b'B arBaraC anales BC: When asked, as a county judge, could this county stand for that which is created in law, if we say no then were not doing our job in making certain Democratic candidate for governor, Tony Sanchez of Laredo, as well as the formerthat we represent everyone.treasurer of the Mexican state of Coahuila who was convicted of laundering pay-offCanales and Vaughn, who refer to one another as friends and have worked to-money from the Zetas drug cartel. gether on virtually every issue of county government since their terms began, were Im not a judge for peace time. I am a judge for war time, Canales said inboth dealt a price for the public episode, as nasty comments emerged from strident our extensive, multi-session interview that extended over seven hours, in which weopposition to each sideJudge Canales was told she was headed to hell; Commis-got to know her, how she views the challenges of the Coastal Bend and running thesioner Vaughns hair style was a target of adolescent ridicule. She claimed publicly county, and the specific efforts she has undertaken that she says will lead the regionto have received death threats following her statement of opposition to the Pride to the kind of prosperity enjoyed in the other major Texas cities. proclamation, although no arrests or charges have resulted to date. Judge Canales In April, just three months into her term, Judge Canales drew fire from Rev.reported nothing as severe among the few calls and email she received in opposition James Farfaglia, Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, in response toto the proclamation, and that messages of appreciation for her support of LGBTQ the announcement that she would serve as grand marshal of the annual LesbianPride far outnumbered those against it.Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) Pride parade, writing on Facebook:Top: Canales graduated valedic-How does she speak for us Texans? What a fool and what a great leaderbutI am nottorian of the W.B. Ray High School she is big time wrong. Here I am trying to reform the west side of our amaz- Class of 1984. Middle: Judge ing city, and I got a Mexican American doing exactly the wrong programanda judge forCanales speaking at 2019 Corpus Catholic too. WTF. God help uspobre [poor] CorpusSelena! Im upset. DiosChristi LGBTQ Pride celebration. mio [My God]. Que idiota [what an idiot(f)].Following an angry backlash on Facebook, scrutiny from the Corpus Christipeace time. Bottom: Pct. 1 Commissioner Carolyn Vaughn, who opposed the Caller Times, and an organized protest in front of the Catholic Diocese, Rev. Farfa- proclamation supporting Pride.glia apologized publicly to his parishioners and fellow priests, and privately to Judge I am a judge Canales, who has not commented on the subject to news media until now:BC: If I come out for equality on LGBT issues, then somehow, I am void of afor war time.soul. Ive had ministers come into my office and say they are going to pray for my soul. My only response is, Ill pray for yours as well. When asked if my county will support the faces of equalityyou bet I will do that. Did thatAfter graduating at the top of her class at make a lot of religious people mad? Some, but other religious people saw itRay High School, Canales attended the Univer-as an opportunity to show love and support for a community that has feltsity of Texas at Austin where, like her grand-abandoned and neglectedand oppressed. mother almost 40 years earlier, she chose a field of study and career dominated by menpetro-For me, walking in that parade, I could never have predicted how many youngleum engineering. After UT she earned a law peopleand when I say young, I dont mean younger than me, because thats adegree from the University of Houston and soon lot of peoplebut I mean young teenagers who were so moved by the fact thatafter was in partnership with her now-former somebody would stand up for them. I was so taken aback by how appreciativehusband, Paul P. Black, in BNP Corporation, an they were, and I told them this was not hard. To be for love is not hard forindependent oil and gas drilling company oper-me. To be for equality is not hard for me. These are issues that we should allating throughout South Texas. Since 2004, she be for, and Im sorry that somebody has a strict interpretation of a Biblicalhas operated Canales Exploration LLC, placing verse that prevents them from lovingbut that was a Barbara personal thing. her among an elite class of women wildcatters in the American oil and gas industry.In June, three days before the Pride parade, Judge Canales issued a non-binding,What has been of no real controversy on public proclamation on behalf of the Nueces County Commissioners Court in whichtheagendaofNuecesCountyJudgeBarbara she declared June 3-9 Pride Week in the county while celebrating the contributionsCanales since she took office is the need for of LGBTQ people to the community. Carolyn Vaughn, Precinct 1 Commissioner andcompetent and professional management of the former member of the Corpus Christi City Council, issued a public statement in op- functions of governmentand not unlike trou-position to the proclamation: bling levels of mismanagement and poor plan-ning at the City of Corpus Christi [see Drowned God is great, God is good, and Im proud to share with everyone my beliefsin Incompetence, Late Spring 2019], the County while respecting your free will and your free speech. So today the judge has aadministrationdeliveredtoCanalesonNew right to present a proclamation to your organization, so appreciate my rightYears Day is sorely behind all of the 14 Texas that in my belief system, I will not support this proclamationAlthough thecounties larger than ours, and most of the 239 commissioners signatures are not required on this proclamation, it statesthat are smaller. The scholarly discipline passed Commissioners Court, of which I am a part of this court. I dont believe gov- down to Barbara Canales from her migrant an-ernment should be involved in this. I want it in the record that I do not supportcestors of 102 years ago is now at work fixing this proclamation or agree with the statements in it. the glaring deficiencies in Nueces County.36 THE COASTAL BEND MAGAZINEFall 2019 TheCoastalBend.com'