El Paso Matters sent questionnaires to every candidate in a contested primary race to help you decide who you want to represent you. Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 100 words. Responses have been lightly edited for grammar and to fit the word count.
Texas House District 79: Democratic Primary
The 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives consider proposed laws and resolutions, decide whether to refer proposed constitutional amendments for submission to the voters and appropriate all funds for the operation of state government.
Who’s running for this seat?
Fierro
I am the only candidate with extensive experience working with the Texas Legislature. As Chair of the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees, I routinely testified before Texas House and Senate committees for equitable education funding formulas which prevented a shift of EPPC operational costs to local property taxpayers. I have advocated diligently for funding for El Paso Workforce training and program development. To further improve the local workforce, I helped introduce one of the first early college programs in Texas. Since being elected to District 79 in 2019, I have authored 43 bills — 12 passed out of committee, 8 passed the House floor and 2 were signed into law. I joint-authored and co-authored more than 50 bills signed by the Governor.
Ordaz Perez
In my first term as State Representative, I have authored and passed more legislation than my opponent has during his entire tenure. As a state representative, I have passed legislation that included $386.5 million in relief for our state’s smallest businesses, expanded paid leave for our state employees, helped address inequities for our disabled community, and strengthened trauma-informed practices in our schools. I care deeply about our community, and I have proven that I know what it takes to be an effective leader in Austin.
Fierro
1. Expanding access to health care, including mental health treatment. The State has neglected the demand for health care access, including mental health care, among the poorer and most vulnerable populations. I will continue to file bills to improve access, including those allowing tele-med consultation despite insurance company pushback and bills that would clarify and strengthen continuity of care.
2. Sustainable funding of public schools and higher education continues to be my priority. I will continue to fight toward incentivizing high performing teachers to assist in low performing schools and districts. We need to pay teachers a premium wage. We need to allow teachers to teach. We need to fix a broken teacher’s retirement system. I am the only candidate with experience in developing policy for an education intuition (EPCC) that implements state funding directives and understands the logistical challenges in doing so.
Ordaz Perez
I intend to author legislation to expand economic opportunities in the Texas/Mexico border region by incentivizing businesses that have outsourced their supply chains to China and other Asian countries to “homesource” their supply chains and operations to the Texas/Mexico border region. After the disruptions that were seen as the result of the pandemic, we need to be strategic in our efforts to lure these companies to Texas and Mexico. We have significant potential to create more job growth in our state through this effort. I will also prioritize preserving local control. The state has been chipping away at the ability of our local officials to make decisions that are best for our community. From expanding rights for city workers to choosing the books in school libraries, we need to ensure that state leadership leaves these local decisions to the experts.
Fierro
I am a lifelong Democrat and adhere to the priorities and values in line with the party. To be effective, a member must earn the respect and trust of his or her colleagues. To that end, I have consistently made efforts to be open to dialogue, be respectful despite our differences, and be clear with my positions that will not be compromised. As a result, I have been included in open and genuine conversations with members of both sides of the aisle while adhering to my Democratic values, but that resulted in benefiting El Paso specifically.
Ordaz Perez
As a freshman, I passed multiple pieces of legislation with sponsors from both parties. I also worked with the Governor’s office to provide federal dollars for small business relief. This showed the trust they had in me to champion this vital legislation, which required working relationships with various stakeholders. If the Democrats continue to be the minority, it will be essential to work together. Both parties have a lot in common we’d like to address — affordability, access to health care, supporting local businesses, school finance reform — and we need to work together to find solutions.
Fierro
There is not one answer for the whole Texas border. El Paso’s needs are different than those of smaller communities along the Texas border. Despite the extreme violence seen in Juárez, Mexico, El Paso is still one of the safest cities in the country. The governor allocated millions of dollars for a purported border wall and for local presence of state law enforcement. Those funds would better serve our community for street and road infrastructure, finding solutions to poor air quality caused by commercial cargo trucks idling in long lines over the international bridges, and funding local law enforcement departments for adequate operational needs.
Ordaz Perez
The state should focus on the economic partnership that exists between Texas and Mexico and improving our port infrastructure to enhance the flow of cross border trade. The pandemic had a significant impact on the volume of trade in our region, dropping to $29 billion in 2020, compared to $76 billion in 2019. The state should prioritize investments that have the potential to significantly enhance the flow of trade at our ports through technology and infrastructure — modernizing our ports of entry to better accommodate truck traffic, improving real-time data on bridge wait times, expediting commercial inspections, and funding new technologies to conduct more efficient inspections are some of the ways the state can better address border issues.
Fierro
The right-wing agenda has hatefully attacked the liberties of our LGBTQ community. The right-wing agenda has systematically eroded women’s reproductive rights by putting their lives and health at risk. I will zealously defend against these attacks. I have a proven record of doing so. With regard to legalizing marijuana, at some point we need to have a rational data driven conversation on the costly fiscal impact to our court and legal system, how it adversely affects the lives of Texans arrested for low level marijuana possession, and the net positive fiscal impact the State and local tax base could gain. Other states have addressed this issue specifically successfully. I believe the State of Texas should follow suit.
Ordaz Perez
I am proud to have been one of the Democrats who participated in the quorum break in summer 2021 to push back against Republicans’ harmful agenda. As a Latina, it is not lost on me that the leadership for this historic walkout came from our Black and brown caucus members, particularly women. Sadly, enough Democrats, including my opponent, returned to Austin and provided Republicans with the numbers to achieve quorum, allowing the voter suppression legislation to pass and other harmful bills. Because I remained resolute in my decision to continue to break quorum, I was punished in the redistricting process and my seat was taken away. But I’m proud to stand up against the harmful agenda we saw this legislative session.
Fierro
Our office has a bi-monthly newsletter informing constituents of developments occurring in the legislature during the session and the interim. We have a full-time district office which is open regular office hours. Prior to the pandemic, I was regularly hosting local community meetings where we would listen to concerns and questions. I hosted the first Eastside Summit which convened all Eastside elected officials to dialogue and describe their role in representing the Eastside. In March 2020, our office opened a satellite pop-up at the Marty Robbins Recreational Facility to reach area constituents and listen to their concerns. My goal is to continue the Eastside summit, community meetings and satellite pop-up offices once safe to do so.
Ordaz Perez
This month, my district office will be opening our doors at 1200 Golden Key Circle, Suite 310, off Viscount and Hawkins. I will begin reinstating our community open door initiative, “Coffee with Claudia,” where constituents can stop by anytime throughout the day at their convenience. My office also produces an e-newsletter that contains information about the work I do in Austin and items of interest in El Paso. I often post on social media about major legislative events.
