Senate District 19 winner aims to help solve everyday issues
PLEASANTON — Pete Flores was standing before a group of Atascosa County tax assessors mid-summer, protesting the valuation of his 1.88 acres in the land of “live oaks and friendly folks,” when they failed to explain why his property was valued higher than his next-door neighbor’s. “I’ll be back,” he said, but as a legislator next time. “And we’re going to fix this.” On Tuesday, the first part of that promise was fulfilled: Flores, a retired colonel of the game warden service, scored a Republican upset in the runoff for Texas Senate District 19, which had been represented by Democrats for more than a century. Despite getting only three hours of sleep, Flores, 58, was visibly energized by his win as he fielded congratulatory phone calls Wednesday in his cactusprint shirt. He was told to expect a call from the president later in the day. This morning, Flores was set to appear on “Fox and Friends” and then later at a Sammy’s Res-
taurant with U.S. Rep. Will Hurd for a town hall. “I’m not really a special guy,” Flores said at his Pleasanton home, surrounded by restored, antique saddles and memorabilia from his 27 years with Texas Parks and Wildlife. “But I’m especially prepared for this moment right now.” The married father of two and grandfather of two said he’s not a billionaire and he doesn’t crave power. The suits in his closet are from Men’s Wearhouse, not Armani. He apologized for the unkempt grass in his yard: “I’ve been busy,” he said. When he heads to Austin, Flores said he’ll aim to bring an everyman brand to governing that is dedicated to solving the everyday problems his constituents face. Flores said he was driven into politics by what he calls vestiges of “patron” politics: Dynastic government officials who feel entitled to their positions and who ruled from San Antonio, taking for granted the 16 other counties that make up Senate District 19. “We are going to represent San Antonio and all of the other counties,” he said. That’s why his campaign gained so much traction in the traditionally Democratic district, he said. It was grass-roots and three years in the making — he ran for the same seat in 2016 and lost to Carlos Uresti, who resigned this year after he was convicted of 11 felonies for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme. Flores knew it was a long-shot, but the campaign never stopped working after the 2016 defeat, he said. “If Sam Houston would have listened to the statisticians, he wouldn’t have defeated Santa Anna,” he said. His triumph Tuesday makes the political outsider the first Republican to serve Senate District 19 since the Reconstruction Era and the first Hispanic Republican state senator in Texas history. With Flores’ election, the GOP has the most seats its ever had in the chamber. Since his father was in the Air Force, Flores bounced around growing up with his nine siblings. He was born in North Dakota, but he has a sister born in Japan and a brother born in Spain. Flores still has the Spanish fishing license he secured as a kid. The family settled in West Laredo when Flores was 12. “Things were tough,” he said. He’s worked since he was a bag boy at 7 years old, alternately slinging watermelons, chopping cotton and selling Mexican curiosities. He earned a degree from Texas A&M University before entering the game warden service. Flores’ six sisters all are teachers, he said, which will make education one of his top priorities in Austin. He said he wants to ensure the state’s spending on schools reaches students and teachers. His primary issue, though, will be the one he broached with Atascosa County assessors in the summer. His Pleasanton land is valued higher than his next-door neighbor’s, he said, and her property is valued higher than her next-door neighbor’s. “Does that make a … bit of sense?” he asked. Flores said Texas ideally wouldn’t have property taxes, but for now, he’ll fight for a statewide, uniform approach. There shouldn’t be 254 ways to value property, he argued. “These are things we can do,” he said. “The framers of the Constitution, they intended our legislatures to be made up of ordinary citizens. … When you don’t have fresh eyes, (then) you don’t have people come in and say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ ” Flores wants to be those fresh eyes, and now he has the chance. “This was worth the effort,” he said. “Every mile, every moment, every contact to get to this point was worth it.”