Changes

==Tatangelo's Republican activities==

==Tatangelo's Republican activities==

Presumably, Tatangelo meant that he had voted in Democratic primaries when he called himself a "Democrat." Records reveal, however, that Tatangelo has often supported and hosted Republican candidates, including the late President [[Ronald W. Reagan]], with whom he once had a 45-minute audience to discuss border issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/061204/pagea3.pdf|title=Aldo with Reagan|publisher=airwolf.lmtonline.com|accessdate=April 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418040241/http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/061204/pagea3.pdf|archive-date=April 18, 2015|dead-url=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> KGNS-TV]] in Laredo reported at the time of Tatangelo's death that Tatangelo had wept when he learned of Reagan's death in 2004.<ref>Report on the death of Aldo Tatangelo, KGNS-TV, [[NBC]], Laredo, Texas, March 7, 2008.</ref> Tatangelo also supported Presidents [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[George W. Bush]]. In 2004, Tatangelo gave $750 to the [[Republican National Committee]]. Tatangelo gave $250 in 2004 to the campaign of former Republican U.S. Representative [[John Thune]] of [[South Dakota]], who unseated Senate Democratic Minority Leader [[Tom Daschle]]. When Tatangelo ran for county judge, then Webb County [[Republican Party|GOP]] chairman Esther Buckley,<ref>"JJ Velasquez, "Minivan-truck crash leaves beloved educator dead", ''Laredo Morning Times'', February 12, 2013, pp. 1, 12A.</ref> a former member of the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]], endorsed Tatangelo and urged her fellow Republicans to write in his name on the ballot. Tatangelo secured Republican support not because of party, presumably, but because many had admired his challenge to the "Old Party" establishment and his desire to modernize the city while retaining its traditional values. Another Laredo Republican, businessman and former five-term city council member [ Joe A. Guerra]], said that his friend Tatangelo was so open with the public that he would visit at his office or home with anyone, regardless of status, even without an appointment.

Presumably, Tatangelo meant that he had voted in Democratic primaries when he called himself a "Democrat." Records reveal, however, that Tatangelo has often supported and hosted Republican candidates, including the late President [[Ronald W. Reagan]], with whom he once had a 45-minute audience to discuss border issues.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/061204/pagea3.pdf|title=Aldo with Reagan|publisher=airwolf.lmtonline.com|accessdate=April 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418040241/http://airwolf.lmtonline.com/news/archive/061204/pagea3.pdf|archive-date=April 18, 2015|dead-url=yes|df=mdy-all}}</ref> KGNS-TV]] in Laredo reported at the time of Tatangelo's death that Tatangelo had wept when he learned of Reagan's death in 2004.<ref>Report on the death of Aldo Tatangelo, KGNS-TV, [[NBC]], Laredo, Texas, March 7, 2008.</ref> Tatangelo also supported Presidents [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] and [[George W. Bush]]. In 2004, Tatangelo gave $750 to the [[Republican National Committee]]. Tatangelo gave $250 in 2004 to the campaign of former Republican U.S. Representative [[John Thune]] of [[South Dakota]], who unseated Senate Democratic Minority Leader [[Tom Daschle]]. When Tatangelo ran for county judge, then Webb County [[Republican Party|GOP]] chairman Esther Buckley,<ref>"JJ Velasquez, "Minivan-truck crash leaves beloved educator dead", ''Laredo Morning Times'', February 12, 2013, pp. 1, 12A.</ref> a [[conservative]] former member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, endorsed Tatangelo and urged her fellow Republicans to write in his name on the ballot. Tatangelo secured Republican support not because of party, presumably, but because many had admired his challenge to the "Old Party" establishment and his desire to modernize the city while retaining its traditional values. Another Laredo Republican, businessman and former five-term city council member [[Joe A. Guerra]], said that his friend Tatangelo was so open with the public that he would visit at his office or home with anyone, regardless of status, even without an appointment.

Tatangelo was also committed to cutting county spending and lowering [[property tax]] rates, issues that attracted Republican support. Homeowners, however, found that even when the county cut the ''ad valorem'' tax rates, their property taxes continued to climb because the Webb County Appraisal District in Laredo routinely increases the valuation of their properties. The district points out that state law requires the higher evaluations each year. Then it is up to the taxing bodies to set the actual tax rates per $100 of assessed value.

Tatangelo was also committed to cutting county spending and lowering [[property tax]] rates, issues that attracted Republican support. Homeowners, however, found that even when the county cut the ''ad valorem'' tax rates, their property taxes continued to climb because the Webb County Appraisal District in Laredo routinely increases the valuation of their properties. The district points out that state law requires the higher evaluations each year. Then it is up to the taxing bodies to set the actual tax rates per $100 of assessed value.