James Montoya has been practicing law for 11 years and is now a Democratic candidate for El Paso District Attorney. He served as Assistant District Attorney for seven years, prosecuting numerous homicide cases before working as an Assistant US Attorney in Oklahoma for 20 months and then rejoining the El Paso District Attorney’s Office as a Deputy Public Defender in October 2022.
Montoya previously ran for District Attorney in 2020 but lost his race against Yvonne Rosales. In the current race, Alma Trejo is his opponent for the Democratic nomination. The winner of the May 28 Primary Runoff Election will face Republican incumbent Bill Hicks in the General Election of November 5.
Today we discussed Montoya’s career, his achievements as an attorney in the El Paso District Attorney’s Office, and how he would use his prosecutorial discretion if elected.
We hope you enjoy this interview, the eighth in our series: