14 Maverick County Political Positions Available in 2014 March Primary
By: Jose G. Landa
Copyright 2013 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
Maverick County citizens interested in seeking public office have at least 14 Maverick County political positions to choose from in the March 2014 Primary Election to register as a candidate with the political party of their choice, either the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Libertarian Party, Independent, or other.
The 14 Maverick County political positions which will be up for election in the March 4. 2014 include the County Judge, which is currently held by David R. Saucedo and has announced his intention to seek re-election for a second term; the County Commissioner of Precinct 1, which is currently held by political appointee Gerardo “Jerry” Morales and has indicated his intention to run for an elected full-term; the County Commissioner of Precinct 2, which is currently held by political appointee Asalia Casares and has indicated her intention to seek election to a full- term; the County Commissioner of Precinct 4, which is currently held by Roberto Ruiz and has expressed interest in seeking election to a full-term; the District Clerk, which is currently held by Irene Rodriguez and who may seek re-election to another term; the County Clerk, which is currently held by Sara Montemayor and has expressed interest in seeking re-election to another term; the County Treasurer, which is currently held by political appointee and Maverick County Hospital District Board of Trustee Rito Valdez, III, and who may seek election to a full-term; the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 1, which is currently held by Kina Mancha and has expressed interest in seeking re-election to another term; the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 2, which is held by political appointee Dora Madera and has indicated her intention to seek election to a full-term; the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 3-A & B, which is currently held by Cesar Iracheta and may seek re-election to another term; the Justice of the Peace of Precinct 3-C, which is currently held by Jeannie Smith and may seek re-election to another term; the 293rd Judicial District Court Judge, which is currently held by Cynthia Muniz and has indicated her intention to seek re-election to another term; the 365th Judicial District Court Judge, which is currently held by Amado J. Abascal, III, and has indicated his intention to seek re-election to another term; and the 74th State Representative District, which is currently held by Alfonso “Poncho” Nevarez and has indicated his intention to seek re-election to a new term.
All Maverick County citizens interested in running for any of these 14 political positions must register with their respective political party Chairman commencing November 9th through December 9th, 2013. All persons interested in running for any of these 14 political positions as a Democrat should contact Maverick County Democratic Party Chairman Victor E. Perry at (830) 757-1200 or the State Democratic Party Headquarters in Austin, Texas and anyone interested in running as a Republican should contact Maverick County Republican Party Chairman Jose Reyna at (830) 776-2333 or the State Republican Party Headquarters in Austin, Texas. Anyone interested in running as a Libertarian, Independent, or any other party should contact that respective party’s headquarters in Austin, Texas.
There is great interest among many Maverick County citizens in registering as candidates for these 14 County-wide political positions, particularly in light of the corruption and bribery-kickback scheme investigation in Maverick County by the Texas Rangers and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during the past two years which has resulted in three former Maverick County Commissioners pleading guilty in federal court and resigning from their previous publicly elected posts, the County’s huge financial debt of over $67 Million, the County’s failure to timely file its financial reports and audits for the 2010, 2011, and 2012 fiscal years, the County’s misuse of over $600,000 in Court filing fees for a computerized monthly case reporting system, the Texas Rangers investigation of a Justice of the Peace and his staff for theft of public funds which resulted in three convictions, the FBI’s investigation of theft of public funds at the Maverick County Landfill which resulted in one guilty plea by the former General Manager, the County’s voluntary return of an unused $600,000 CDBG Grant for paving the water drainage creek in Las Quintas Fronterizas and El Indio Highway areas, and the FBI’s investigation of the gasoline card fraud scheme at the City of Eagle Pass, Texas which resulted in the conviction of five defendants.
Other political posts in the March 2014 primary election include statewide races such as the Governor of Texas, Lieutenant Governor of Texas, the Attorney General of Texas, the State Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Agriculture Commissioner, one Railroad of Texas Commissioner, three Texas Supreme Court Justices, three Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Justices, one U.S. Senator, and all 36 U.S. House of Representatives, including District 23 currently held by Congressman Pete P. Gallego and who has indicated he will seek re-election to another term.
The March 4, 2014 Texas Primary Election will commence Early Voting on February 18th through February 28th. The General Election Day will be March 4th, of course. The first day to apply for a mail-in ballot is January 3rd through February 21st. The last day for voter registration to be eligible to vote in the March 4th Primary Election is February 4th. In the event of any runoffs, they will be held during May 2014.
The winners of each party’s respective primary election on March 4th will square-off in the November 2014 Texas General Election.
