Race for county commissioner of precinct 2 heats up: Hear from the candidates

EL PASO, Texas -- The race is on for the county commissioner of precinct 2 and all three of the candidates on many big topics.

The county commissioner is one of five members of commissioners court which makes policy-making and budget decisions for county government.

This year there are three people running for the seat, all of whom are democrats.

They include incumbent David Stout, who has represented precinct 2 since 2015. Stout is facing business owner Carlos Soto and Judy Gutierrez, a former city employee.

ABC-7 sat down with all three candidates to hear why they think they are the best candidate for the position.

"I've been a very strong and very effective county commissioner. We've worked really hard to make sure the county is efficient as possible with tax payer dollars it also means trying to hold the line on taxes, I'm very proud that I've been able to do that," Stout said.

Stout also mentioned all of the work his office did in leading the charge against Covid-19 and ensuring there was fairness in the vaccination rollout.

Meanwhile Soto said he grew up in the District 2 community and therefore understands what it needs.

"There is a huge opportunity we have right now to protect our people and specifically on how we actually are distributing our tax payers money," Soto said. "So that's the reason why I'm actually running for commissioner number 2." 

Gutierrez said a lot of damage has been done by the incumbent and she's ready to bring in new ideas.

"I'm bringing in not only fresh ideas but after 24 years of working at the City with so many entities I have business relationships, the personal relationships that are needed to work in city and county government," Gutierrez said.

Each candidate differs on what they think the biggest issue is right now. For Stout it's healthcare, Soto wants to improve taxes and Gutierrez wants to focus on improving the condition of the roads and law enforcement.

Watch the full video above to see how each candidate feels about the current allocation of county funds towards law enforcement.

Commissioner precinct 2 covers most of central El Paso and downtown as well as parts of the west and east side that it gained during the redistricting process. It did however lose portions of northeast including Fort Bliss.