McALLEN – Mayor Jim Darling, City Commissioners, PUB board members and about 80 other McAllen leaders will be at the state capitol Tuesday for Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Day to advocate for McAllen and regional issues before the legislature.

 
Typically, city officials have participated in McAllen Day at the capitol, but this year Mayor Darling wanted to make lobbying the 84th State Legislature a regional effort and teamed up with Edinburg, Harlingen, Mission, Pharr and other cities to make it happen.

"This is the first time the Rio Grande Valley cities and chambers of commerce partner as a delegation to meet legislators at the State Capitol.  It’s important for us to collaborate on issues 

we have in common instead of competing with each other on limited funding,” said Mayor  Darling. “Unlike most metropolitan areas, McAllen doesn’t have a central mass of people in the city, we have communities all around us that need infrastructure and funding from the state.  We are all in this together.”

 Mayor Darling, City Commissioners Veronica Vela-Whitacre, Trey Pebley and John Ingram, and City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, will make the trip to visit with state senators and representatives and inform them of key issues and concerns. 

RGV Day will focus on four major issues during this legislative session, which include border security, workforce development, infrastructure and higher education.