Uvalde victim is O’Rourke ad’s focus

Democratic candidate for governor Beto O’Rourke launched a new gut-wrenching ad Saturday featuring the mother of one of the fourthgraders murdered at Robb Elementary in Uvalde.

In the 30-second ad that will air statewide, Ana Rodriguez tells the story of her daughter, Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, who dreamed of being a marine biologist and always was wearing a pair of green hightops with a heart drawn on the right toe.

“Those shoes ended up being one way to identify her body in that classroom,” Ana Rodriguez says as videos and photos of her daughter fill the screen. “I never want another family to go through this.”

Rodriguez then turns her attention to Gov. Greg Abbott, saying he’s done nothing to stop the next shooting.

“No laws passed,” she says. “Nothing to keep kids safe in school. So I’m voting Beto for Maite.”

Abbott’s office has touted a series of steps he’s taken in Uvalde since the shooting as evidence that he is acting. That has included investing $5 million in a Family Resiliency Center in Uvalde to be a hub of community services and mental health care resources. They have also pointed to more than $1.25 million sent to the Uvalde school district for trauma counseling, crisis intervention and community outreach.

But Abbott has made clear he doesn’t think Texas can do some of the things families have been asking for — namely raising the age to purchase weapons like the AR-15 used by the shooter in Uvalde to kill the 19 children and two teachers. The shooter in Uvalde was 18 and waited until his birthday to buy the weapon he used.

During the debate on Friday night, Abbott said he doesn’t believe it is constitutional to raise the age to buy some weapons, even though Florida, New York and California have already taken similar steps. Legal experts have disputed his claim, but Abbott said families are being given “false promises.”

O’Rourke vowed to push for the higher age during the debate.

“All we need is action, and the only person standing in our way is the governor of the state of Texas,” O’Rourke said.

Billy Calzada/Staff photographer Ana Rodriguez, right, mother of Maite Rodriguez, stars in the ad saying “I’m voting Beto for Maite.”