July 29, 2009
Coronado said he wanted to unify El Paso political leaders, do away with faction-based politics, and deliver efficient government.
Coronado ran for county judge in the same 2005-06 race that was won by current County Judge Anthony Cobos, who had a fund-raiser last night. He didn't make the run-off between Barbara Perez and Cobos, and endorsed Cobos.
He said that he didn't know if Cobos would run again, and that he made the decision at the time based on Cobos' relative edge in education over Perez.
Coronado said that his education and experience as a lawyer for 24 years and as a member of the Canutillo school board for the last seven years -- including three years as president of the board -- gives him an edge in assessing the legal and financial issues of the county.
"El Paso’s stature in the country within education, economic development, and quality of life are major concerns for Sergio Coronado who has a clear vision on unifying all government entities for El Paso’s future. Establishing common goals among the various government entities will lead to a reduction in duplication of services, greater purchasing power, and a progressive master plan for all El Paso County," states a bio prepared by his campaign (read the document via link below this article).
He said the county has not done as well as it should have in handling finances, and gave as an example a bond sold four or five years ago for a county court annex, which has not been built.
Coronado accompanied District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez when Sanchez turned himself in to the FBI following an indictment on corruption charges. However, Coronado said that he was not Sanchez's lawyer on the case, although he has represented Sanchez on other matters.
Of the public corruption investigation and its potential impact on county races, he said, "I'm going to let the judicial system (work). Obviously, it is at the forefront of people's minds, and why we need to focus on the positive and unify the leadership in the county."
On major issues involving the county at the state legislature in the past session, he said he supported both the bill giving the county greater authority over zoning and the bill allowing for the creation of an ethics commission. However, he said of the ethics bill, "we can't let it also become a fight between political factions." The bill became caught up in constitutional and other legal and logistical questions, but also became somewhat of a metaphor for the personality and political divisions between politicians affiliated with state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh and state Rep. Norma Chavez.
When asked whether the announcement was early, he said that both he and Cobos announced in the August before the election last time around, and that the only reason Perez waited until December to announce was because she was a sitting county commissioner and had to resign the seat to take up the race.
"The election from here to March 2 is only seven months away. I want to give my supporters enough time to reach as many people as possible," he said.
Nobody else has announced for county judge.
One rumored candidate is County Commissioner Veronica Escobar.
When asked whether she was a candidate for county judge, she said, "Right now, I'm a commissioner for Precinct 2. Am I ruling it out? No."
She said she wanted to see who else was running, their platform, and "the leadership other candidates would or would not bring to that office. It is one of the most important positions in the county. The county judge has the bully pulpit for this community at the state level and the federal level."
And how does she assess Coronado's platform and leadership? "I remembered his platform from the first go-round, and I know more about him now than I knew back in 06, but I think based on what I've been hearing there's probably going to be a lot of candidates in that particular race and the filing deadline is not until Jan. 4, 2010. Between now and then we'll probably see a lot of other folks who are interested in running for that seat," she said.
Multiple names also have been tossed about in regards to running for County Commission. Sergio Lewis, a former school board member, has said he is looking at running for county commission if Escobar runs for county judge. Larry Medina, a former city rep and commissioner, also has been rumored to be a candidate.
Up for election on the County Commissioners' Court are the county judge seat and Precincts 2 (Escobar) and 4 (Commissioner Dan Haggerty).
Haggerty said today he was going to run again. NPT contributor David Karlsruher has written on his blog -- most recently with a scathing entry today -- that he might challenge Haggerty in the Republican primary.