Against All Odds, Dedicated to serve

L. Rene Diaz woke up one morning and decided he wanted to make a difference.

A former bank branch manager Diaz felt that his strong conservative views and relentless focus on change was what District 78 needed. He threw his hat into the Republican primary race up against a very well known Dee Margo and newcomer Jay Kleberg.

Diaz had no name recognition, no big contributions to his campaign and had a very small following outside of his family and friends.

Diaz spoke from his heart at every forum, he was the only candidate that was really sincere about his service to the community.

With his wife by his side Diaz walked relentlessly. He was set on knocking on every door and talking to every person in District 78. Diaz had a good message that came from the heart.

Would District 78 hear him out?

I spoke to him before election day and he sounded confidant like a warrior before battle. He had his war paint and battle gear on. March 2nd came around, the battle was brutal. All that walking, all that talking and all that waving netted Diaz a devastating 275 votes.

That's just 3.51% of the total vote.

That was enough to make anyone give up.

I gave him some time to take it all in and to spend alone with his family because he definitely needed and deserved it. I emailed him six days after the results came in. I didn't know how he would respond, I didn't know if he was ready to speak about his ordeal.

Then my phone rings. I recognize the number on my caller I.D. and prepare myself for a somber conversation.

Boy was I wrong!

I had planned to give Rene the good old "it's all going to be alright" speech. But as soon as I asked him how he was doing he blew me away.

Diaz said he had never been more motivated to serve.

He said he had done better than he expected election day, a lot of you are wondering, did he know he had only got 275 votes?

He did.

To him that meant that he had 275 people that agreed with his message. That's definitely looking at the positive side of things.

Most candidates would take some time off, regrouped and maybe run for a lesser office in the future. It would only make sense. Well, Rene is so dedicated in serving his community that he is going to do just that, minus the taking some time off.

L. Rene Diaz just met the filing deadline yesterday for El Paso Community College Board of Trustees District 1.

That's right, Rene Diaz is running against long time incumbent Dr. John Uxer for the seat of District 1.

The election will take place May 8, 2010.

When I asked Diaz why he would jump into another race less than a week after loosing a statewide race he responded, "Why not?".

Diaz ran for election to make a difference in the community not just to win a popularity contest.

His dedication to serve his community is what fueled him to continue this election cycle. He has the momentum, the energy, the desire to serve and not to mention a supportive wife by his side, well I don't see a reason why Rene Diaz shouldn't run for Board of Trustees.

Most people don't run for election once in there lifetime. Diaz is running in two within a week of each other. His actions are very admirable to say the least. That is just the energy and dedication that we need here in El Paso.

Just imagine, a candidate who sincerely wants to serve his community, what a concept?