When Experience Matters: Selecting Our Next Sheriff
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
A sheriff is defined as a county elected official who serves as the chief civil law-enforcement officer of their jurisdiction. Cameron County's sheriff is Omar Lucio. Sheriff Lucio is seeking reelection to office. Lucio is a veteran law enforcement officer who has served in several positions around the Rio Grande Valley including Harlingen and Mercedes.
This election cycle, Lucio will be challenged by former Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza. According to Garza's Facebook page, he holds a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement certification. In an interview, he says he has wanted to be a law enforcement officer ever since he completed his law enforcement training in 2010.
The question that begs to be asked is: Should someone who has little, to no, law enforcement experience realistically expect to be elected as the chief law enforcement official of Cameron County? Should someone who has never served in a leadership role in any law enforcement agency lead the Cameron County Sheriff's Department? It is my understanding Garza has experience as a reserve constable.
I am not questioning his fitness as a competent county employee. Everything I've read indicates he was a good district clerk. I'm just wondering if he should be entrusted with the command of a law enforcement agency. The Cameron County Sheriff's Office has many moving parts, and this really isn't a job that comes with training wheels. Garza has mentioned he believes the sheriff's department is being mismanaged and their funds aren't being spent appropriately. However, sheriff isn't a simple administrative job that is spent behind a desk counting beans and looking at spreadsheets. Being sheriff means having to deal with potential life and death situations on a daily basis.
Maybe Garza is up to the task. I really don't know. Not that my endorsement would carry much weight in the first place, but I am not endorsing one candidate over the other. I am simply approaching this from the perspective of which candidate has the most experience.
If you believe Garza is the right candidate for the job then by all means, vote for him. Again, my intention is not to sway your vote one way or the other. If you think it is time for a change in the sheriff's department, then vote for that change.
At a time when border security and violence along the Rio Grande is at an all time high, we need to make sure the sheriff is up to the task to serve and protect the citizens of Cameron County.
During the upcoming election cycle, the Beacon will reach out to the candidates to ask them what they think qualifies them to hold the office. We will publish their responses, should they choose to reply. If you all have any questions you'd like us to ask the candidates, feel free to email us or post them in the comments below.
A sheriff is defined as a county elected official who serves as the chief civil law-enforcement officer of their jurisdiction. Cameron County's sheriff is Omar Lucio. Sheriff Lucio is seeking reelection to office. Lucio is a veteran law enforcement officer who has served in several positions around the Rio Grande Valley including Harlingen and Mercedes.
This election cycle, Lucio will be challenged by former Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza. According to Garza's Facebook page, he holds a Texas Commission on Law Enforcement certification. In an interview, he says he has wanted to be a law enforcement officer ever since he completed his law enforcement training in 2010.
The question that begs to be asked is: Should someone who has little, to no, law enforcement experience realistically expect to be elected as the chief law enforcement official of Cameron County? Should someone who has never served in a leadership role in any law enforcement agency lead the Cameron County Sheriff's Department? It is my understanding Garza has experience as a reserve constable.
I am not questioning his fitness as a competent county employee. Everything I've read indicates he was a good district clerk. I'm just wondering if he should be entrusted with the command of a law enforcement agency. The Cameron County Sheriff's Office has many moving parts, and this really isn't a job that comes with training wheels. Garza has mentioned he believes the sheriff's department is being mismanaged and their funds aren't being spent appropriately. However, sheriff isn't a simple administrative job that is spent behind a desk counting beans and looking at spreadsheets. Being sheriff means having to deal with potential life and death situations on a daily basis.
Maybe Garza is up to the task. I really don't know. Not that my endorsement would carry much weight in the first place, but I am not endorsing one candidate over the other. I am simply approaching this from the perspective of which candidate has the most experience.
If you believe Garza is the right candidate for the job then by all means, vote for him. Again, my intention is not to sway your vote one way or the other. If you think it is time for a change in the sheriff's department, then vote for that change.
At a time when border security and violence along the Rio Grande is at an all time high, we need to make sure the sheriff is up to the task to serve and protect the citizens of Cameron County.
During the upcoming election cycle, the Beacon will reach out to the candidates to ask them what they think qualifies them to hold the office. We will publish their responses, should they choose to reply. If you all have any questions you'd like us to ask the candidates, feel free to email us or post them in the comments below.
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