By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Former Val Verde County Judge Efrain Valdez has filed to run as a write-in candidate for county judge in the November general election.
Valdez, a native of Del Rio, filed his declaration of write-in candidacy for the general election July 25 and said he wants to give Val Verde County residents a better choice in candidates for the position.
“I want to bring dignity back. I want to bring respect and stability. Those are the three things I want to bring back to the position because as the leader of the county – the leader of anything – you should be dependable, respectful and stable,” Valdez told the 830 Times in an interview in the East Chapoy Street home where he has lived for decades.
Valdez insisted his decision to run for the county judge’s position again was one he made only within the last few months.
“I was happily retired, and I was enjoying my grandkids, visiting my grandkids, but when I saw that the two candidates were shooting themselves in the foot, literally, I felt like the public did not have a good choice,” Valdez said.
He said after the Democratic and Republican Party primary elections in the spring, when the incumbent county judge, Lewis G. Owens Jr., was selected as the Democratic Party nominee and Arturo Rodriguez was selected as the Republican Party nominee, members of the community began contacting him.
“People began approaching me, calling me, knocking on my door, calling me on my cell, calling my wife, saying, ‘We need leaders, and we don’t have them.’ I think at that time, people were really upset at our leaders. One, when the mayor brought in that drag show. That turned a lot of people off . . . Second, the way the county judge talked to other elected officials, and the other candidate was having brushes with the law. You really didn’t have a choice,” Valdez added.
Valdez said he realizes running as a write-in candidate is an uphill battle, but added he waited to see if someone else would run, and when no one did, he felt he had no choice.
“My concern is that you see it, and if you’re quiet, you’re just as bad as they are because you’re being quiet. I know it’s going to be difficult, but between April and now, we’ve had so many people approach us, either by phone or by personal contact, and tell us, ‘We need somebody to bring integrity and leadership back to that position,’” he said.
But Valdez said he isn’t just running because he thinks the two current candidates for the seat have exhibited bad behavior.
He said there are projects he wants to work on as county judge and pointed to accomplishments under his administration.
“When I was the judge, I brought in $8.2 million for Laughlin Air Force Base. We resurfaced the Loop because they had done it wrong originally, and I convinced TxDOT to do it over, and it didn’t cost the county a penny. The projects done at Laughlin, moving the front gate and the awnings, that came in under budget. Nobody was moving on the county library expansion project, and I did it, and it was below budget,” Valdez said.
He also pointed out that while he was in office, he oversaw the development of a county web page to keep citizens informed, increased pay for county employees and brought additional pilots to train at the base.
“I know you don’t do any of these things by yourself, and I can work with the other commissioners to get things done,” Valdez said.
“That’s why I’m running, to bring back integrity, honesty and stability to that position,” he added.
Valdez worked as a middle-school math teacher for the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District for 30 years from 1976 until 2006. During that time, he also served as the district’s head golf coach from 1995 until 2002.
Valdez was elected to the Del Rio City Council in 1998 and served until 2002. He served as the city’s mayor from 2006 until 2010.
Valdez served previously as county judge from 2015 to 2019.
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