EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — With the midterm elections 11 days away, the El Paso County Judge race is heating up as it is one of the major races El Pasoans are keeping an eye on.
The county judge is one of five voting members of the elected Commissioners Court, which sets a tax rate, adopts budgets, and makes policymaking decisions for county government.
The county judge can also declare local disasters and public emergencies.
On the ballot are Democratic incumbent Ricardo Samaniego and Republican candidate Minerva Torres Shelton.
Samaniego, seeking a third term, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Key issues for voters are property taxes and the economy.
In an interview with KFOX14/CBS4, Samaniego said his focus would be on economic development as a way to bring down taxes.
“The way you reduce it is by increasing the base of the taxpayer, which is the commercial. 70% in Austin, Dallas, 70% of all quality of life is paid by the commercial site. In El Paso, 30% is paid by the commercial site and 70% by the homeowner. But the only reason you can do that is to bring companies that are paying taxes, that have employment, that have more people working for them, and that will strengthen the base, which lowers the property tax that we have at this time. Right now the burden is on the homeowner. We need to shift it to the commercial owner. That’s where I think the solution is going to be,” Samaniego said.
He added, “I’ve been very focused on making sure that our economy is moving, that we’re vetting companies properly, that they’re here to do something for our community, not just take from our community. And so to me, that’s the foundation. Of everything else. Economic development will make everything else look better, feel better, and be better by the fact that you’re focusing on improving jobs and the quality of jobs,” Samaniego said.
Meanwhile, in an interview with KFOX14/CBS4, Torres Shelton said taxes are a top concern she is hearing from voters and said she would push for a closer look at county spending.
“One of the things that I keep hearing almost everybody say is our taxes. Our taxes, they keep going up, they keep going out, and so one of the things that I’m promising them to do is audit the budget. I’m gonna go line by line, I’m going to direct an audit. So we can look for excessive, if we have any duplication, any unnecessary spending, and try to get that under control, we absolutely need to audit the budget,” Torres Shelton said.
She added, “They (voters) are looking for help on how we can reduce the budget because it’s impacting all of us through our property taxes. So that’s why I said that we need to go through the budget and figure out how to reduce that in any home.”
Early voting is underway and runs through Oct. 30, ahead of Election Day on Nov. 3.
According to the El Paso County Elections Department, more than 50,000 votes have already been cast in El Paso County.
For a full guide on early voting locations and all the information you need, click here.
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