Two former county judges, political opponents face off

Two old political foes will face off again in a race to regain their old seat as county judges.

Ramon Garcia and Eloy Pulido are both touting their records in a rematch of the 2002 county judge’s race.

Garcia, a lawyer, said he will continue his work to aggressively scrutinize contracts to bring taxpayers the best value while raising the county’s fund balance.

Pulido, a compliance officer for a home health care agency, said he will work full-time to address the growing needs of a growing county.

Early voting for the March 2 primary election begins Tuesday and continues through Feb. 26. Polling stations will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day during that period, except Sunday, Feb. 21, when the hours will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

RAMON GARCIA

In Garcia’s first month as county judge, commissioners wanted to award a health insurance contract to a bidder even though it was $1.3 million higher than the lowest bid.

After determining the high bidder offered nothing that warranted the higher cost, Garcia convinced two of the commissioners to give the contract to the lowest bidder.

That action alone saved the county $1.3 million over the life of the contract, Garcia said. And by similarly scrutinizing contracts, he was able to help the county build its largest fund balance in history.

Garcia, who served as county judge from 2003 to 2007, said he will emphasize being a good steward of taxpayer dollars if elected to the position again.

The county has pressing needs in drainage, transportation and public safety that must be addressed with a limited pool of money, he said. By carefully watching where the county already spends its money, it can do more to address those issues.

In his term as county judge, he oversaw the county’s transition to self-funded workers’ compensation and health insurance that has saved it millions of dollars in premiums, Garcia said. Other efforts during his tenure helped put the county in its best financial shape in history with a fund balance of $24.3 million when he left office.

“No better proof is needed than the results that we obtained in the four years that I was there doing the same thing,” he said.

Pulido has criticized Garcia for maintaining a law practice when he was previously county judge.

But Garcia said other elected officials in the county also maintain other careers, as do county judges in some of the state’s largest counties.

“I’m not a professional politician,” he said. “(Pulido) wants to be full-time. I guess that’s another way of describing himself as a professional politician.”

ELOY PULIDO

As county judge, Pulido prided himself on being available to address the needs of the people.

When a family came to his office to report they were living in their car one December, he mobilized his staff to get them in a housing program by the end of the day, he said. As he seeks another term in office, Pulido says constituents will know they can find him at the county judge’s office.

Pulido, who served as county judge from 1999 to 2003, said the county’s growth requires a full-time leader who takes the time to seek federal and state funds and address the needs of the people.

During his term in office, Pulido said, he initiated work on a county jail that saved taxpayers the $8 million they spent each year to house prisoners elsewhere.

He also pushed for construction of a juvenile detention center, a veterans cemetery and a veterans home.

The county judge takes on varying responsibilities — from transportation to economic development — that require a committed administrator, he said.

“They’re looking for somebody who is going to be accessible to them,” he said of the county’s residents. “I don’t have any other job that I would rather be doing than being there for the public.”

During the campaign, Garcia has criticized Pulido for voting to raise taxes three of the years that he was in office.

But Pulido said taxes were initially raised to remedy a shaky financial situation left by previous county administrators, who lowered the tax rate before he came into office.

The county’s financial strength that Garcia touts in his own campaign was partly the result of decisions made during Pulido’s tenure, such as savings on prisoner housing from the jail construction, Pulido said.

“I try to find the best way to do things so as to not be wasteful,” he said. “You don’t waste resources or spend money you don’t have.”

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4424.

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Ramon Garcia

>> Age: 61

>> Education: Edinburg High School; University of Texas-Pan American; University of Houston Law School

>> Political Experience: Former county judge; former county Democratic Party chairman; former board member of the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority; former regent for the Pan-American Board; has coordinated various statewide and local campaigns

>> Employment: Lawyer

Jose Eloy Pulido

>> Age: 54

>> Education: Edinburg High School; University of Texas-Pan American

>> Political Experience: Former county judge; former county clerk; former Edinburg school board president

>> Employment: Compliance officer for a home health care agency