TEXAS, USA — Do you remember those old Pace Picante commercials when the cowboys are sitting around a campfire, and they run out of salsa and replace it with one made in New York City?
You know the line, “get a rope.”
Decades later, New York is now producing something Congressman Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, does want down here in Texas: police officers.
Van Duyne recently purchased a full-page ad in the New York Post trying to recruit officers to Texas, telling them it’s “Time to Escape New York.”
“We haven’t heard from any of the officers yet, but the ad was just placed, it was just published yesterday. But I have been in touch with a number of our police chiefs in the area who are excited about it, and they think it’s a great idea,” she told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Van Duyne says several North Texas departments just aren’t seeing the same number of recruits they once did.
And ultimately, she thinks officers in New York will heed the call and relocate to Texas.
While Van Duyne didn’t tell us exactly how much the ad cost, she did say campaign dollars paid for it.
“It was an expensive ad, but I think again, if we can bring some of these officers, it will be great for the officers, it will be great for our community. If we can start filling some of these positions, it will be well worth it,” said Van Duyne.
A spokesperson for New York City Hall told the Dallas Morning News that Congresswoman Van Duyne should instead focus on ways to reduce the high homicide rates in Texas.