By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Three elected officials who will serve Val Verde County took their oaths of office on New Year’s Day.
Joe Frank Martinez was sworn in to serve a fifth term in as county sheriff, David Martinez was sworn in to serve a second term as county attorney, and Elodia “Loly” Garcia was sworn in to serve a second term as county tax assessor collector.
The three were among nine local officials who took their oaths of office in the second floor courtroom in the historic county courthouse on the first day of the new year.
Shortly before the ceremony began, County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. welcomed some 175 family members, friends, supporters, elected officials and judges who attended.
“On behalf of Val Verde County, I want to thank you all for coming. This is impressive,” Owens said.
The ceremony began with Bailiff Roy Barrera directing those present to stand as the group of judges who would administer the oaths of office filed into the courtroom from the chambers of County Court-At-Law Sergio Gonzalez.
Those judges included Chief U.S. District Judge of the Western District of Texas Alia Moses, U.S. District Judge Ernest Gonzalez, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Cordova, County Court-At-Law Judge Sergio Gonzalez and Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 Pat Cole.
Moses then led everyone in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and Constable Pct. 2 Daniel Reyes Jr. offered a prayer.
Owens also welcomed County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez and County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores.
County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy, who conducted the November General Election, spoke about the election process and the challenges her office had faced and overcome in conducting the 2024 elections.
The first officials sworn in were County Commissioner Pct. 1 Kerr Wardlaw and County Commissioner Pct. 3 Fernando Garcia (see separate story) and District Attorney Suzanne West (see separate story here).
County Court-At-Law Judge Sergio Gonzalez then administered the oath of office to County Attorney David Martinez, who was joined by his wife Carmen and the couple’s two daughters,
County Attorney David Martinez on New Year’s Day at the Val Verde County
Courthouse. Martinez was joined by his wife, Carmen Martinez, and the couple’s two
daughters, Clarissa Martinez and Julia Martinez Hervey. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
Clarissa Martinez and Julia Martinez Hervey.
David Martinez spoke to The 830 Times about what the swearing-in ceremony meant to him.
Martinez said, “This is always a really special moment. You know, the honor bestowed upon those of us who are fortunate enough to be in this position, to be elected, it’s almost overwhelming, and to be able to share this moment, when we take our oaths, to start our new terms, with our families and friends as witnesses, it’s really, really special. It’s a true honor.”
Martinez acknowledged the ups and downs of the past year, which included the disqualification of his opponent, allowing Martinez to run unopposed for the county attorney seat, then the sudden and unexpected death of his investigator, William “Bill” Rattay, on Dec. 18.
He said as he looks forward to his next term, he plans to focus on moving his office ever further forward.
“Bill Rattay, may he rest in peace, really helped move our office forward in this last year. Our office had not had an investigator in almost 20 years, so to be able to add that facet back and provide that service to the community, was important, and a lot of Bill’s efforts in the office was focused on assisting victims of domestic violence, so those are going to be big shoes to fill, but we will continue moving forward. It’s what Bill would have wanted, so I’m
County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez on New Year’s Day at the Val Verde County
Courthouse. Martinez was joined by his wife, Heather Martinez, and the couple’s
daughter, Courtlyn Martinez, as well as many other family members, including the
sheriff’s grandchildren, center, Julianne Martinez, Jace Martinez, Jenna-Claire Martinez
and Justine Martinez. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
just excited to have the opportunity to continue moving our office forward and to be able to provide better services to the citizens of Val Verde County,” Martinez said.
Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez was the next official sworn in. Martinez had his four grandchildren, Julianne Martinez, Jace Martinez, Jenna-Claire Martinez and Justine Martinez, hold the Bible as he took the oath. The sheriff’s wife, Heather Martinez, and the couple’s daughter, Courtlyn Martinez, also stood by his side, and they were flanked by numerous other Martinez family members and friends.
Martinez now begins his fifth term as county sheriff.
Martinez spoke about what the ceremony means to him.
“To me, this is a day that’s come about because the citizens put their trust in me, and this is the day when another four-year journey begins. This day, this ceremony, never gets old. It’s a lot like renewing your (marriage) vows,” Martinez said.
The sheriff said he is eager to begin working on several issues facing his office.
“We’ve got a couple of things that we want to get off the ground, a jail expansion, things like that, that I think will serve this community for the next 20 or 30 years, so I’d like to push forward on that. I know it’s a process to get where we want to go, but that’s one of our goals,” Martinez said.
He added, “You know we’ve always had a manpower shortage, so I’d like to, during this next year’s budget cycle, we can, thanks to Senate Bill 22, which gave our deputies raises, maybe throw another increase in there to maybe keep some more individuals here locally that want to stay here.”
County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly” Garcia was the last of the three to take the oath of office.
County Court-At-Law Judge Sergio Gonzalez administered the oath, and Garcia’s husband, Venancio Garcia, held the Bible. Garcia was also joined by two of her daughters, Valerie Martinez and Victoria Quiñones.
County Tax Assessor Collector Elodia “Loly” Garcia on New Year’s Day at the Val
Verde County Courthouse. Garcia was joined by her husband, Venancio Garcia, and two
of her daughters, Valerie Martinez and Victoria Quiñones. (Photo by Karen Gleason)
After the ceremony, Garcia said, “This day means another four years. I really enjoy my job, and I’m glad to be back, and I just want to thank everybody who came out to vote. Again, I cannot stress how much each vote counts. You need to come out to vote.”
Garcia also spoke briefly about some of work she is planning for her next term.
“In the office, we started cross-training, and I’ve mentioned it before, we are now going to start working on an office remodel, so we can get everybody into one spot where we can help anybody that comes in the door,” she said.
Garcia also mentioned that Jan. 1 is the first day of no more inspection stickers for Texas drivers.
The ceremony can be seen in its entirety here.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
