By Texas Border Business
Former Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Constable J.E. “Eddie” Guerra who is interim Sheriff for Hidalgo County wants to continue being Sheriff. Guerra was appointed Sheriff during the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court meeting on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.
Eddie told Texas Border Business that he wants to continue being Sheriff to make a difference in the Valley. “This is where I was born; here in Hidalgo county is where my family is. This is where my family raised me and our family has been here for over one hundred years.”
He also said that his family has always been involved in politics. “ We’ve always wanted to give back to the community and I feel that I can make a difference in the Sheriffs office.”
If you were the elected Sheriff what changes would you make to the Sheriff’s office? “Well I am the interim Sheriff now, and if I am elected I would continue to do exactly what I am doing right now.” He said.
He pointed out that the changes in the Sheriff’s office are not going to happen over night, they are not going to happen next week or next month. He said, “The changes that I want to make here are going to take time, I want to take the professionalism of this office to a level that is acceptable to my level.”
He explained that the changes are like turning around a huge aircraft carrier, “You cannot turn it around on a dime because it’s a slow process to make the change and that’s how I feel about the changes that I want to make here.” He emphasized that it will not happen overnight and that it will take time.
Why do you think that you should be the Democratic nominee for the Sheriffs office? As I said we were raised to always give back to the community and today I am looking to be the nominee by the Democratic Party.”
“My family has always been involved in the Democratic Party and I remember my first campaign. My Grandfather was helping out trying to get Dolph Briscoe elected Governor and then we helped Lloyd Bentsen get elected. My uncle Ramiro Guerra was the Hidalgo County judge; my cousin Bobby Guerra was the Democratic Party Chairman and my cousin Art Guerra was elected as state judge here. My father, Dario V. Guerra served on the school board for over twelve years in Edinburg and I’ve had many uncles serve on city commissions throughout the Valley,” he said.
Would you terminate corruption in the Sheriff’s office or would you only be able to control it? “In the Sheriff’s office I will terminate corruption.”
Is that a possibility in any county? “You’ve asked me about the Sheriff’s office and I believe that within time by changing the policies, procedures, and the leadership here at the Sheriff’s office; yes, we can.” He added, “We now have a strong relationship with our federal, state and local partners. Working together we can eliminate the corruption here in the Sheriff’s office.”
He mentioned that his number one goal is to restore the public’s trust. “I am focusing on bringing back the trust into the Sheriff’s office, because with everything that has transpired, the public has lost the trust. We have a dark cloud over this agency, so my goal to restore the public’s trust.”
He continued, “For the people that don’t know me I’ve done this before at the constable’s office. When I took over that office it also was under a dark cloud and that is what I am going to do here.” TBB
