The issues that face residents in Far West El Paso County continue to be infrastructure whether it be parks, roads, sidewalks or stormwater. Both candidates in the Democratic primary for Precinct 4 county commissioner believe they can address them.
Incumbent Sergio Coronado, who is completing his first term in office, will face first-time candidate Annette Griego in the March 3 election. The winner will face Republican candidate Leo Arcos, who is running unopposed in the primary, in the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting is Feb. 17-27.
Coronado, an attorney, and Griego, a family nurse practitioner and business owner, want to represent the area that includes West and Northeast El Paso, Vinton, Westway, Canutillo and Anthony, Texas.
“Over the past several years, I have observed decisions and processes where clearer communication, stronger public engagement, and more thoughtful, long-term planning could have better served the community,” Griego wrote as part of an email interview.
“I want to make sure that the bond projects that our community voted for are done on time and on budget, and we’re well underway with that,” Coronado said during an in-person interview. “I want to make sure that we complete those. It’s a trust-oriented process.”
The El Paso County Commissioners Court is made up of a county judge and four commissioners. They decide policy, adopt a budget and tax rate for the county and its hospital district, and approve proposals to build and maintain roads, bridges and county buildings and facilities. They also ratify plans to deliver health and welfare services, cultural and recreational activities, and law enforcement and public safety to the county.
Commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid $133,466 annually. The winner of the general election will take the oath of office Jan. 1, 2027.
The precinct covers more than 163 square miles and is divided by the Franklin Mountains. According to the 2020 Census, 208,370 people reside in that precinct. The El Paso County Elections Department said the precinct had 141,567 registered voters.
Several residents who live in the communities of Westway and Canutillo shared their concerns about potholes, traffic, the lack of sidewalks and proper drainage in some parts of the precinct. One person suggested the county open an annex/resource hub where rural residents could go with concerns about services without requiring a drive into the city.
Lourdes Garcia, a Westway resident for more than 40 years, said her main concern is the dense residential developments that are going up in her community. Many of the residents are from humble households and the gentrification is hard on them.
“I see them struggle,” Garcia said.
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Sergio Coronado
Coronado, 66, said he was proud of his work during his first term to enhance parks and water infrastructure, and his role to start the El Paso Promise education program that helps residents with workforce training.
The incumbent said that a clean water and sewer project near Childress Elementary School was completed and another off Farm Road 259 was almost finished. He added that the county is in the planning phases to create a concrete liner in an arroyo by Doniphan Drive and Chanate Road, and do additional work to clear existing drainage pipes to prevent Doniphan from flooding. He said the Texas Water Development Board awarded the county a $176,000 grant to do the $1.96 million arroyo project.
The county has several similar projects that are “shovel ready” but need funds. It has several grants pending with the Texas Water Development Board.
“We’re addressing the water issues in Precinct 4,” Coronado said.
He said he expected to do more to improve roads and water systems, but cuts in funds from the state and federal governments have slowed the process. He said the county would review its roads to see how they could be improved.
As for El Paso Promise, he said the county continued to bring on additional partners who help with the countywide program. Among the partners are several post-secondary institutions, Project Arriba and Workforce Solutions Borderplex. The partners provide funds and/or services for such things as childcare and transportation that keep participants from the education or workforce training they need.
Coronado also has worked to enhance county parks. He talked about the improvements at Gallegos Park, such as the new basketball courts, an all-abilities playground and a skatepark. Many of the park’s amenities were paid for through matching grants from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He said there is money from the 2024 voter -approved bonds to build a new senior/community center at Gallegos Park, and walking trails.
“I just want to continue to work on these projects,” Coronado said.
The incumbent previously served on the Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees for 16 years. He has a consistent voting record since 2017.
Coronado has a war chest with total contributions of $34,800, according to his campaign filing reports. Among his biggest donors were the El Paso County Sheriff’s Officers Association and businessman Stanley Jobe, contributing $5,000 each. Attorney James R. Rey and First Light Credit Union contributed $1,000 each, his records show. He’s spent just over $12,000.
Annette Griego
Griego, 50, was born in Ciudad Juárez, but raised in the Lower Valley. She became a naturalized citizen in 1993. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1999 and 2007, respectively. She is a board-certified nurse practitioner.
She started as a registered nurse and gained experience at area hospitals before she founded a medical services company in 2008 and opened the El Paso Family & Pediatric Clinic on the East Side eight years later.
Griego said that she chose her career to serve others and, after years of training and leadership positions at area hospitals, decided to open her own medical practice to set her own standards of care that combine compassion and accountability.
She said she prepared for this campaign by meeting with people in Precinct 4 and observing how decisions of the county government affect residents.
Griego said the skills and knowledge that she has honed through the years as a business owner and health care professional to include working with budgets, personnel and regulations enable her to evaluate complex issues critically, ethically and practically.
She takes issue with her opponent’s vote approving $1 million toward the Downtown deck plaza design and approving a 14% pay raise for commissioners, including himself, in 2023. She provided written responses to questions about these and other issues.
Griego said that she sees potential in the deck plaza, but added that taxpayers deserved clear cost projections, realistic maintenance plans and transparent funding strategies.
The deck plaza, estimated to cost at least $207 million, is in the early stages of planning and not yet a done deal.
She said the self-approved raise was inappropriate when many families were dealing with rising costs of living. Additionally, she said such decisions should be transparent, and include strong public input and an independent review process.
Coronado said that the Commissioners Court had not given itself a raise since 2023. In the future, he said that he would suggest the body give itself a raise only at the same level and at the same time as county employees.
While Griego agreed with the Commissioners Court’s approval in 2023 and 2025 of $113 million in road, water/sewer and flood control projects and improvements to county parks and buildings, she was concerned with the use of certificates of obligation.
She wrote that projects of that scale should be approved by voters when possible. If voters reject proposed projects considered necessary, the court would need to reassess and come up with an alternative plan that still addresses needs and budgets.
By state law, counties cannot issue certificates of obligation for at least three years after a failed bond election.
The county in 2024 separated what it called quality of life projects such as parks improvements to take to voters as part of the bond from public works and infrastructure projects such as flood control and water/wastewater to pay with certificates of obligation.
According to her campaign finance reports, Griego made a $25,000 loan to her campaign, and received a $250 donation from businessman David Saucedo II. She reported expenditures of about $2,600, including $1,250 on her filing fee to the El Paso Democratic Party.
She splits time in homes on the Westside and Northeast, both are in Precinct 4. She is married to attorney Felix Castañon Jr., and they have two school-age children.
Castañon, who worked in the public defender’s office for 10 years before being fired in 2024, is suing the county for wrongful termination, according to court records. He filed the lawsuit in April. El Paso County Commissioners Court recently hired outside counsel to manage the case, which is pending in district court.
Griego called her husband’s lawsuit a private legal issue that has nothing to do with her candidacy and would have no bearing on how she would serve if elected.
By law, elected officials have to recuse themselves from voting or participating in any decision regarding a contract or claim such as if a spouse has a personal or financial stake in the outcome.
While a first-time candidate, she said her participation in her husband’s two judicial races have helped her prepare for her own campaign.
She acknowledged a spotty voting record since 2017, but said it was due to other family and professional demands. She said in more recent times her commitment to civic engagement has grown stronger. That is reflected in her decision to run for this office.
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