(FORT BEND COUNTY) – Long-time Democrat Neeta Sane has decided to lend her support to the Republican candidate Ray Aguilar in the upcoming Fort Bend County Pct.4 Commissioner race.
“I am glad to support the Republican candidate Ray Aguilar in the upcoming Pct.4 Commissioner Race. I was impressed by Ray’s platform and expertise when he met with me this summer. His commitment to the people of Pct. 4 is remarkable,” said Sane. “Ray continues to give his time, resources, and financial support to important community causes including Meals on Wheels, Women's Center, Children with Disabilities, veterans organizations and public safety. Ray indeed is well prepared to bring much-needed maturity and competence in the office of Pct.4 for the good of Fort Bend people.”
“I am excited and most certainly honored to receive Neeta’s endorsement. Even though we have different political ideologies, Neeta and I have built a relationship based on mutual respect for many years,” said Aguilar. “Her support is invaluable to me in my campaign for Precinct 4 Commissioner. I find it very humbling that Neeta is looking past Democrat and Republican labels and putting the best interests of our community first.”
Fort Bend County Republican Party Chairman Bobby Eberle also voiced his support for Sane’s endorsement.
“The American people — including the residents of Fort Bend County — are tired of the politics of division,” said Eberle. “Democrat Neeta Sane’s endorsement of Republican Ray Aguilar sends a powerful message that Ray represents the best candidate in the field. Even if some voters are not ready to fully shed their ‘Democrat’ affiliation, they should follow Sane’s lead and vote for Ray Aguilar and other great Republican candidates this November.”
In her endorsement, Sane said she has issues with how McCoy ran his primary campaign, calling it negative.
“The Democratic Party’s nominee in this race has displayed immaturity and a deceitful nature,” she said. “It is of concern that his touted work experience as a politically appointed staffer is inadequate for the job of Pct. 4 Commissioner. Also, with the tacit support of the local party leadership, he engaged in negative campaign against me with lies and unfounded allegations because I had earned the highest votes in the primary election. As an Indian American woman, it has been disheartening for me to endure racial discrimination in the Fort Bend Democratic Party for the past few years. Fort Bend Democratic Leadership often exhibited injustice towards me even though my dedicated Trusteeship at Houston Community College and hard work for people of Fort Bend and Greater Houston earned numerous awards and recognitions from various respected entities including State of Texas. Due to racial biases, Fort Bend Democratic Party leadership eagerly believed lies and accepted smear campaigns against me even though my elected public service was proven to be impeccable. On the other hand, they supported candidates with proven wrongdoings.”
Sane says that after initially announcing her run against the incumbent Pct. 4 Commissioner Ken DeMerchant she was redistricted.
“Though I had already announced to run against the incumbent Pct. 4 Commissioner, the party redistricted me out of the precinct so that I would not run against the incumbent. As an Indian American family residing in Fort Bend County for 25 years, we are disappointed that Fort Bend Democratic Party leadership displaced about 80 percent of county residents, re-engineered and re-numbered precincts to protect a shaky incumbent who thought Indian American voters would be a threat to his re-election. As a principled candidate, however, I legally took residence in the new precinct and ran against the incumbent.”
DeMerchant ended up losing in the primary, earning just 14.4 percent of the votes. Sane earned 39.87 percent, with McCoy earning 38 percent. Sane ended up losing to McCoy in the run-off.
“It is very disturbing to see the Fort Bend Democratic Party leadership supporting inept candidates who continue to mislead Fort Bend voters,” said Sane. “It is my top priority to support competent and mature individuals to public offices to help ensure superior services to all demographics of Fort Bend County. On that note, I am glad to endorse Republican Candidate Ray Aguilar for Pct. 4 Commissioner, Fort Bend County. I wish Ray Aguilar success in the November election.”
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