Special election to replace Romero could cost $80,000
The El Paso City Council on Tuesday refused to excuse City Rep. Larry Romero’s absence.
Romero resigned in February citing health reasons, but because of state law, he’s been collecting a paycheck until his seat is filled.
But City Rep. Claudia Ordaz says if council refuses to excuse three of Romero’s absences the city could stop paying him. Tuesday was Romero’s second unexcused absence.
As Romero continues to collect checks from the city, at least at this point, ABC-7 learned Tuesday how much it’s going to cost for that special election to replace him.
Tuesday marked the end of early voting and election day is Saturday. This special election is projected to cost taxpayers at least $40,000 and as much as $80,000.
“The law calls for a special election,” said County Elections Administrator Lisa Wise, who indicated only about 850 people have cast ballots during early voting in the special election to replace Romero. “There are those elections that can surprise you, but generally it’s 50 percent of the turnout early voting and 50 percent on election day.”
Wise estimated the total turnout at below 2,000. That means the cost to the city, and in turn taxpayers, could be as high as $20 per vote. But that’s not all.
“We’re planning as if there will be a runoff,” Wise said.
With eight candidates in the race, it’s unlikely any candidate will get 50 percent of the vote. A runoff means the total cost of electing Romero’s replacement could double to about $80,000.
Eighty-eight year-old World War II veteran and District 2 resident George Ramirez, who voted in the special election, found that hard to believe.
“Wow, that’s a lot of money,” Ramirez said.
When told of the likely runoff and doubling the cost, Ramirez replied: “It’s amazing what they do and people didn’t even know about it. I didn’t know about that. I thought they got that free.”
Wise told ABC-7 some cities override state rules for special elections by amending their city charter. Representatives in those cities who leave during the second half of their term can be replaced by appointment until the scheduled election.
