Casting his vote for the first time
Posted on Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Daily Record photograph by Annette Beard Hector Garcia cast his vote in his first election since becoming an American citizen.
PEA RIDGE — Election Day on Tuesday was Hector Garcia’s first time to vote. No, he’s not 18. He is, in fact, 23, but he became a U. S. citizen Jan. 12, 2006, and this year was his first national election.
“ Now that I get a chance to vote, I’m excited, ” he said.
A native of Mexico, Garcia moved as a youth to the United States with his parents. He graduated from Rogers High School and attended Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.
“ My parents were seeking a better future for me and my sister, ” Garcia said, explaining their move here. He began working as a teller for a bank when he was 17 and is now a mortgage / consumer loan officer for Community First Bank in Pea Ridge.
“ When I moved to the U. S., I had a permanent resident card, ” he said. “ When I was old enough to vote, I decided to become a U. S. citizen and choose my president. ”
Interestingly, Garcia said he thought he would be a Barack Obama man but, with research, discovered John McCain stood for the beliefs Garcia holds.
“ I think being able to vote gives us the right to choose who we want to be our next president and enables us to choose the person (who has ) the same ideals and morals as we do and that he’s / she’s going to make decisions in our nation’s best interest, ” Garcia said.
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