Ryan Woodcraft, Guest Columnist, El Paso Times, Sept. 5, 2024
“I am running for County Commissioner of Precinct 1 in order to bring fiscal sanity back to El Paso County, which has embarked on the most reckless spending binge in its history.
$894 million! That is how much new debt our County Commissioners Court has authorized or is planning to authorize in the form of general obligation bonds and certificates of obligation. Even though the county judge and commissioners are touting their recently passed no-new revenue tax rate, next fiscal year our property tax will rise sharply as a result of their excessive spending.
The commissioners court voted to place a $396.6 million bond on the Nov. 5 ballot for University Medical Center plus a $323.8 million bond for the county that includes a long menu of “quality of life” projects. Furthermore, the county plans to issue a certificate of obligation of about $174 million without voter approval, perhaps as soon as this month. There are also hundreds of millions of dollars in additional projects on the sidelines waiting their turn for funding.
El Paso, enough is enough! We must let our elected officials know that we cannot afford their fiscal irresponsibility any longer.
Judge (Ricardo) Samaniego and Commissioners (Sergio) Coronado, (David) Stout, and (Carlos) Leon insist that issuing large bonds is a necessity and suggest that anyone who opposes them stands in the way of progress.
Since when are lowering taxes and producing a balanced budget radical ideas and not rational strategies?
And now these same officials have claimed ownership of the I-10 Downtown Deck Plaza and, therefore, responsibility for any cost overruns the $207 million project may incur. Our county government cannot pay for basic maintenance and operations for our existing infrastructure so how do they plan to pay for this one?
Thousands of families across our community are struggling to make ends meet. Rents and mortgage payments continue to rise due to our ever-increasing property tax, threatening many of those with low or fixed incomes with homelessness. It is becoming more expensive to shop for groceries, pay the electric bill, and purchase school supplies and uniforms.
Yet those on Commissioners Court who are voting to raise our property tax and issue massive quantities of debt do not share your concerns, especially when they are paid more than $133,000 per year plus benefits.
The other two candidates vying for the Precinct 1 seat will continue to vote for the status quo and the wealthy brokers who support it.
The Democratic candidate has been working in Commissioner Leon’s office for the past two years and has openly stated she supports his tax-and-spend voting record while simultaneously claiming residents have been ‘underserved in recent years.’”’ She has called for expanding county government and publicly supports issuing certificates of obligation without voter authorization. If elected, she would raise taxes and issue even more debt. She even stated that committing to a no-new revenue tax rate is ”irresponsible and misleading.’
The Republican candidate voted to increase our property tax while serving on City Council and then denied it during her failed reelection campaign. Toward the end of her term, she aligned herself with the big developers, who want more spending, taxation, and corporate welfare.
I am a retired Army combat veteran and my wife and I chose to raise our children in El Paso County. I will be a resolute public servant who advocates for fiscal responsibility, property tax relief, and common-sense governance. Let’s be the difference we want to see in our communities, make our voices heard on Nov. 5, and fight the status quo!”
Ryan Woodcraft is Libertarian candidate for County Commissioner, Precinct 1.