The race for House District 79 state representative pits Democratic incumbent Claudia Ordaz against Republican Jesse Romero, a retired Realtor and Navy veteran who previously ran unsuccessfully for El Paso city representative.<\/p>\n
Ordaz, 40, is seeking a third term as state representative. She previously represented District 76, covering part of the Lower Valley, before redistricting<\/a> took effect in 2022. Her political career began in 2014, when she was elected as City Council District 6 representative.<\/p>\n Romero, 73, is a first-time candidate for the state representative seat. Currently a security officer, Romero had an unsuccessful run for El Paso City Council District 3 representative in 2024.<\/p>\n The winner will represent District 79,<\/a> which stretches from Northeast El Paso, Fort Bliss, to East El Paso. State representatives consider proposed laws and resolutions, propose constitutional amendments, file bills that may become state law and appropriate funds for the operation of state government. They serve two-year terms and are paid $7,200 a year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both candidates were unopposed in the March primaries.<\/p>\n Claudia Ordaz<\/p>\n Accomplishments Ordaz listed during her term include strengthening state animal cruelty laws, securing economic development funding for the city and supporting students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Six of 52 bills<\/a> authored or jointly-authored by Ordaz related to animal protection rights. Among them is House Bill 285, which went into effect September 2025, and defines offenses of cruelty toward nonlivestock animals \u2013 like transporting or confining animals in a cruel manner or unreasonably abandoning an animal in a person\u2019s custody.<\/p>\n She said her work supporting \u201cfurry friends\u201d has earned her the moniker of \u201canimal lady.\u201d If reelected, Ordaz wants to continue giving a voice to \u201cvoiceless\u201d animals.<\/p>\n \u201cOne idea I\u2019m exploring is dedicating a scratch off Texas lottery ticket that could generate funding for shelters across the state,\u201d Ordaz said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m also looking at whether a portion of the revenue associated with pet food sales could be directed back to the shelters that are carrying for those animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, Ordaz wants to build off momentum toward childcare accessibility in El Paso. House Bill 2652 \u2014 authored by Ordaz and jointly authored by other El Paso state representatives \u2014 is an El Paso-specific bill that would bring together employers, workforce partners and child care providers to accommodate caregiver services to parents who don\u2019t work a typical 9 to 5 job. Passed by the House in the 89th Legislature, HB 2652 is being referred to the Senate Economic Development Committee.<\/p>\n Currently going through fertility care, Ordaz brought forth legislation for women\u2019s healthcare issues she\u2019s personally experienced, as well as from other women she\u2019s spoken to going through similar health challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to continue to address some of the experiences women have in the healthcare system,\u201d Ordaz said. \u201cThat includes pain management for IUD procedures, fertility care, maternal health, and just making sure women have better information about their reproductive health much earlier in life.\u201d<\/p>\n She said she especially wants to look at how to support veterans and military families experiencing infertility.<\/p>\n Ordaz said she\u2019s eyeing mobile reproductive and maternal health units<\/a> that could bring free and affordable services to different neighborhoods, including a full range of birth control options, screenings and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, diabetes, and breast and cervical cancer screenings. These units are currently available in South Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n On school vouchers: Noting she\u2019s a \u201cproduct of public schools\u201d and that her late mother was a retired educator, Ordaz said public education is a top priority. In the 89th Legislature, Ordaz supported House Bill 2, which gave teachers with at least three years experience a raise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ordaz said she supports private or home schooling, but not expanding the voucher system without proper funding for public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t support putting billions more into expanding the voucher program, while Texas has not properly funded the public school system,\u201d Ordaz said. \u201cWe have a constitutional responsibility to provide that (public schooling).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In its inaugural year, school vouchers cost Texas taxpayers $1 billion. Ordaz said these numbers are projected to grow to $3.3 billion by 2028 and $4.8 billion by 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Meta data center: While the $14 billion data center<\/a> under construction in the Northeast may bring \u201csignificant investment and significant economic opportunity,\u201d Ordaz said, the salient question is \u201chow we manage this extraordinary growth and make sure that the people who already live, and do business here, aren\u2019t paying the price.\u201d<\/p>\n Opportunity comes at the price of \u201cenormous electricity demands, significant water and infrastructure needs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Ordaz said state regulations surrounding data centers fail to include the El Paso area<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In August, Gov. Greg Abbott announced<\/a> that Meta would comply with new state data center standards overseen by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to protect residents\u2019 quality of life. However, ERCOT\u2019s service region does not extend to El Paso and Hudspeth counties.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ordaz said she\u2019s had conversations about economic and environmental impacts of data centers with the city of El Paso, El Paso Water and the main author of the data center regulation bill asking that El Paso \u201chave a seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n On unfunded state mandates: Ordaz said her experience as a city and state representative has allowed her to be on both the giving and receiving end of unfunded state mandates. Much too often the cost falls on local taxpayers, Ordaz said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a big proponent of local control, but it doesn\u2019t mean a blank check either, right?\u201d Ordaz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In speaking with local superintendents, Ordaz said she found frustration with school-specific unfunded mandates clear: \u201cThey (schools) were being asked to comply with more requirements, and at the same time, they\u2019re dealing with declining enrollment, limited resources, and budget pressures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n So in handling unfunded mandates, she said, \u201cit goes both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe, as in Austin, shouldn\u2019t pass the buck to local governments, and local governments should also be accountable for those public dollars,\u201d Ordaz said.<\/p>\n Jesse Romero<\/p>\n Despite his unsuccessful run for office two years ago, Romero said the campaign was a fruitful experience that prepared him to run for state representative. He said each attempt at an elected position, even if unavailing, is a building block for the \u201clong haul.\u201d<\/p>\n If elected, Romero\u2019s priorities are tourism and economic development. Among his checklist of proposed tourism developments, Romero would like to expand San Jacinto Plaza and renovate Scenic Drive. Both are city-owned and operated, though state programs could help provide funding.<\/p>\n To spur economic development, Romero would like to attract manufacturers to El Paso to spur more jobs and revenue for the city, though he didn\u2019t specify what type or give any specific plans on how he\u2019d accomplish that.<\/p>\n On school vouchers: Romero critiqued local public school expenditures, saying funds focused on \u201cnicer and nicer stadiums and buildings\u201d rather than on academic efforts. He incorrectly stated that school vouchers covered charter schools<\/a>, arguing they may \u201chave a better chance\u201d of the fixed amount of money going into the school through tuition fees and now school voucher allocations.<\/p>\n Romero said public school budgets are more prone to fluctuation due to their dependence on enrollment numbers, property taxes, and state and federal funding.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n He admitted he \u201cdoes not know enough about it to compare.\u201d<\/p>\n The state sets funding formulas for public schools and provides more than 30% of their funding, while local property taxes account for about 50%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n On Meta data center: To resolve some environmental concerns for Meta data centers, Romero said it would be more efficient to swap to \u201cHVAC systems\u201d to cool the equipment rather than using a planned closed-loop liquid cooling system that recycles water.<\/p>\n He also faults the City Council for not negotiating well with Meta, resulting in more harm than benefit to the city, he said. He mentioned it \u201cwasn\u2019t a good contract\u201d because of the tax breaks for the data center.<\/p>\n On unfunded mandates: Though Romero in an interview did not offer a clear response on how\u2019d he approach unfunded state mandates, he referenced House Bill 2127, or the \u201cDeath Star\u201d bill, that went into effect in 2023 limiting the ability of cities and counties to pass and enforce local regulations that go beyond state law.\u00a0<\/p>\n