Dem district attorney candidates speak ahead of runoff election
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Public defender James Montoya and retired Judge Alma Trejo talked about their campaign goals they’d like to accomplish if elected to office.
Montoya and Trejo will face off in the May election vying for their name to be placed on the ballot against incumbent Bill Hicks in November.
Montoya told KTSM that since the last election in March, he has knocked on thousands of doors and sitting down with voters to understand what problems they would like to see changing in the DA’s Office.
“This is a very important runoff election. You know, our District Attorney’s Office for the last four years has been struggling mightily, really since our last DA Yvonne Rosales,” Montoya said.
Meanwhile, Trejo has focused her campaign on her voters over 50.
“It’s imperative that we all come out and vote because public safety is on the ballot,” Trejo said.
As both candidates head into the May election, Montoya told KTSM that voters want to make sure they have a DA who will treat them fairly.
“Who’s going to follow the law. Who’s going to turn over the evidence and make sure that you’re punished accordingly and not excessively, and not waste many years of your life dragging out a case. Because that’s what’s happening right now,” Montoya said.
Montoya has geared his campaign toward several issues including staffing shortage, the Walmart case and driving while intoxicated (DWI) issues.
“People want to know why is that [Walmart case] still unresolved? You know, five years later, what’s the holdup?” Montoya said.
“We’re going to make sure that those people are held accountable. And we’re also going to pursue legislative programs that hopefully change the law and give both law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to tackle DWI,” Montoya said.
Trejo told KTSM her campaign issues are similar to Montoya’s addressing issues like the Walmart case and staffing shortage.
“We’re going into the fifth year and there’s a backlog,” Trejo said.
Trejo also said there’s about 80 murders and 35 capital murders that need to be addressed.
“That’s not even addressing the sexual assault cases and everything else in order to function, in order to catch up with everything,” Trejo said. “So things are crucial and we do need a change.”
The winner of this election will face Republican incumbant Bill Hicks who is running unopposed.
Early voting begins Monday, May 20 and ends Friday, May 24. Election Day is on Tuesday, May 28.
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