Cameron County resident Fernando Ruiz made it loud and clear during a meeting Tuesday that he wants Cameron County Elections Administrator Roger Ortiz gone.
Ruiz wants Ortiz fired after the controversial November elections where several mistakes were discovered during the elections process in the race for Cameron County Judge, between incumbent Republican Judge Carlos Cascos and Democratic opponent John Wood.
Ortiz was under the hot seat Tuesday, from the Elections Committee who wanted to know how he will avoid the same mistakes from happening again.
“What we had before was the recount supervisor, the chair, the elections administrator and an assigned staff member,” Ortiz said. “That didn’t happen (the past election), so in the end, I was asked to do it so I was wearing all three or four hats. That as I told the commission, will never happen again."
The commission decided to leave Ortiz in charge for now but some changes could soon be made to the elections process, including the possibility of hiring an accounting firm to supervise recounts.
Another recommendation made by Democratic Chair Gilberto Hinojosa is having meetings with Ortiz every 90 days get an update on what progress has been made, to ensure a transparent and error-free electoral system.
"I am relieved that to know that there are going to be more commission meetings on a more regular basis - that is going to help the department tremendously,” Ortiz said.
The next thing on Ortiz’s mind is to get through the May elections error-free.
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