Walking away Vela’s early departure throws district into sea of uncertainty

Filemon Vela has had enough. The five-term congressman from Brownsville, who decided not to run for reelection to his seat representing a district that stretches from the Mexican border to San Antonio, has announced that he will not serve out his term. As of Tuesday Vela had not said which day will be his last.

Vela certainly made his mark during his decade in Congress. He quickly became known as a strong and fearless advocate for his district and for the Democratic Party, famously sending President Trump a letter saying where the president could shove his border wall. He even resigned his member in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which he believed was not strong enough in its stances against Trump’s policies.

In serving his district Vela made countless visits to schools, organizations and other public venues, and held two virtual town hall sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform constituents of actions in Congress and seek information and opinions from the people he served. He also held several events to recognize new Americans, veterans and other people in his district.

For his energetic service and dedication to his constituents, we offer thanks; he has set an example that his successors, and all members of Congress, would do well to follow.

It’s understandable that the lawmaker finds it more attractive to begin his new career as soon as possible rather than endure another election season in these increasingly hostile times. Vela is a lawyer and he is taking a job with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; a national law firm that also is one of the nation’s largest lobbying enterprises. Former lawmakers are banned for a year from lobbying their former colleagues, and if that is Vela’s future a earlier exit would enable to begin his work back on Capitol Hill that much sooner.

His early departure, however, creates interesting scenarios for the rest of the year. Gov. Abbott can call a special election to be held on a general election date. Two such dates exist — the May date for local elections and the November election. Abbott still has time to utilize the spring date, but the window for people to request mail-in and absentee ballots already has opened and little time is left for candidate filings and campaigning.

Redistricting further complicates matters. An election in May would be held under existing district boundaries for Vela’s 34th District, while new district lines will be in effect for the November vote. The March 1 primary set the major party candidates, but the Democratic candidate is current District 15 Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who lives within the redrawn District 34. In order to run in the special election he would have to resign his own seat, forcing another special election to fill the vacancy he would create. Gonzalez already has said he won’t do that, and likely doesn’t need the benefits of incumbency that would come with winning a special election.

All this should make for an interesting summer for Rio Grande Valley politics. So as Filemon Vela moves on to the next stage of his life, we wish him — and the constituents he leaves behind — the best of luck.