By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Eddie Amezcua Jr. is seeking election to the office of County Commissioner Pct. 3.
Amezcua will be one of four candidates who will be on the ballot for the office in the March 5 Republican Party Primary Election.
Amezcua was born and raised in Del Rio. He attended Del Rio schools and graduated from Del Rio High School in 1998 before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was deployed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
After serving in the Marine Corps, Amezcua pursued a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at San Antonio and worked as a child protective services investigator for the state.
After returning to Del Rio, Amezcua and his family became successful entrepreneurs, first opening and operating Buffalo Wings and Rings restaurant, then buying and operating Skillets restaurant. Last year, Amezcua and his family opened a third restaurant, Teriyaki Madness.
Amezcua is active in the community, having served as president of the Del Rio Rotary Club, where he is now assistant governor.
He has also served as president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation board of directors, vice president of the SFDRCISD Education Foundation, and is an active member of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce and the Military Affairs Association, where he works to promote the interests of Laughlin Air Force Base and its personnel.
Despite his years of service, Amezcua said his decision to seek election to the office of county commissioner was made with his family in mind.
“I wanted to make sure my family was right. I have an 11-year-old and a 14-year-old, and I wanted to make sure we were in the right place for me to focus on this. We knew that we were going to be opening a new restaurant, so I wanted to make sure that the timing was right with that,” Amezcua said.
“And then, what was going to happen with the other two restaurants, Skillets and Wings and Rings? So, I wanted to make sure that it was set up for me to be able to step back from the businesses a little bit and focus, to make sure that once I commit, I’m committed 100 percent,” he added.
“The biggest reason I decided to say yes I would run, after lots of prayers and family talks, was the service. I think we were raised to serve. We’ve been very blessed. We have three great businesses here in Del Rio. We’re very family-oriented, so I’m able to kind of put in perspective, my grandfather, my grandmother, my dad and my mom, to continue that tradition of service,” he said.
“I don’t need the money. I don’t need the power. I’m doing this solely to do what’s best for Del Rio and Val Verde County. All my life has been about service. So that’s really the main reason,” Amezcua said.
Amezcua also discussed his priorities if elected.
“I believe Del Rio and Val Verde County are on the cusp of greatness. I’m business-oriented, so I’m trying to make sure Del Rio and Val Verde County, especially Precinct 3, are ready. The growth is coming that route. So what can we do to make sure that we do it right and be better than before?
“I’m looking into that and thinking about what the constituents want and what people need, and you always hear about quality-of-life things. You always hear about the big box stores. You always hear about the big restaurants. Well, we need to be set up for that. We need to make sure that they don’t fail if they do decide to come.
“I need to look at infrastructure first: roads, 5G, water lines, all the things that people may not think about. Let’s play offense for once, instead of playing defense or playing catch up, let’s be ready for it. Let’s control the ball and set up to be ready for the future. It might not all happen in my first four years, but let’s start something,” Amezcua said.
“One of the ideas that we want to make sure happens is that we can call on big businesses to be ready. Tesla, for example. If we have the roadways, we have the infrastructure, we have 5G, then we can knock on Tesla’s door and say, ‘Here’s what we’ve got. Why don’t you take a look at us?’ instead of saying, ‘Hey, are you interested?’” he said.
Amezcua also pledged to partner with the city and the school district on projects for the precinct and the county.
“There’s nothing wrong with partnering with the school district and the city and in Ceniza Hills, for example, we need a good walking trail, maybe with a splashpad in the middle for the kids, for the neighborhood,” he said.
Amezcua said voters should cast their ballots for him to elect a results-driven leader.
“I have a good history. . . One of my ideas was to put public restrooms downtown. For First Friday Art Walks, Halloween, but we don’t have public bathrooms, so I said, let’s prepare ourselves for these type of events. It wasn’t just me by myself, obviously, it was with the Rotary Club, but as vice president that was my idea, and we took it to the board and hopefully by March there will be public restrooms in the Pocket Park on South Main that Rotary adopted. I have experience in service and making sure things get done. The idea of playing offense again,” Amezcua said.
“As president of the EDC, I was the first to propose spending more than $1 million on a project, which was the SENTRI lane at the international bridge, so we had to make sure the city council and TxDOT were on board and now people are using it.
“As vice president of the Education Foundation, I was able to continue the great work started by the leaders before me and give ideas about raising money to help teachers with innovative projects with grants and scholarships. I know how Del Rio works and I’m not afraid to step up and say, ‘Here’s what we need to do,’” he said.
“I have experience working with employees, budgets, profit and loss statements, and I’m a leader. Buffalo Wings and Rings, we were the franchise of the year. At Skillets, we were able to turn it around, and it’s not just me, it’s me working as part of a team, and that’s how it is at the county, too. I have a proven track record. You’ll see the results,” Amezcua added.
Amezcua said he will work for a safer, more prosperous, county.
“I want to be able to know what the identity of Del Rio really is. . . Are we Amistad Lake and a tourist city? Are we Mexico tourist city? Are we a downtown art walk city? Are we Laughlin Air Force Base USA city? Or are we a maquila city? Or can we be all those things? I want to know what are people looking for in the next five or 10 years?
“Precinct 3 is where the new international bridge is slated to go. I don’t think Las Brisas looks good, we can’t go through there, but we have to find a way to do something,” Amezcua said.
“There is a lot of talk about a second commercial bridge. I think we need to be working with everyone to make sure we can push forward for that to happen. We need to look at all possible points.
“As we prepare for Ports-to-Plains and I27, that could have a $1.7 billion impact to our area. As far as a location, I’m going to pledge to make sure I work with all entities to ensure the location impacts the least number of people,” Amezcua said.
Reach the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
