RGV Goes To D.C. As ‘One Force’

Students, such as those at the South Texas High School for Health Professions, are reflective of the educational issues discussed by RGV leaders on a trip to Washington, D.C.

Highlighting Daniel Silva’s two-year tenure as the chief executive officer of the Rio Grande Valley Partnership is his organization’s “one region, one voice” message.

Daniel Silva, the chief executive officer of the RGV Partnership, led a delegation of Valley leaders on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. (Courtesy)

Silva’s predecessors also preached regional unity when it came to the Valley’s nearly 50 cities working more collaboratively when marketing and promoting the region. He has tried to intensify those efforts by having the many economic development corporations in the Valley band together under one regional flag at trade and industry shows as they promote their individual cities.

He and his staff have worked on regional marketing packages and data that can be shared and accessed by any EDC in the area. The spirit of “one region, one voice” was enhanced recently when Silva and the Partnership led a 60-member delegation of RGV leaders to Washington, D.C. The goal was to get in front of members of Congress representing the Valley as well other leaders in Washington who are unfamiliar with the region.

Silva emphasized the mid-June trip was not “a show-and-tell” type of trip where generalities were presented. Delegation members also met with various federal agencies involving trade and commerce, water issues, and immigration and border law enforcement.

“It wasn’t cookie cutter,” he said of the delegation’s trip. “We got direct interaction about all of our issues. We left information that will help them better understand us and hopefully lead them in a direction that benefits us.”

Workforce development, such as that at Texas State Technical College in Harlingen, was among the topics of discussion from RGV leaders during a recent trip to Washington, D.C.

Top Issues

Silva said the delegation’s trip to Washington focused on these issues:

Water and environmental resources
Infrastructure improvements
Education and workforce development
Healthcare access and quality
Border security and immigration reform
Economic development and job creation

Brownsville Mayor John Cowen was among the RGV leaders who were part of the delegation traveling to Washington. He ranks water as the region’s most important issue given the historic low levels of storage at Falcon and Amistad lakes. Cowen said a preeminent issue like water requires a regional approach to pursue funding to develop alternate sources and improve current systems to boost sustainability.

Another aspect of trips to Washington also involves debunking negative perceptions of border regions like the Valley.

“A lot of people get their information from the media as to what’s going on in the Rio Grande Valley,” Cowen said at a press conference in Weslaco available on YouTube. “What they see and hear doesn’t always tell the story. It’s important to get in front of our leaders and inform them on what’s going on from our perspective.”

Orlando Campos, the chief executive officer of the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation, was another member of the delegation to Washington. He is a Brownsville native who spent many years away from the Valley as an economic development specialist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. North Texas, he said, has over 100 cities that have some degree of collaboration in pursuing economic development and business growth.

“I’ve seen firsthand what happens when regions work together,” Campos said. “We can be more economically competitive with larger metros if we come together and work to get our fair share.”

Brownsville Mayor John Cowan says he emphasized water issues on a recent visit to Washington as part of a contingent of RGV leaders visiting the Capitol. (Courtesy)

Next Steps

The next steps, Silva said, are continuing to work on marketing materials and data that all of the cities in the Valley can use.

“The ‘One Region, One Voice’ is designed to make sure we can collectively carry the needs of our region,” he said.

The whole topic of regional cooperation continues to be an ongoing issue among RGV leaders. Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez and a contingent of private sector business leaders have held recent meetings on the subject. Their recommendation is to market the Valley along with Reynosa and Matamoros as “RioPlex,” to reflect the binational aspect of doing business along the border. How such a branding would co-exist with the Partnership and area EDCs is undefined but there’s little disagreement that there is strength in numbers.

“Going as one force has an impact,” said Pepe Cabaza de Vaca, a McAllen city commissioner who was part of the recent trip to Washington. “It resonates with them when we go as one.”

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