TX House District 77 candidate
Vincent "Vince" Perez - D
Age: 42
Please describe your personal and professional background.
I was born and raised in El Paso’s Mission Valley. I am a proud graduate of El Paso public schools. I received my undergraduate and graduate degrees in Government from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After receiving my graduate degree, I entered public service as a congressional staffer for El Paso’s congressional office where I served as Communications Director. At 29, I decided to challenge a longtime incumbent on the Commissioners Court who had the highest number of absences and missed votes. During the campaign, he was arrested on federal drug trafficking charges. I served as County Commissioner from 2013 - 2020. In 2016, I was selected as the National County Leader of the Year by American City & County Magazine for my leadership in local government reforms.
How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?
Since 2021, I’ve worked as a public and governmental affairs consultant. If elected, I would continue to work in this field when the legislature is not in session.
Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?
I am proud to have the highest level of education in the race for HD77. I received my graduate and undergraduate degrees in government from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. As an undergraduate, I had the privilege of studying under Secretary Madeline Albright (Former Secretary of State under President Clinton), Anthony Lake (Former National Security Advisor to President Clinton), and Ambassador Donald McHenry (U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. under President Carter). I am a proud graduate of El Paso public schools, having graduated from Bel Air High School, Ranchland Middle School, and Sageland Microsociety Elementary.
What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?
I am the only candidate with more than 15 years of experience in federal and state government, as well as small business. In addition to serving as County Commissioner, I also served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Transportation Policy Board twice – which oversees all federal and state funding for transportation in our region (from 2014-2015 and 2019-present), Chairman of the Central Appraisal District (January 2020-December 2020; Vice Chair, Secretary & Member 2014-January 2020), a member of the Texas Transportation Commission’s Border Trade Advisory Committee, and a founding member of the El Paso County Justice Leadership Coordinating Council.
Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.
No
If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.
No
What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?
I believe a citizen’s access to information and governmental transparency is not only essential to good governance, it can lead to transformative reforms that can make our institutions more accountable and efficient. When citizens are empowered with meaningful information that is easily accessible and, equally as important, easy to understand and interpret, institutions are more effective.
An excellent example of this is the judicial metrics initiative that I first proposed in 2015. Today, citizens have access to data that measures the performance of all our criminal courts, and judges are now held more accountable for things like case backlogs and excessive jury duty cancellations. It took nearly two years for various departments to aggregate, interpret, and present the data to the public and the commissioners court in a way that was useful to the average person. As a result, courts are performing much more efficiently, and the public has access to more information about the judiciary and their elected judges than ever before.This is a reform I intend to push for state-wide.
As an elected official, I made myself as available as possible to the public and to the media. Thousands of residents and all local reporters have access to my personal cell number, and I make myself available at all hours and on weekends.
Issue related questions
Why are you running for this office?
I’m running to give the people of House District 77 a strong, ethical, and effective voice in their state government. From 2003 – 2012 there were 32 public officials in El Paso who were arrested for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and other crimes that broke the public’s trust. I felt strongly it was time for a new generation of leadership to step up for El Paso. There are so many funding inequities at the state, and the Texas border region has historically received less investment than other parts of the state. I feel it is imperative to elect leaders who will stand up and fight to bring these inequities to light and fight to address them. As County Commissioner, I demonstrated that I can tackle highly complex problems, and devise solutions to address them. I brought positive national attention to El Paso when I was named County Leader of the Year by City and County Magazine and from state agencies who were involved in helping to reform El Paso’s local criminal justice system. This is a major departure from the negative headlines and the public shame that was brought by many elected leaders from 2003 – 2012 and I intend to provide the same type of tenacious leadership in our state capitol.
Why are you the best candidate for this office?
When voters look at the totality of each candidate’s personal background, educational attainment, and governmental and professional experience I’m confident I am the best and most qualified choice to serve our community. I believe effectively telling El Paso’s story in Austin is best done by those with deep roots in our community, those who have the experience of sitting in our public school classrooms, and those with a track-record of serving our community ethically and effectively. As Commissioner, I was always mindful that I was a direct reflection of my community and the people who entrusted me to represent them. I was never the subject of an ethics complaint or investigation, nor have I ever been sanctioned, something my opponent can’t say. I served my constituents honorably, honestly, and with integrity.
What do you feel are the largest challenges facing District 77? What would you do toaddress those challenges?
I am the only candidate in this race who has proposed solutions to the most pressing issues:
Property Tax Reform for Border Communities in Texas: My opponent had this job for 14 years and never authored a single property tax relief bill and needs to be held accountable for that failure. As State Rep, I intend to author legislation that would stop penalizing property taxpayers along the border with higher property tax rates than non-border communities. It’s simply unfair that places like El Paso have to impose a higher tax rate on residents for the exact same state-required services that are offered throughout Texas, but at a lower cost to property taxpayers in wealthier areas. I would write a bill that requires local governments throughout Texas, such as counties, to calculate and report how much of your property tax bill is being spent on state-required services like healthcare, public defense, and state courts. Once the state has a report showing that residents in El Paso are forced to pay say 10 - 20% more in taxes to deliver the same state-required service, I would then author legislation that would provide relief for residents in higher taxed areas.
