City Rep. Eddie Holguin announces candidacy for El Paso County Judge

City Rep. Eddie Holguin Jr. on Sunday morning officially announced his candidacy for the El Paso County Judge seat.

He made the announcement at a public breakfast meeting.

In mid-November Holguin filed paperwork naming his wife treasurer for a possible run for El Paso County Judge

Holguin has served on City Council since 2005 and has about 17 months left in his term on City Council.

According to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, Holguin would need to resign his City Council seat because he is running for County Judge.

“For example, if a city council member has a term of office of more than two years and he or she announces for another public office, the announcement would result in his/her resignation as a council member if he or she still had more than a year left in his/her city council term,” states a Texas Attorney General’s online 2012 pamphlet on dual office holding laws. “The resigned official holds over in office, however, until a successor is appointed.”

Last year Holguin ruled out a run for mayor because he said he wanted to finish out his City Council term.

“I want to let all my friends and constituents know that I am fully committed to completing my current term as Representative for District #6,” Holguin said in a statement on his Facebook page in Nov. 2012. “I have no desire, nor intention to seek the Office of Mayor of El Paso. … In short, I am committed to completing my commitment to my District.”

The Facebook page is no longer active. (Editor’s Note: For screengrab of the Nov. 2012 Facebook post, go to http://bit.ly/1auPpSD)

County Judge Veronica Escobar is running for re-election. Businesswoman Aliana Apodaca has also announced she will run for the post.

All three are Democrats. The Democratic primary is in March 2014.

Apodaca said in a statement, “El Pasoans have demonstrated they are tired of politics and politicians as usual. The voters I’ve been talking to don’t want another career politician. They want an outsider who brings fresh ideas and out-of-the-box solutions to El Paso’s problems. As a businesswoman, I bring that. My campaign is stronger than ever. Our first ad, which is also playing on KVIA, has received great response and we will continue full steam ahead no matter who jumps into the race.”