Former Rep Cassandra Hernandez & Opponents

I don't know why City Rep Cassandra Hernandez has played the pobresita to some of you but the one thing I pride myself on is callin'em like I see'em.

A couple of years ago she was Cassandra Brown and she was positioning herself for a run at the HD 76 seat.

Now she's Hernandez, said she was running for mayor, screwed up the rollout, put herself in a resign-to-run position and decided that she wanted to keep her position on council so that she can keep her salary and is no longer a contender for HD 76 now that the seat is open, and will likely turn around and run for mayor after putting her constituents through a big pendejada just to hold her seat a little longer.

Stupid, right?

Well don't count your pollitos too soon - Hernandez has at least two pretty strong challengers in Will Veliz who is about 25 even though he looks about 18ish, and Brooks Vandivort.

Both guys have a couple things in common - they both are involved in the business community, they are both pretty well connected, they both will likely pretty well funded, and they both apparently really like basketball.

I think Hernandez felt like she wasn't really going to have any real competitors and that she'd waltz into reelection.

But she has actual competition from candidates that are qualified, viable, and likely well-funded.

And the political stakes couldn't be higher for Hernandez. She's running for reelection just so she can keep a salary while she runs for Mayor. She really wants to keep that income. But if she loses her seat, she not only doesn't have a salary, but for all intents and purposes, her mayoral bid is over before it even starts.

Her back is against the wall now, so expect more of her trademark crying in the interim. And don't even get me started on what happens if there's a run-off.

If Hernandez has any shot at a mayoral bid, she HAS to win and she HAS to win big. And she's facing at least two candidates that most certainly stand in her way of doing so.