Sheriff Wiles reelected to third term in office
El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles has defeated Republican challenger Tom Buchino.
Wiles, a Democrat, has 131,305 votes, more than 64 percent of the vote, while Buchino received 73,233 votes, more than 35 percent, according to the final numbers from the El Paso County election website.
‘It’s not surprising, but it was a group effort, and I am honored,” Sheriff Wiles told ABC-7. “The mudslinging, I think, really turns people off and rightfully so. They tried to deceive the voters.”
Wiles added, “I never thought my opponent had a chance.”
Wiles took on several roles within the El Paso Police Department over 20 years before becoming police chief in 2004. He retired in 2007, ran for sheriff, and took over the office in 2009. This is Wiles’ third term.
Tom Buchino is a retired Army Special Forces Green Beret who served 20 years in the military and 10 years as a contractor. Buchino owns a tactical ranch in El Paso and provides law enforcement training.
Wiles is a well-connected Democrat taking a stand on social issues like the attack on a gay club in Orlando and tension between Black Lives Matter and police. “It’s only us working together, as a community, and we know in El Paso that the bond of trust between law enforcement and the people we serve is great, and we know we have the community’s support,” Wiles said.
Buchino said he is focused on law enforcement and border security. “I’m not a politician. I haven’t spent the last 30 years of my life creating political allies, aligning myself with special interest groups or pandering and making promises for votes, or to promote a political, social or personal agenda,” Buchino told ABC-7.
Wiles is endorsed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Real Estate Association. The sheriff was also endorsed by former El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy and current mayor Oscar Leeser, who served as Wiles’ campaign treasurer.
“You know, El Paso has become one of the safest cities in America in the last five years … Sheriff Wiles has a great working relationship with (El Paso Police Chief) Greg Allen,” Mayor Leeser told ABC-7.Leeser told ABC-7.
Buchino picked up the endorsement of the union representing Wiles’ own deputies, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Association.
Also backing Buchino: the Municipal Police Officers’ Association, the Border Patrol Union, the family of former El Paso sheriff Leo Samaniego and former sheriff Jimmy Apodaca.
