CORPUS CHRISTI – As Betty Berry, a Republican voter in Corpus Christi, filled out her ballot Tuesday evening, she didn’t feel particularly excited about any of the candidates.<\/p>\n
Until she reached the city council races. She thought about the city’s water shortages<\/a> and her grandchildren’s future there.<\/p>\n For more election coverage from the San Antonio Express-News<\/a><\/p>\n “That is why I’m here,” Berry said. “I don’t like our city council. I think our city council needs to be changed, and that is probably 95% of the reason I came and voted.”<\/p>\n South Texas could play a pivotal role next week in deciding a host of midterm races, from the state’s tossup Senate contest to a handful of congressional fights that may tip the balance of power in the U.S. House. But top-of-the-ticket races aren’t the only thing on voters’ minds as they head to the polls.<\/p>\n In Corpus Christi, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Vincente Gonzalez<\/a> is battling a well-funded challenge from Republican Eric Flores<\/a>, water security has emerged as a major theme.<\/p>\n The city narrowly avoided emergency rations this summer when floods helped break an historic drought. Still, many voters worry about the region’s water future and what it could mean for their homes and livelihoods. Some, like Berry, have channeled that into anger at local officials for impeding a controversial seawater desalination project<\/a> that has the support of state leaders and the region’s petrochemical industry.<\/p>\n Tensions escalated again last month when the city council shot down another design contract for the project, citing its high cost and potential environmental harm from discharging salty brine back into Corpus Christi Bay. The plant would also be located in a historically Black neighborhood, where residents have long warned about negative health repercussions from the plant.<\/p>\n “Any time anyone asks me, ‘What is the number one issue in Nueces County?’ I always say it’s water,” said the county’s Democratic Party chair, Conor Rice. “And it is because we got very, very close to a very dangerous situation.”<\/p>\n Debate over the project has cut across party lines. Some city council members connected to the Republican Party opposed it, while Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been a chief supporter. A political action committee called Coastal Bend Coalition, which is backed by oil and petrochemical companies, has endorsed local candidates who support the desalination project.<\/p>\n “We are an issues-based community, and water has been a prime example of that because you have strong Democrats and Republicans supporting Inner Harbor, strong Democrats and Republicans opposing it, which has put us in a very interesting position politically,” Rice said.<\/p>\n Corporate interests are also lining up against a local ballot initiative, Proposition B, which would eliminate a “drought surcharge exemption fee” that lets industrial water users get out of paying extra for water during a shortage. Proponents say the measure will level the playing field for residential owners, while opponents say the move will slow economic growth.<\/p>\n For voters Garrett Wieland and Abby Janca Wieland, the desalination debate and the fight over Prop B encapsulate why they’re supporting Democrat James Talarico in the Senate race.<\/p>\n “It’s like an undercurrent of forgetting the common man for corporate greed,” Wieland said.<\/p>\n Reggie Martinez, who came out this week to vote for Prop B, said it’s an opportunity for corporate accountability. He also said he has heard differing opinions on the measure from both Democrats and Republicans.<\/p>\n “It’s interesting how politicized natural resources can be,” Martinez said. He added about candidates in general: “They say, ‘We’re for the people having water,’ but are you for it in practice? Are your policies for it? Is what you vote for actually for people having clean drinking water at reasonable prices?”<\/p>\n Neither Gonzalez nor Flores have laid out extensive water security proposals to address Corpus Christi’s issues. Gonzalez, whose district was redrawn last year to include Corpus Christi, told a U.S. House committee this year that desalination projects like the one the city rejected will improve South Texas’ long-term water security.<\/p>\n “Whether it’s water storage, desalination, or reuse and conservation projects, the federal government must invest in these solutions,” Gonzalez said in a statement to the Express-News. “Since being elected to Congress, I’ve secured nearly $8 billion for South Texas, and I am actively working to build awareness and support for Corpus Christi.”<\/p>\n National Republicans are spending heavily for Flores, a lawyer and former assistant U.S. attorney.<\/p>\n “Let’s just start here – my opponent has said he can deliver water, which is an absolute falsity,” he said in an interview this week. “He has not delivered for the past 10 years.” Corpus Christi is currently represented by Republican Rep. Michael Cloud, but was redrawn to fit into the 34th Congressional District.<\/p>\n Flores added: “We have to get a desal plant on as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n Nueces isn’t the only county where local issues could color next week’s election results. Down the coast, in Cameron County, it’s the first general election since a state law was passed granting SpaceX’s Starbase<\/a> authority to temporarily close Boca Chica Beach and the road that leads to it.<\/p>\n The effort was spearheaded by Republican lawmakers. State Rep. Greg Bonnen, who chaired the conference committee on the bill, said last year it “ensures that Texas remains the home of America’s space future.”<\/p>\n But local Democrats have been galvanizing around the new law this election cycle. And voters woke up to the news this month that state officials are considering<\/a> selling Boca Chica State Park to SpaceX, the venture led by Elon Musk, who has emerged as a top Republican donor. The park has already been a rallying point for environmentalists who see Musk’s expanding operations as a threat.<\/p>\n “It’s an emblem for the governance of the Republicans, where they only worry about serving big business and wealthy people,” said Cameron County Democratic Party Chair Jared Hockema.<\/p>\n Subscribe<\/p>\n There’s more to San Antonio with the Express-News. Subscribe today for just 25\u00a2.<\/a><\/p>\n