(C) El Paso Matters.org This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . El Paso's District 77 state rep primary runoff election heats up [1] ['Cindy Ramirez', 'More Cindy Ramirez', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width'] Date: 2024-05-19 The two candidates vying for the District 77 state representative seat in El Paso tout their political experience – one as a former state legislator and another as a county commissioner – as their strongest assets. But Vincent “Vince” Perez and Norma Chávez, who will face off in the Democratic primary runoff election May 28, are quick to differentiate and criticize each other’s political records and leadership styles. “I think the most important issue is that I provide an opportunity for House District 77 to have an experienced legislator and not someone who just wants to give themselves a raise,” said Chávez, 63, who served as state representative for District 76 from 1997-2011. She referred to Perez’s votes to increase salaries for El Paso County elected officials – including himself and others on the Commissioners Court at the time. She called his votes “a character issue.” Perez, 42, who served as a county commissioner from 2012 to 2020, said he’s the better-prepared candidate because he dives into policy and data to get a deep understanding of the issues. He said his opponent points to the pay raises – which he said were needed to attract younger and more qualified people into office – to distract from her record. “Voters I think are just tired of the scandal,” Perez said, referring to Chávez’s controversial tenure as state representative. “When you ask her what she’s going to do, she’ll say this or that but has no particular plan for anything.” Chávez said her mistakes while in office were “personal” and “personality issues” and not a reflection of her ability to advocate for El Paso. Neither garnered enough votes to win the seat outright during the March primary, with Perez getting 39% of the votes and Chávez 32%. The two ran against former city Rep. Alexsandra Annello and political newcomer Homer Reza, an insurance agent. Without a Republican or independent opponent in November, the runoff winner will take the seat and assume office in 2025. The seat has been held since 2017 by Democratic state Rep. Lina Ortega, who didn’t seek reelection. House District 77 covers the Lower Valley and stretches to Central El Paso and portions of the Westside and Upper Valley. State representatives serve two-years term without term limits, with a $7.200 a year salary. Other races on the Democratic ballot are the El Paso County sheriff and district attorney, as well as the Precinct 1 constable; while the Republican primary runoff ballot includes District 23 U.S. representative. Early voting in the primary runoff runs from Monday, May 20, to Friday, May 24. Election Day is Tuesday, May 28. Chávez has campaigned on her seniority, which she said will help her get selected to important House committees. She owns Texico Communications, a political consulting company, and runs an Airbnb in Austin. Perez, a public and governmental affairs consultant, previously served as communications director for then-El Paso Congressman Silvestre Reyes. When it comes to issues they’d address in Austin, both said they oppose Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security initiative, Operation Lone Star, saying it hasn’t shown results and that money would be better spent on schools or health care. They both also said a key issue will be fighting against school vouchers they suspect will again dominate school funding legislation after Abbott late last year promised to “continue advancing school choice.” School vouchers are taxpayer funded subsidies for students to attend private schools, which can choose which students to admit. “Vouchers are going to further segregate our public school system, and I really get concerned about what that means for the quality of education in our state,” Perez said, adding that he would support increasing per-pupil funding by the state as a first step to better fund public schools. Perez said he’d also support reducing standardized testing to the federal minimums and requiring Algebra I be taken in eighth-grade instead of high school as a way to help improve college readiness. Chávez also noted the per-pupil formula needs to be changed and that she would recommend the state comptroller review public school spending because she doesn’t believe administrative staff and assistants should earn more than teachers. “I have not seen that, I’ve been told it,” Chávez said, “But I’m interested in looking into it.” She criticized Perez as not supporting public education because of his work as a consultant for Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development, a local nonprofit organization that helped bring IDEA Public Schools, a charter school, to El Paso. Charter schools are public schools overseen by the Texas Education Agency. Perez said the criticism is unmerited because CREEED also funds and creates programs and initiatives to improve public education in the region’s traditional school districts. He said the nonprofit is one of his many clients to which he provides research, data and analysis – a skill he said Chávez lacks. “My opponent spent 14 years in the Legislature, and she cannot have a substantive conversation on these topics,” Perez said. Chávez, who said she also wants to prioritize elder care and veterans support in the next legislative session, said Perez’s campaign has focused on criticizing her past. “But he doesn’t talk about how he’s costing taxpayers in perpetuity with those raises he gave himself,” she said. Disclosure: The Council on Regional Economic Expansion and Educational Development is a financial supporter of El Paso Matters. Financial supporters play no role in El Paso Matters’ journalism. The news organization’s policy on editorial independence can be found here. 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