Education – First, Texas significantly underfunds public education when compared to other states that do much better than Texas in educating kids. The state must increase the amount of per-pupil spending to better fund our school and to provide teachers with nationally-competitive pay. Only 18% of El Paso eighth graders go on to complete a college degree within 10 years. It’s the second worst outcome in Texas and must change if El Paso is ever going to reach its full potential. To improve college readiness in El Paso, I believe we need to eliminate the vast majority of standardized testing that does nothing to prepare kids for college. We should replace it with measurements that make more sense for college preparedness.
Studies show that students who successfully complete Algebra I in the 8th grade are more successful in high school and better prepared for college. All El Paso eighth graders should be required to take Algebra I and our schools should be prepared and equipped to help students reach this level by the eighth grade.
I also believe that enrolling more high school students in dual credit courses can also improve both college readiness and graduation rates. If students complete at least 9 to 12 hours of college credit while in high school, they are 80% more likely to graduate from college. The state should help increase dual credit courses in high schools by paying for the graduate education of teachers seeking dual credit certification, and schools should be measured in how successful they are getting students to take dual credit courses, and getting teachers certified to teach these courses.
How do you plan to get things done in the Texas House amid a Republican majority?
From my 14 years in federal and local government, I have found that the representatives who are most effective are those who most prepared with facts, data, and evidence to support their legislative proposals and who can earn the respect of others, regardless of fierce political and policy differences. I think over time, those representatives develop a reputation that earns the respect of colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I have a record for advancing reforms at the county amid significant opposition, because I did my homework. If you’re going to be a legislator who is taken seriously, you need to be able to speak with authority on the issues you care about. In comparison, my opponent was notorious for engaging in petty fights with her colleagues in Austin and for a number of embarrassing scandals that have undermined her reputation and her ability to represent El Paso. El Paso needs a fresh voice in Austin.
What can Democratic lawmakers do to address the chaos currently unfolding at the border?
Texans are spending an exorbitant amount on an issue that ultimately is the federal government’s responsibility and none of the Republicans seem to care or ask the question, “What are Texas taxpayers getting for the $10 billion spent on this issue?” There needs to be accountability for the funding being spent. Is it making neighborhoods safer? There hasn’t been any drops in crime in Texas. Is it reducing the flow of migrants at the border? It’s not doing that either. With the passage of SB4, what the legislature and the governor have done is open the floodgates to our misdemeanor and felony courts. As a former county commissioner, I intend to make the case that flooding our courts with non-violent immigration cases is going to make Texas less-safe and it’s going to delay real criminal cases that pose a greater risk to the community.
What legislation would you like to see passed specifically to benefit the residents of District 77?
I am the only candidate in this race who has offered specific legislative proposals on property taxes, education reform, and health care. It’s one thing to say you want to lower property taxes, it’s another to say what you plan to do about it. As I previously mentioned, I intend to author legislation that will require an examination of the cost to local property taxpayers of providing state-required services where local property taxpayers are paying pay higher rates than other parts of Texas. It’s fundamentally unfair and needs to be addressed. Local property tax dollars are used to fund healthcare for those who can’t afford it, as well as public defense for those who can’t afford a defense attorney. But because border communities from El Paso to Brownsville have lower property tax bases than non-border areas in Texas, border residents are paying a higher property tax rate to fund services these state-required services. But as we saw with education funding in Texas, the courts determined that property tax system didn’t equally fund education. Why would it be any different with any other state-required service like health care and public defense? I intend to author legislation first require an examination into how much more border property tax payers are paying than other parts of Texas, then examine possible solutions to help reduce the property tax burden.
I also plan to author legislation to have the state pay for the graduate degrees for teachers who are earning their certification to teach dual-credit courses, and also author legislation to provide compensation to teachers-in-training who are going through their state-required residency, but do not get compensated.
I also plan to author legislation to help reduce the barriers for highly-qualified foreign doctors to practice in Texas, particularly along the border.
How will you push back against the state’s broad restrictions regarding women’s reproductive health?
Women who are denied an abortion are 75% more likely to end up in poverty, more likely to suffer from serious mental health issues such as depression, thoughts of suicide, and women who are in abusive relationships are more likely to stay in that relationship when they are denied an abortion.
The expansion of Medicaid is more critical now than ever and would provide much-needed health insurance to over 1 million Texans. The legislature also needs to invest in mental health services, the border region is particularly underserved with a critical shortage of mental health professionals.
What compromises can be made on school funding without reverting to a school voucher plan?
The state must prioritize increases in teacher pay and the basic allotment (per-pupil funding) for our public schools. It’s fundamentally unfair that teachers and our public schools had to suffer because vouchers were soundly defeated. Vouchers must continue to be strongly opposed as they will ultimately erode public school funding and also cause further segregation in our schools, where 54% of students are Latino.
The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted.
