Gloves Come Off In 1st Round Of County Commissioners Race

Vincent Perez came out swinging Monday in the race for the Precinct 3 county commissioner seat.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes’ former press secretary accused incumbent Willie Gandara, Jr. of having the worst attendance record of any local official.

Many anticipated the race would be worthy of the billing of a pay-per-view bout, but few thought the candidates would come out throwing big punches in the the first round of what’s expected to be a lengthy fight.

“The people of Mission Valley and East El Paso County deserve better,” Perez told a small crowd outside the county courthouse Monday morning. “That’s why I’m running for county commissioner of Precinct No. 3.”

Perez didn’t waste any time picking a fight with Gandara.

“When our reps don’t show up to meetings, and they don’t show up to work, the people don’t have a voice,” Perez said.

Perez accused Gandara — a commissioner since 2009 — of missing more than 200 votes since last year, including a vote on a proposed tax increase for University Medical Center.

“I believe (Gandara’s) a part-time rep, and his voting record clearly shows that,” Perez added.

Gandara had this to say about the accusations: “If I missed a meeting, it happens. I’ve got a such a large district and I think (perez) should understand that.”

Gandara was also accused by Perez of losing his voting privileges on the Metropolitan Planning Organization board after missing four straight meetings.

“On the MPO board, and I’ll be up front about it, it was a personal issue,” Gandara said. “I made a mistake. I did lose my privileges.”

Gandara said he was disappointed that Perez chose to concentrate on his attendance, instead of his many accomplishments — including his work on the new Tornillo Port of Entry.

“My record speaks for itself,” Gandara said. “The port of entry, the economic boon, the structure that we’re going to see in the valley is going to change drastically.”

Perez did mention the port of entry, but only to point out that Gandara has admitted to buying land in the area.

“I just don’t think that’s right,” Perez said. “He’s an elected official. He’s touted the Tornillo Port of Entry as one of his accomplishments and I don’t think you should be profiting financially, personally, from a project he’s working on in an official capacity.”

ABC-7 asked Gandara about buying land near the new port of entry and he answered with a stern “no,” even though he admitted to doing so three months ago in an El Paso Times article.

After returning a call to ABC-7, Gandara said none of those properties he owns are near the new port of entry.