El Paso County voters in November will decide whether to give Democrat County Judge Ricardo Samaniego a third term in office or elect his Republican opponent, Minerva Torres Shelton, a retired FBI agent and former police officer.
The next county judge will face balancing increasing costs for services with impact to taxpayers, growing public safety expenditures and a nearly $6 million Sheriff’s Office budget deficit for overtime at the county jails.
The county judge is one of five members of the El Paso County Commissioners Court, which makes policy and financial decisions for the county government, including setting an annual budget and tax rate. The county judge represents all of El Paso County, serves a four-year term and is paid $152,725 a year.
Early voting is Oct. 19-30.
The county judge race is one of three Commissioners Court contests on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. County commissioner seats in Precinct 2 and Precinct 4 are also up for election.
Samaniego, 77, a businessman and consultant with a background in mental healthcare, is campaigning on keeping the seat with the Democrats and out of the hands of his “MAGA Republican opponent,” according to his social media posts.
On his campaign website, he cites continuing healthcare access and job-producing economic development as priorities, while relying on his experience and record. He was first elected to office in November 2018, and ran unopposed in the March Democratic primary.
Samaniego declined several requests to be interviewed for this story and referred El Paso Matters to his candidate questionnaire responses.
In an interview with El Paso Matters, Torres Shelton rebutted Samaniego’s characterization of her political beliefs.
“There’s nothing in my platform that would lead people to believe that I’m MAGA. Like, why is he saying that?” Torres Shelton said.
Torres Shelton, 58, an Army veteran, former El Paso police officer and retired FBI agent, said she considers herself a “moderate” Republican. She said she chose the party because her father was a small restaurant owner and when she was growing up helping him count money, she remembered him saying that when there is a smaller, more responsive government families get to keep more of their earnings.
“That stayed with me forever. So, when people ask me, ‘Why are you Republican?’ – that’s what makes me a Republican, and that’s why I say I tell people I’m a moderate Republican because my focus as a Republican is having a smaller government, but (one) that’s more responsible,” she said.
Torres Shelton won the March Republican primary against Guadalupe Giner with 62% of the votes. She ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for El Paso County sheriff in November 2024, losing to Democrat Oscar Ugarte.
She is campaigning for county judge largely on fiscal responsibility, focusing the budget on essential services and holding the Sheriff’s Office accountable for its overtime spending.
She said she wants the county to focus on funding essential services such as infrastructure and public safety and not the “entertainment” business, referring to projects such as the planned deck plaza. The project is being supported by the Downtown Deck Plaza Foundation under the Paso del Norte Community Foundation.
Commissioners Court in June 2025 committed $1 million toward the plaza from previously issued certificates of obligation proceeds.
“This is an example of a multimillion dollar project that, until now, has left taxpayers wondering if they are going to be responsible for the maintenance,” Torres Shelton said. “These types of complex projects should, in my opinion, require voter approval.”
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Campaign finance
When it comes to campaign fundraising, Samaniego has far outraised Torres Shelton.
Samaniego has raised about $170,000 in contributions since January 2025, including $13,000 in loans to himself, his campaign finance reports show. About $52,000 of that was raised during the most recent filing period from July to October. He has about $75,000 left in his campaign coffers.
Samaniego’s biggest donors comprise area business leaders and developers who often donate to local political candidates, including Richard Aguilar, Stanley Jobe, Paul Foster, Jonathan Barela, Douglas Schwartz, Julio Chiu, Ted Houghton, Raymond Palacios, Kelly Ann Tomblin, Woody Hunt, Robert and Randall Bowling and Frederick Francis.
Campaign finance reports show Aguilar’s and Jobe’s contributions total $8,500 each; the Bowling brothers contributed a combined $12,500; Chiu contributed $3,000; Woody and Gayle Hunt contributed about $7,500; and Foster, Francis and attorney Steve Ortega each donated about $5,000.
Marathon Petroleum Corporation Employee РАС contributed $2,500 and Tenet Healthcare Corporation contributed $1,250.
