Lieberman tours colonia, criticizes Bush leadership in Texas

By Pam Easton
Associated Press Writer

LA JOYA, Texas (AP) -- Joseph Lieberman walked down the muddy streets of El Flaco Colonia with Felipe and Irene Gonzalez on Friday, asserting that if George W. Bush would come see their tiny plywood home "he would do more than he's done" to improve conditions.

"Al Gore and I are not saying Governor Bush is a bad person. We are saying he has bad priorities," said Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential candidate.

Bush, the Republican candidate and Texas governor, has never visited one of the colonias, which many of Texas' poorest citizens call home near the Mexican border. But Bush aides say he's done plenty to help, pointing to federal and state spending of $600 million.

"You don't have to go to Alaska to know it's cold," Texas Secretary of State Elton Bomer said. "And I don't think you have to go to a colonia to know what it's like."

Irene Gonzalez told Lieberman her family lives with limited water, unpaved streets and no street lights. Her three-bedroom home, which sits on cinder blocks, has plywood walls both outside and inside. Roosters run through the home along with the couple's eight children.

"We pay taxes and everything and we don't know where the money goes," she told Lieberman as they walked up the street to a neighbor's home.

"I wanted to see it with my own eyes," Lieberman said. "This place cries out for help."

He said the federal and state governments should work together to make sure there are improvements for the 400,000 Texas residents living in colonias.

"There hasn't been, from what I've been told, much of a reaction from the state government," Lieberman said. He said of Bush, "If he saw this, he would do more than he's done."

Bush officials said that during his tenure as governor $600 million has been allocated to improving living conditions along the Mexican border.

About $250 million came from the state of Texas, the other $350 million from the federal government.

Lieberman said of the residents, "What they are asking for from the governor is not a handout. They are asking for basic services."

Lieberman was winding up a two-day Texas campaign trip during which he criticized Bush's record as governor. On Thursday, he visited residents of a neighborhood in Odessa that is within five miles of an industrial complex that residents blame for environment-related illnesses.

Aurelia Gonzalez, who lives in a two-bedroom home in El Flaco with her husband and five children, said she hoped Lieberman would keep his own promises not to forget.

"If they don't listen to you, you can't do anything about it," she said. "It's hard."

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