Revisiting Judge Cortez’s previous election campaigns

MISSION, Texas – Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez recently held a fundraiser at Klub Nautique to boost his re-election campaign. 

At the event, he said the four counties in the Rio Grande Valley must work with their neighbors in Mexico to devise and implement a regional strategic plan. No more working in silos, he said.

The Rio Grande Guardian has interviewed Judge Cortez many times over the years, including two livestreams while he was campaigning for countywide office. We thought it would be interesting to look back at what he had to say, firstly when running for county judge for the first time, back in 2018, and again in 2022, when he was seeking re-election.

In 2018, our then publisher Mark Hanna sat down with Cortez for an in-depth one-hour livestream. The topics covered included: infrastructure funding, drainage, the medical school, the push for a healthcare district, taxes, the new county courthouse, indigent healthcare, the digital divide, the upcoming 2020 Census, voter turnout, the Raymondville Drain, colonias, proposals to set up a regional metropolitan planning organization, and corruption in the county. 

Here is the livestream:

In 2022, Guardian anchor Mari Regalado interviewed Judge Cortez while he was running for a second term. COVID dominated the discussion back then and the judge responded to questions about the county’s response to the pandemic and federal funding the county received to tackle the issue. Cortez also took questions about drainage, the new county courthouse, corruption in the county, international trade, why he was running, and developing the eastern and western sides of the county.

Here is the livestream:

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