Torres Shelton has raised about $39,000 since January, including a $10,000 loan to herself, and has about $7,200 maintained as of Sept. 30.
Torres Shelton’s largest donations were about $9,200 from Kenneth Wayne Krueger, $1,000 from Sergio Arellano, $2,000 from El Paso City Council candidate Sam Armijo, $1,020 from J. Robert Cordero, and $1,041 from Christina Boyd.
Budget and taxes
Torres Shelton has said the budget and fiscal responsibility will be key if she is elected as the next county judge.
Samaniego voted in favor of the county’s $541 million general fund budget for the 2027 fiscal year in September. The general fund pays for day-to-day government services such as public safety, the county jails, courts, elections and administrative offices and is primarily supported with property taxes and fees.
In August, he also voted to adopt the no-new-revenue rate to help fund the budget. That tax rate will raise the county’s portion of the tax bill on an average-value $229,637 home by about $41 more a year. That increase is because residential property values increased more than commercial values, shifting more of the burden to homeowners.
Torres Shelton said she wants to look at the budget “top to bottom” and eliminate unnecessary spending to focus on essential services such as infrastructure and public safety, but not with a “blank check.”
She didn’t directly answer when asked what she considers “unnecessary spending” in the existing budget and what cuts she might make.
“I don’t have all the information in front of me, it’s not; it’s not there. I have looked at it (the budget book and) I have some ideas, but I’m not going to say because I don’t have everything in front of me, and that would not be fair,” she said.
The Commissioners Court receives regular budget updates throughout the year before adopting the next year’s budget. The presentations are posted online ahead of the meetings.
She also said she wants departments to justify any additional spending requests ahead of the next budget adoption.
Financial documents, including line-item budget books and annual financial reports, are also readily available online.
Torres Shelton said she wants to get to know the departments and employees to make informed decisions.
Commissioners Court receives regular budget updates throughout the year and holds formal budget hearings in August ahead of the budget adoption in September. The county’s budget and finance staff presents each department’s budget needs as part of the process.
Torres Shelton said she wants the county to move toward a full month of presentations to be given by each department’s leadership rather than budget staff.
“I’ve always said that I’m the kind of person who makes informed decisions – I want to see the whole data,” she said.
County administration and budget staff have warned the Commissioners Court that costs for services, utilities, and public safety will continue to rise in the coming years and adopting a no-new-revenue rate may not be sustainable. The no-new-revenue rate is the rate used to generate the same level of tax revenue from existing homes for the next fiscal year.
Asked if she would adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate if elected, Torres Shelton declined to answer directly.
“I want to have all the information in front of me in order to make those decisions, but I want you to know … I will make essential services, infrastructure (and) public safety a priority,” she said.
SEE ALSO: Most El Paso County elected officials poised for 4% raise; commissioners narrowly opt out
On her campaign website, Torres Shelton proposes reducing the county judge’s salary, which is now $152,725 and is approved by Commissioners Court each year. She has not said by how much she would reduce the salary, but has said she would donate the difference to various nonprofits or local organizations.
Public safety, Sheriff’s Office overtime
Torres Shelton has not given specific plans or ideas on how she would prioritize public safety funding, but said there has to be accountability for the Sheriff’s Office overtime spending.
LEARN MORE: Commissioners Court letter demands ‘immediate action’ by sheriff on overtime spending
Ugarte has been under scrutiny for an unprecedented increase in overtime spending at the county jails since he took office in January 2025. Ugarte maintains the overtime is necessary to properly staff the jails for safety reasons, while the Commissioners Court has said he needs to provide detailed information about the spending in the next fiscal year.
The Commissioners Court approves the Sheriff’s Office budget, but does not have authority over how Ugarte operates his department as an elected official.
Under Ugarte, the Sheriff’s Office ended the 2026 fiscal year with a nearly $6 million deficit.
The post Samaniego seeks third term as Republican Torres Shelton challenges for county judge amid mounting budget pressures appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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