'We too have a stake' Gonzalez urges Texas House, Senate Redistricting Committees to hold field hearing in the Valley

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34) D-Texas, led democrats in demanding that the Texas House and Senate Redistricting Committees hold a field hearing in the Rio Grande Valley.

A field hearing is a congressional hearing held at the location where the issue at hand is situated.

"The fact that neither the House nor the Senate Redistricting Committees have announced public hearings in the Rio Grande Valley is a disgrace," said Congressman Gonzalez.

The congressman added that Governor Greg Abbott has no interest in listening to local Rio Grande Valley residents.

"The Governor and his cronies love to use our region as a backdrop for their political theatre and invoke their gains with Latino voters in our region, yet they have no interest in listening to the perspectives of the hardworking, honest citizens that make up the Valley," he said.

Gonzalez stated that South Texas is just as important as urban areas in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

"And we, too, have a stake," he said. "Chairman King and Chairman Vasut, schedule a field hearing in the Valley, we deserve to be heard."

On Thursday, Gonzalez sent a letter to the Texas House Redistricting Committee Chairman Cody Vasut and Texas Senate Committee on Congressional Redistricting Chairman Phil King, urging them to hold a field hearing in the Rio Grande Valley.