By John Waters, Publisher
In a stunning upset, Eleazar Cano, a relative political unknown in Brewster County, trounced longtime County Commissioner Kathy Killingsworth, in the Democratic Party primary election for Brewster County judge. Killingsworth is currently the judge, the role to which she was appointed January 2, when Judge Val Beard resigned from office.
With all precincts reporting, Cano received 758 votes, Killingsworth 427, and Jerry Sotello 381. Cano received 48.42% of all votes cast, just shy of a majority. Killingsworth got 27.3% of votes, placing a distant second. Cano and Killingsworth will face off in a run-off election May 27. The runoff will determine who will be the Democratic candidate in the November election. The winner of that race will face Republican candidate Jerry Johnson in November, in the final election for the office.
Cano, whose only political claim to fame is his being on the Alpine Independent School District’s board of directors is a newcomer to Brewster County’s political scene. He ran a strong campaign, meeting with voters throughout the county, proving charismatic—and he’s bilingual, in English and Spanish.
But how did Killingsworth, a Brewster County pol who has been groomed (and who has groomed herself) for being elected judge, suffer such a blow in the primary? Here is an analysis of what went so wrong for Killingsworth and the challenges she will face in the runoff.
Killingsworth has long been a protégé of former County Judge Val Beard. Upon County Commissioner Red Pattillo’s death in 2006, Beard appointed Killingsworth to be the new commissioner. Re-elected twice to commissioner’s court, Killingsworth then resigned late last year to run for judge.
Killingsworth has worked for many years as superintendent of the 98-student Terlingua Common School District. She helped raise money to build the high school. She also assisted in the creation of the Emergency Services District in Terlingua, and as county commissioner she worked diligently to have a new emergency services facility built there.
Last year, Killingsworth retired from her position as superintendent of the Terlingua CSD, where she was paid $170,000 annually. Despite several accomplishments in south Brewster County that Killingsworth achieved, the school still has no gym nor cafeteria; hence, Killingsworth’s high salary for the tiny district has long been a source of resentment in South County.
The resentment is not unfounded. The salary of $170,000 is the top ten percent of superintendents statewide and is comparable to what superintendents are paid at other comparably-sized school districts in Texas, such as Kennedale ISD with 3,163 students and 410 employees, and Sharyland ISD with 10,232 students and 1,168 employees. In fact, superintendents at those schools are actually paid less than Killingsworth was. The Terlingua CSD has about 30 employees.
Tom Williams, who is now a county commissioner, was one of three board members of the school district who determined Killingsworth’s salary. Many in south Brewster County were also disappointed by Williams being appointed as commissioner. As one resident wrote in a letter to the Gazette: “The recent, ongoing, and obviously well-planned series of resignations and appointments has caused me to lose a little respect for all three of you [Beard-Killingsworth-Williams]—because I think you have shown a lack of respect for the voters of Brewster County.”
While nearly all politics are Machiavellian, the apparent scheming and duplicity by Beard, Killingsworth, and Williams did not sit well with voters. While the transfer of power from Beard to Killingsworth and Williams was done legally, it nevertheless incensed many voters, largely perceived as an attempt by the current powers that be to keep a stranglehold on their privileged positions. Voters were angered by apparent disenfranchisement. Appearance and perception are everything in politics. While duplicity may be legal, don’t expect a ballot from a voter who feels duped. As one longtime Brewster County Democrat said of the Beard-Killingsworth-Williams alliance: “I just can’t vote for that cabal.”
Another political negative for Killingsworth came on February 8 when the annual fish fry benefit at the Marathon Community Center coincided with a political rally for Killingsworth. Beard made a rare appearance at the event and thanked Killingsworth and County Commissioner Ruben Ortega for the efforts to restore the facility. Although the two other candidates in the judge’s contest were there, no mention of them was made. According to a letter to the editor published in the Big Bend Sentinel, “This gave the impression that the event was exactly as rumored—a fundraiser for Kathy Killingsworth, piggybacked on the Community Center.”
The fishy sauté of shake-and-bake community fish fry fundraising and political meet-and-greet politicking turned many people off, and several undecided voters told the Gazette that the incident cost Killingsworth their vote. In a letter to the editor that was published in several newspapers, Marathon resident Sandy Wilson wrote: “What is most concerning to me is why was Killingworth allowed to use our annual charity event for her ‘meet and greet.’ It reeks of official misconduct and is a good indicator of how Killingsworth and Ortega manipulate their official capacity to their own benefit.”
How Killingsworth, Beard and Ortega underestimated the political damage this farce would inflict is startling. As one reporter from a competing news gathering organization told the Gazette: “This event cost Killingsworth votes.”
Meanwhile, longtime employee at Alpine radio station KALP and candidate for county judge Jerry Sotello was barred from his employment at the radio station due to Federal Communications Commission regulations excluding candidates from broadcasting. Sotello could have kept his employment had opponents Killingsworth and Cano both signed a waiver. Cano signed, Killingsworth did not. Killingsworth maintained she could not sign off on the waiver and cited an unspecified judicial code of conduct.
Code of conduct or not, this action was perceived as downright mean and petty by many voters. While this may have been a minor issue in the primary election, it may be the determining factor in the runoff. Both Cano and Killingsworth will vie for Sotello’s votes in the runoff. It is highly unlikely the Sotello camp will defect to the person who cost their candidate his job.
Both Cano and Killingsworth ran good campaigns. Both have laudable attributes. Many political observers in Brewster County speculate that Killingsworth can muster Republicans to come out and vote for her in the runoff. Only the final results on runoff night will tell.
On election night, Cano, who gathered with supporters at the Granada Theater in Alpine, told the Gazette, the election is “far from over,” in anticipation of the May runoff.
Alpine Mayor Avinash Rangra who was on-hand declared Cano, “the next judge of Brewster County.”
The Sotello camp spent the evening at the Holland Hotel with supporters.
When Killingsworth last ran for office, she and supporters gathered at the Granada and celebrated victory. Primary night 2014 was different; Killingsworth was at an undisclosed location did not speak with the media.
Game on, Brewster County! For the first time in many years there is a real horse race for county judge. Get out and vote on May 27.
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