review, and a majority of at least five to issue a ruling, said Wayne Scott, a St. Mary's University law professor and former Supreme Court candidate.
-------------rrodriguez@express-news.net
Wonder why the 2 Johns aren't concerned about the votes being counted in this election?
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