San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
How county judge hopefuls stack up
Early voting starts for 2 primary races for Bexar’s top post
At the end of this year, just two people will have held the role of Bexar County judge in the last three decades.
But one of the most influential political titles in San Antonio is up for grabs as Nelson Wolff steps down from the seat after more than 20 years as presiding officer of the Commissioners Court.
Six people — four Democrats and two Republicans — are vying for the job in the March 1 primary elections, and the importance of having a law degree has come into question.
Legally, it’s not a requirement for the position, though Wolff has a doctorate of jurisprudence from St. Mary’s University School of Law.
Half the candidates — all Democrats — have a legal degree:
Ivalis Meza Gonzalez, 40, who has served as Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s chief of staff providing guidance during the height of the pandemic.
State Rep. Ina Minjarez, 46, who broke quorum during last year’s legislative session in protest of a voting rights bill.
Former District Judge Peter Sakai, 67, who spent 26 years as a district judge and previously was a municipal lawyer.
Gerardo Ponce, a 68-year-old consultant and former court coordinator, is the only Democratic candidate without a legal degree.
And the two Republican candidates also are missing the legal degree:
Nathan Buchanan, 38, who ran unsuccessfully for Precinct 3 constable in 2016 and 2020 and has a background in law enforcement.
Trish DeBerry, 57, a public relations consultant and former broadcast journalist who resigned as Precinct 3 commissioner in December.
DeBerry seeks to dispel a misconception that a law degree is required to be a county judge. She said she has the decision-making skills to oversee the county and its basic community services: elections, health care, civil and criminal justice, records management, tax collection, economic development, and police and fire protection.
With early voting starting Monday, Sakai appears to have the edge in fundraising, with more than $135,000 raised, $56,000 spent and nearly $300,000 total cash on hand, according to his January financial report. Gonzalez had $167,000 in contributions
on hand, and Minjarez had $112,000 as of Jan. 20.
Ponce recently reported $200 in campaign expenditures for July-December 2021.
Buchanan reported $550 in political contributions in the second half of January, with no expenses. DeBerry reported $31,500 in contributions, $7,420 in expenses and just over $81,000 in total cash on hand as of Jan. 20.
Working with the state
Minjarez has been the most forceful critic of state Republican leaders in handling the pandemic. At a recent candidate forum, she praised Wolff, who has served as county judge since 2001, and Nirenberg for promoting the use of masks and encouraging residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“They did the work that the leadership of this state failed us on,” Minjarez said.
Sakai has been more measured but said the state has failed foster children. His oft-repeated campaign mantra is that he wants to “break down silos” to find solutions through bipartisanship.
But Sakai is prepared to push back against the state, as Wolff has done at times, if the pandemic continues.
“It’s going to be based on the experts, and if I have to oppose the governor to protect the citizens of Bexar County … I will do it,” he said.
Gonzalez pointed to her experience in Nirenberg’s office during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We pushed back on the governor when we had to,” said Gonzalez. “I feel like my leadership was exemplified in this moment.”
The Republican primary
The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican race — DeBerry or Buchanan — in the November general election.
DeBerry, positioning herself as fiscally conservative yet moderate on social issues, has been criticized for resigning one year into her four-year elected term as a county commissioner to run for Wolff ’s seat. She said she hopes to serve two terms as county judge.
A San Antonio native with a bachelor’s degree from Trinity University in communications and politics, DeBerry is a public relations strategist and former KENS-TV reporter now marketing herself as a “taxpayer champion.” Her campaign priorities are supporting law enforcement, lowering property taxes, protecting seniors and veterans, and creating jobs. The Young Republicans of Bexar County and Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Bexar County have endorsed her.
She’s the only candidate with a record on the county dais, having secured a small property tax rate decrease and reinstatement of an elderly abuse investigator in the District Attorney’s Office among her accomplishments.
Buchanan ran unsuccessfully for Precinct 3 constable in 2016 and 2020. He’s criticized DeBerry for not fully supporting former President Donald Trump and has said he’s the only candidate with a background as a licensed Texas peace officer who can fix overcrowding and staffing overtime at the jail.
Buchanan also has criticized Wolff for backing mask mandates in county buildings, schools and businesses that opt to require face coverings and has called some of the county’s emergency orders “tyrannical.” He has emphasized property tax reform, spending cuts and government overreach in his talking points.
“We need change. This way of doing things in politics hasn’t worked for years,” Buchanan said in an interview on YouTube.
How are they different?
Differences among the Democratic front-runners are more subtle.
Sakai has said his 26 years as a district judge and previous experience as a municipal lawyer equipped him to repair the justice system and build bridges of collaboration. Having grown up in McAllen, a Japanese American whose family endured the hardships of farm work and unfair treatment during World War II, Sakai has said he pursued a law career to protect individuals’ civil rights.
He pointed to his background with the children’s court.
“We must deal with domestic and family violence if we’re going to save our community,” Sakai told a sparse audience at the Democratic forum last month at Mount Zion First Baptist Church.
He’s endorsed by the Tejano Democrats of Bexar County, and his website features testimonials from children’s and family support advocates. Sakai has highlighted tax reform, economic development and education partnerships as priorities. Restorative justice and related social issues — poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence — are at the core of his campaign.
“We’ve got to get our criminal justice system back up and running; and it is, at this time, impaired and disabled,” he said.
Minjarez has legal experience as an attorney for over 20 years and a former prosecutor in the DA’s office, along with a legislative background dealing with education, transportation, opioid abuse and a strained foster care system. Her campaign video promotes Minjarez as “the only candidate with a proven record.”
Born and raised in El Paso, Minjarez has said she was instilled with a hard work ethic by her parents. She was awarded scholarships to attend the University of Notre Dame, where she wrote about social justice issues, launching a career of helping migrant workers, refugees and other marginalized people. Her endorsements include San Antonio AFL-CIO, Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio, local state legislators and County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez, who called her “a champion for Bexar County in the Legislature.”
Minjarez has said she’ll focus on property tax relief, educational opportunities that break cycles of poverty, and roads, drainage, clinics and hospitals to serve “health care deserts” in a growing urban county.
“If we lift our neighbors and our community out of poverty, San Antonio is successful,” Minjarez said.
Gonzalez worked in Nirenberg’s office for four years, promoted to chief of staff during the first COVID-19 surge in June 2020. She has the endorsement of the mayor, as well as U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro.
Nirenberg has said Gonzalez was “my right hand … during a very challenging time for San Antonio.”
“So I’m greatly confident that because of that executive experience in my office that she will be a wonderful Bexar County judge,” Nirenberg said in a video on Gonzalez’s Facebook page.
The daughter of Choco Meza, a longtime fixture in West Side politics who died in 2016, Gonzalez has described herself as “that little girl that grew up going to labor events with my parents.” She sees public service as a birthright.
Expanding public health and mental health services, affordable housing and economic opportunities are goals for Gonzalez.
“I have spent all of my time giving back to my community any time that I can,” she said.