By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
Kerr Wardlaw will follow in his father’s footsteps as the new County Commissioner Precinct 1.
Wardlaw, the Democratic Party nominee for the office, defeated
Alfinio “Al” Flores, the Republican Party nominee, by 76 votes. The results were announced at the historic Val Verde County Courthouse just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Val Verde County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy announced the unofficial vote totals for the November General Election in Val Verde County outside the courthouse.
Wardlaw won the race with an unofficial total of 1,587 votes, and Flores had an unofficial total of 1,511 votes.
Wardlaw spoke with The 830 Times Wednesday and said he was “pleased” with the results.
“All our numbers were really high, and it was really impressive. We got Precinct 1 to go to the polls, and the numbers don’t lie. I was also really happy with the way it showed how my hard work helped others too,” Wardlaw said.
He said a huge contribution to his victory was pushing his campaign during the last four days and targeting more people in his precinct to go and vote, including the residents of county voting Precinct 11.
Wardlaw mentioned it is an honor to carry on his father’s legacy, adding, “I wanted to do what he did as a commissioner and a rancher my whole life, and this is a big accomplishment for me personally, achieving something that I have dreamed of since I was five years old.”
Wardlaw said one of his main priorities when he is sworn in as county commissioner is to work with the rest of county commissioners court to increase the size of the sheriff’s office and the detention center, as well as learning how to manage his precinct’s annual budget.
He also thanked his family and the Nieto family for helping him in his campaign and walking the streets with him during recent parades.
