the Houston Port as well as potential job creation . The mission of the Panama Canal Stakeholders Group was to determine what Texas needed to do in order to be prepared for the expansion . It was easy to quickly understand that the main issue for all the 18 Gulf ports would be their own expansion and infrastructure leading inland from the ports . “ You know to widen or deepen a port runs anywhere from $ 300 Million - $ 400 Million . At the end of the day it is about money .” While Texas would be responsible for its part , he also said that Mexico would be responsible for infrastructure on its side of the border as well . Obviously , it would create tremendous issues should they not be able to accommodate the large influx of goods coming to the ports once they arrive due to lack of proper infrastructure . He said that if we want to be a player in the maritime industry we must work on the ports and all of the ports should be able to accommodate the larger ships . “ There is a lot of negotiation going on right now with all the entities involved and there is still a lot of improvement to be made .”
The Secretary then told me that he is going on a statewide voter education and participation tour regarding the new voter identification laws . Texas is complying with the recent court order to educate the voters on the issue of voter identification . Initially Texas allowed voters to use 7 types of voter identification in order to be able to vote . Now voters have even more options than the original 7 forms . A voter is able to sign a legal document verifying that he / she is unable to obtain something with a photo . Once the document is signed they can produce a birth certificate or utility bill with their name and address . They can also provide a citizenship certificate . Secretary Cascos said that he has a Naturalization Certificate which is something that could be used in lieu of a photo id . It is even possible to provide a paycheck from an employer or the government with the voter ’ s name and address on it . He explains that Texans now have a few more options if they are unable to obtain a photo id .
I ask if his office is working with the counties on voter identification because the counties are responsible for running the elections and it is necessary for the people working at the polling locations to understand the new requirements . “ Obviously we are communicating quite a bit , but there are 254 counties in Texas , so we are going to start traveling and educating . Every chance I get I am going to be pushing that . That is one thing that we are not number 1 in - voting . That is unfortunate . “
Naturally I wanted to know what he thought needed to be done to improve the situation . He quickly put the responsibility on the candidate stating that there is a lot of cynicism among voters . The Secretary explains that unfortunately many believe that their vote doesn ’ t matter and that there are a lot of people who are angry .
“ It is not my role to get out the vote . It is my role to educate .” He is scheduled to begin speaking on numerous High School and College Campuses with the intention of getting first time voters engaged in the political process . The Secretary knows the value of a vote because in 2010 he won by 69 votes out of 42000 .
“ It is everyone ’ s responsibility and I think the best way to do it is to be as nonpartisan as possible . I think that partisanship never gets anything accomplished and it polarizes people . Each party has to recognize that their party didn ’ t hang the moon and they don ’ t have all the answers . They are not always right and the other party isn ’ t always wrong . Both parties need to recognize that their party doesn ’ t have a monopoly on good government .” He went on to say that whatever party you belong to shouldn ’ t matter and that we all deserve the respect of others regardless of party affiliation . “ Don ’ t make enemies out of people that are your friends simply because they don ’ t identify with you for some reason .” After the election you have to “ kiss and make-up !”
Secretary Carlos Cascos and I ended our conversation on a great note of mutual respect for a person ’ s right to believe anything they want and to support whatever candidate they choose without judgment from others . We spent far more than 10 minutes and I was grateful to have had the opportunity to learn more about the Secretary , his work and his perspective on many issues .
52 iF Magazine | September 2016