THE RIGHT STUFF

Face to Face: VV County Republican Chairman Frank Lopez Jr.

Politics isn’t for everyone. Only the idealistic, well-intentioned changemaker or the power-hungry, self-serving megalomaniac.
Val Verde County Republican Chairman Frank Lopez Jr. is the former.
The retired U.S. Border Patrol agent takes the role very seriously, displaying a self-effacing yet purposeful demeanor.
He is opposed to open borders and socialist ideology guiding the American economy and public policy and all about clutching a conservative perspective of America, which includes less regulation, judicious individual freedom and pro-entrepreneurship.
“It’s not about demonizing people or anything like that. Either you embrace one vision of America, or you embrace a different vision of America…pro-family; pro-life; honestly; it’s marriage, one natural man one natural woman for life; economic entrepreneurship and creativity,” he said.
Lopez began his chairmanship in August, taking over local GOP duties from the outgoing Fernando Garcia at a time when the numbers indicate the Republican vote in the county has surged.
He said the increase is a result of promotion via social media platforms and newspapers. But also noted that the District 23 Congressional primary race in 2019, comprised nine Republican candidates, which amplified the Republican Party locally through a slew of advertising.
Promotion, coupled with concerns about the direction of the Democratic Party, was another factor for the increase in popularity of the GOP in Val Verde County Lopez said. He feels identification with Christian pro-life agendas and border security have played a role in why there has been an uptick in Del Rioans voting Republican.
“I think a lot of folks here in Val Verde County are center-right. We talk about family, we talk about children, the prosperity, careers and the future.”
Originally from McAllen, Lopez moved to El Paso with his family when his father became a Border Patrol agent, later joining the Army serving with the military police in Honduras and former West Germany. After his military service, he attended college but left to pursue a career in the Border Patrol, which brought him to Del Rio. Lopez is married and has adult twin sons. He was the first chaplain in the federal law enforcement agency’s chaplaincy program.
After spending 30 years in the Border Patrol, Lopez reached out to Garcia in late 2018, expressing an interest in getting a political foot-in-the-door. He eventually joined the campaign of Republican congressional candidate, Raul Reyes, becoming his campaign manager. Reyes lost in a runoff to candidate Tony Gonzales who lost to Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones in the November election but it brought Lopez through the door.
“So the direction of the Republican Party, the way I want to take it here in Val Verde County is to identify and encourage people to run for office, every conceivable office…that’s my goal,” he said.
Lopez has already implemented programs to expand the party’s sphere of influence in the area. He started the Young Conservatives Club of Val Verde County to begin grooming the next generation of conservative leaders and is hoping to stimulate an interest in running for office through a speaker series called, “CHAMPIONS,’ or Conservative Heroes, Advocates, Mentors, Patriots, Impacting Our Nation. “It’s folks who will champion the cause, who will champion the concerns and needs of the people.”
The series aims to bring in national-level conservative thought leaders and doers to Del Rio. Allen West — Chairman of the Republican Party of Texas — was the first series speaker.
“We bring speakers to kind of fire up and energize the base.”
He said voters in Del Rio carry a lot of weight in non-local elections. In particular, Congressional District 23, state Senate District 19 and the Texas Court of Appeals.
“That’s why we need to, at the county level, identify and field conservative Americans and get them into the Republican party,” he said.