

I have been a Republican since I became a US Citizen in 1984 and was proud to vote for Ronald Reagan’s reelection. Eventually, I was given the incredible honor to be the United States Treasurer, the first Mexican-born to hold this title.

I have been a loyal, trusted and fiery fighter for every Republican presidential candidate. I have been a delegate to the previous five Republican conventions. But since July 2015, when a certain candidate, upon entering the political arena, showed his contempt for Mexican immigrants by stating they were drug dealers, rapists and murderers, I have voiced my disgust and have warned one and all of the perilous threat he was to our party, our nation and the world.

I had hoped against hope that my party would listen. After all I had the personal commitment of our party chair, after the catastrophic loss of Mitt Romney, that Hispanics were going to be an important voting bloc for the party and that significant efforts would be made to augment their numbers in our party.

Maybe I was naive, maybe it was just a strong desire to believe. But the party left me and my community all alone again. It has had plenty of time to stand up for my community, but it has chosen not to do so. I have come to the devastatingly painful realization that my party right now doesn't want my vote nor that of my community. Evidently it is not important, or not as important as some other voting bloc.

So, for me to consider the unthinkable—to vote for a democrat—has been a profound soul searching process. Leaders are tested time and time again and so, I will stand up for my community against the menace of a tyrannical presidency that does not value the countless contributions of immigrants across its beautiful and bountiful history.

I have disagreed with and criticized Hillary Clinton’s positions, but I have come to the conclusion that she would be a far better president than the Republican candidate could ever be. She understands that words spoken from the White House have consequences, that sarcasm is not a strategy when dealing with delicate world situations, that our friends and foes listen to every word spoken by our president and react accordingly.

There is too much at stake both domestically and abroad to have a thoughtless individual at the helm of the most important economy in the world.

My party and its standard bearer leave me no choice; On November 8, I will vote for Hillary Clinton.