Photo: Brax-VPC

Photo: Brax-VPC

August 15, 2005
Interview: Sergio Coronado.

UVB: Entering the race for the elected position of County Judge is a big jump for you. What is the impetus for this move.

SC: I’ve always had interest in politics. When I was much younger, I thought that I might want to go into politics. I am currently serving as the President of the Board of Trustees for the Canutillo Independent School District School Board and have served on the board for three years.

At this particular point in time there is a need in county government as far as long term planning and financial planning. We also need to take a look at the efficiency of all the departments and the other branches of government and to make sure they are operating efficiently and then we must fund them properly. We can’t be pinching in areas of mandated services such as at the County Court House when we have a series of other drains from the budget that can be corrected without requiring us to do that to the mandated services.

UVB: What are the mandated services that the county government is required to perform?

SC: The operation of the County Court House system, the Juvenile Detention facilities and the Sheriff’s Department for security and law enforcement are all areas that must be maintained by the county.

UVB: This sounds like the mandates of the Ol’ Wild Wild West.

SC: Well, to some extent, in those days the Sheriff had to maintain order even in the outlying areas... and that meant maintaining a jail and a court system.

UVB: With a huge metroplex such as ours, what else does the county provide.

SC: The county has to step in , albeit limited, to those outlying areas. That is what county government is all about. To make sure that those areas without other governmental entities or resources are maintained by the county. The State government also can step in to assist those who require services.

UVB: You are interested in a budgetary process that takes into account long term planning? Can you elaborate.

SC: The long term planning must be done for the growth in the area but also what we are going to need in the future, particularly for the court house system, the county jail, the county detention center and those particular services. These areas probably require the most planning with respect to the construction of new facilities and the maintenance of the systems.

For those particular areas we do need more long term planning and also planning with respect to an on going maintenance program to avoid some of the problems we have had in the past with respect to the facilities ... such as the roof at the County Coliseum and the roof of the County Court House, the library that have leaks.

This long term planning must be done not only for the mandated services but for providing services for Tornillo and Canutillo. We must provide for those areas when other governmental entities are not required to do so or can’t.

We need the long-term planning focus on the facilities that the county currently has and to provide long-term financial planning that is consistent. We must get to the point where we are acting to prevent costly problems in instead of reacting to things and make things happen.

UVB: Our County Government is faced with an environment of “no new taxes” popularized by Pres. Bush and followed by Gov. Perry? How will you insure that County government is able to function.

SC: We need to make sure that every aspect of County government is operating efficiently... once that is assured, those particular branches of government are funded appropriately. Because a failure to properly fund costs us more in the long run. We have learned that in the past if you don’t properly fund areas and maintain the system where you have ongoing maintenance it will cost you more in the long term to fix it. Band-aid solutions just don’t work.

UVB: It seems that you are talking about running the county as a CEO of a huge corporation?

SC: Well, yes and no. You must remember that there are many different branches of government within the county government and many elected officials. You have to make sure that you have communication with those other entities because if you are not on the same page then things are not going to operate smoothly.

We need better communication between Commissioners Court and the Judges as well as with the City of El Paso. In the past the communication between these entities was not as good as it could be.

UVB: Improvements are possible between the County and the City?

SC: Sure. Everyone talks about the big issue which is consolidation. And there are some things that the City is not going to be able to do for those residents in the outlying areas. So what we need to focus on, with respect to consolidation, is not to duplication services that are already provided for the same areas or that can be provided by one government or one entity for the same areas and if possible consolidate services in areas where we can do that.

UVB: So the County is really an entity with multiple heads. How do you keep them all facing the same direction?

SC: Those elected officials run their departments or branch of government and it is the duty of county government to provide funding for those departments and to supervise the budgets. Communication is essential to insure those branches and those elected officials are responding to make sure that their offices or departments are running efficiently. And if they are running efficiently then we need to fund them properly. We cannot be pinching salaries for these mandated services if they are running efficiently. It will only cost us more later if we don’t adequately fund these departments.

UVB: So you want a long term approach and to make things run efficiently... where is the money going to come from?

SC: The only available funding for the county budget is taxes. There are also other areas of additional funding that the county can seek and they come in the form of from the state and the federal government. It can also come from user fees.

We could also probably obtain a portion from those people that actually use those services provided by the county. These are a necessity sometimes because the county doesn’t have unlimited resources to provide services.

UVB: Are we receiving all of the funding for those inmates that the federal government maintain in our jails?

SC: At one particular point in time there were problems in obtaining the funding owed for maintaining their inmates in our detention facilities. But that is what I mean by maintaining proper communication.

UVB: The population of the county is growing and yet we still have only four commissioners... Do you think that it is time for increasing the number to five or six?

SC: Right now, I don’t see a need for another position but I wouldn’t mind studying the proposal and perhaps at a latter date increasing the number of commissioners.

UVB: Can you tell our readers a little about your background.

SC: Sure. I was born in El Paso and lived in Las Cruces and Albuquerque for a while until I was three. Then I returned to El Paso and grew up in Canutillo. I graduated from Canutillo High School and received my Bachelors of Science degree from UTEP. I then went to the University of Texas at Austin, School of Law where I graduated with my Doctorate of Jurisprudence degree.

I worked in Austin as working in the prosecutor’s assistance division of the State Attorney General’ office. I then worked in the County Attorney’s office of Travis County in Austin as an Assistant County Attorney. I then moved back to El Paso where I took the position of Assistant County Attorney with that office in El Paso. I then worked for the law firm of Gramblying and Mounce and then opened my own private practice and have been practicing law in private practice since 1988.

UVB: If elected what would you bring to the office of County Judge from those experiences in working with state and county government.

SC: I received invaluable experience and one of my responsibilities was to provide research support for the trial attorneys and to assist the offices of District Attorney throughout the state in prosecuting capital murder or official misconduct cases because many District Attorney’s offices are too small to have the resources or manpower to prosecute a case adequately. In the latter case, it may have been a situation where the District Attorney had a conflict of interest because he knew the individual or official involved or had a relationship with that individual. We would be called in to assist in those cases.

UVB: You have had prosecutorial experience what else would you bring to the office if elected?

SC: During my tenure in the El Paso County Attorney’s office when Joe Lucas was County Judge we started the Hot Check program and also the protective orders for the family violence section.

Also, as I mentioned I have served on the Board of Trustees in the Canutillo Independent School District for three years and we manage a budget of around $40 million. Also, there are many of the same regulations that must be adhered to as does the county or state government. We have to make sure that the facilities are properly maintained and operating properly to make sure that they don’t detract from the educational environment.

In order to accomplish that, one must have the ability to plan properly.

UVB: What made you decide that now is the time to run for County Judge.

SC: Well, at this point in time we have to take a long hard look at the County Government as well as the other governmental entities in the area. We need to strive to work together... looking out for each other, otherwise, it will be harder for each individual governmental entity to provide services. We have to work for the entire region. There is no substitute for making sure that government runs efficiently.

UVB: Do you have any closing words?

SC: Yes, I will announce my candidacy for the office of County Judge on Thursday Aug. 18, 2005 at a fund raiser to be held at the Camino Real ballroom at 5:30 PM. I wish to invite everyone to come and I encourage everyone to vote for me in the March primary.

UVB: Thank you.

Send feedback to:

Editor, Upper Valley Beacon

© Copyright 2004-2005 Valley Publishing Company: All Rights Reserved.
For questions or comments concerning this site, contact: webmaster@valleypublishinginc.biz

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.