Eight district judges deliberated Wednesday to select an interim replacement for Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza who resigned by announcement that he was running against incumbent Sheriff Omar Lucio and selected former department chief assistant Elvira Ortiz by a required unanimous vote.The Texas constitution states that:“There shall be a clerk for the district court of each county, who shall be elected by the qualified voters and who shall hold his office for four years, subject to removal by information, or by indictment of a grand jury, and conviction of a petit jury. In case of vacancy, the judge of the district court shall have the power to appoint a clerk, who shall hold until the office can be filled by election.”
However that election must be made by a unanimous vote of the eight judges. In a previous meeting last week Tuesday, two of the judges could not attend and the selection was moved up a week to today.
The judges were under the gun to appoint someone unanimously - because if they couldn't - it would have been left up to Gov. Greg Abbott to make the appointment, something the eight Democrats did not want to happen.
She will start her duties on Monday which is the same day Garza’s resignation takes affect. Garza had to be a hold over district clerk until the newly appointed district clerk assumed the duties.
Ortiz served as deputy district clerk under retired District Clerk Aurora de La Garza. She had served in the district clerk’s office for 38 year, 32 years as chief deputy director.
Ortiz ran for the position held by her former boss Aurora de la Garza and lost in a runoff election against Garza in May 2014. Garza was also a deputy district clerk under De la Garza. Garza drew 5,476 votes while Ortiz drew 4,958 votes, a 528 vote difference of the 10,434 votes cast.
No one challenged Garza in 2018.
If there are no Republican candidates for county district clerk, Ortiz might be replaced by the winning candidate of the Democratic party primary March 3. If there is, she might remain interim clerk
until the November general election.
Ortiz, as did potential appointees to the office, pledged that she would not be a candidate in the next elections.
The judges said that they would not appoint someone who would run for the office during the March primaries so as not to give the individual an unfair advantage of incumbency over other potential candidates.
Brownsville Independent School District trustee and Cameron County Court-at-Law #3 court administrator Laura Perez-Reyes and district clerk office staffer Diego Alonso Hernandez have also announced they are candidates this March. BISD Record Manager Matin Arambula is also said to be interested in running.
So far, only Perez-Reyes and Hernandez have filed an appointment of campaign treasurer form, a prerequisite to spend to collect financial contributions. Hernandez filed the form October 8 and Perez-Reyes on October 17.
4 comments:
The selection was NOT "moved up." It was "delayed," Montoya.
This week a conservative web site asked the offices of 53 Republican Senators if they opposed Trump's impeachment only 7 said they opposed, 22 did not answer, Sen. Lindsey Graham has just said "if the evidence demands it," Sen. Thune has just found his voice, he would not have done so without McConnells blessing, after Mr.Taylors evidence it will start to pile up & become very hard to refute, Trump is viewed by the GOP with no fondness or loyalty, it might just happen, stunning!
Dude, when something is postponed, it is not "moved up."
If that’s true? Then the politics still rule in CC? Bring back a problem & someone under aurora de la Garza? De la Garza who had a black cloud over her head from suspicious cases going into particular courts! Well, only proves the nepotism & corruption still thrives in CC?
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