Tax office candidate can't prove college degrees, CPA or notary certifications

A candidate who is running in the 3-person race for Willacy County's Tax Assessor Collector position has refused to show proof of bachelors and masters degrees from a Texas institution, along with proof of her CPA and notary public certifications.

Maggie Coronado- Ramirez claims to have graduated from the Bethel Institute of Theology located in Pasadena, near Houston, in 1982 with a masters in Theology, after obtaining a bachelors from the same institution, along with a minor in accounting.

The institution she claims to have graduated from does not appear to exist or have been accredited in the State of Texas.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board checked records from the 1970s to present, and found no accredited institution with the name Coronado- Ramirez provided.

The mayor's office in Pasadena checked their history records and show no record of the institution ever being located in and around Pasadena. The only educa- tional institution with the exact name Coronado- Ramirez gave is located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Coronado-Ramirez also claims to be a retired CPA, and a notary public.

However, calls to the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy and the Texas Secretary of State's office show no record of her being a certified public accountant (CPA) or a notary public.

"I want to know who said this about me - I want to meet them," said Coronado-Ramirez, angrily yesterday morning. "I don't have to answer to you - I only answer to the public, and that's only when I'm elected."

The Chronicle/News then arranged a meeting with her and the individual who tipped off the newspaper.

However, Coronado- Ramirez failed to show for the scheduled meeting, after being given a copy of research information on her credentials.

She has also abandoned her campaign spot along Main Street in Raymondville Tuesday afternoon.

Tax office candidates Liz Barnhart and Maria Inez Rodriguez voluntarily provided copies of their higher education classwork or degrees to the Chronicle/ News, so that the newspaper could verify their educational claims.

Barnhart attended TSTC in Harlingen with courses in English, math, and computer science. She has 15 years of experience in the office that she hopes to run someday.

Rodriguez obtained a bachelors degree in art from UT-PanAm in 2003. She has experience working in county auditor's and district clerk's offices, and has been a substitute teacher.

A law enforcement official, who asked not to be identified, said, "She may not have broken any laws, but it's a matter of public trust," referring to Coronado-Ramirez, who appears to have now abandoned her campaign. E-mail comments on this story t o ; robert@raymondvillechroniclenews.com