 He also sat on the Webb County Appraisal Board and was a former Webb County Republican chairman, active in the National Hispanic Republican Association.The Cantus were involved in sailing and once spent two years on the Ezst Coast in their sailboat "Foxely".In the Democratic primary held on March 4, 2008, Zaffirini was to have faced San Antonio attorney Rene Barrientos (born January 25, 1954), but Barrientos withdrew from the race.