Democrat James Montoya declares victory in quest to become next El Paso DA

James Montoya won the Democratic Party primary runoff race and is now preparing to fight to take back the El Paso District Attorney's Office from Republican incumbent Bill Hicks in the November general election.

James Montoya, currently an El Paso County deputy public defender, claimed victory late Tuesday night as his lead over Alma Trejo, former El Paso County Criminal Court #1 judge, continued to grow. Montoya captured 52% of the votes.

"I'm ecstatic, very happy," Montoya said after announcing his victory. "I'm very grateful for the trust that the voters have given me. I'm very grateful to my team. I've said throughout the campaign trail, in my opinion, what made me the best candidate for district attorney was not just my own personal qualifications and work experience, but the people that I surrounded myself with that have gotten me here."

Trejo gathered 48% of the votes in a highly competitive race.

"For the voters that came out, thank you so much," Trejo said. "Thank you for caring about the community."

Trejo did not say if she would endorse Montoya but said it is important for the Democratic Party to take back the district attorney's seat.

"It is important, very important," Trejo said. "We need a district attorney who's elected by the people."

Montoya will face off against Hicks, who was appointed to the seat by Gov. Greg Abbott following the resignation of former district attorney Yvonne Rosales from the position.

"The number one thing continues to be the staffing crisis, the staffing shortage in the district attorney's office," Montoya said. "It's the same, if not worse than it was under (former district attorney) Mrs. (Yvonne) Rosales. In fact, there are people who have gone back to the DA's office to work for Mr. Hicks, who have then left several months later because it's not an enjoyable work environment for a number of reasons.

"People need to know that inadequate staffing at the DA's office has a direct impact on the safety of this community because they do not have enough lawyers to work on all the cases that happen. Cases have been falling through the cracks."

Hicks denied his staff is short staffed, stating his office has enough prosecutors to handle the criminal cases his office receives. He added he and his office are prepared to try the Walmart mass shooting case.

"I certainly look forward to the race ahead," Hicks said. "I hope that he will be willing to engage me in debates because I know that there have been quite a few things that have been said over the past several months that I strongly disagree with.

"I feel that he has made some false allegations about the office and about the way I've been running the office. I have not responded to those allegations because I didn't want to appear to be assisting or attacking one candidate over the other. Now that we have one definitive person running against me, I look forward to addressing all of those allegations in a one-on-one debate style."

Montoya and Trejo had been in a hard-fought battle to take on Hicks. The seat is the highest law enforcement seat in West Texas as the district attorney oversees the 34th Judicial District, which includes El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

Democrats had held the position for more than four decades before Rosales resigned amid a petition to remove her from office over allegations of "official misconduct and continued incompetence."

Montoya finished on top of the March primary with about 37.5% of the votes, and Trejo finished with 35.5%. A third candidate, Nancy Casas, finished last place in the primary with about 27%. Casas endorsed Montoya in the runoff asking her supporters to cast their ballots for Montoya.

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The race for the seat turned heated in the days leading up to the runoff election as Trejo and Texas State Rep. Joe Moody attacked Montoya on the Daniel Villegas capital murder case. Villages was found not guilty in his third trial in 2018 after serving 18 years in prison.

Montoya argues the decision to take the case to a jury of El Pasoans was the right decision, while Moody countered Villegas was innocent and wrongfully tried a third time. Trejo said a more careful examination of the case should have been conducted before trial.

The race for district attorney is one of El Paso's most important races in recent years as the state's case against the El Paso Walmart mass shooting remains at a standstill. The DA's office also is faced with staffing shortages and a backlog of thousands of cases, Hicks' opponents say.

The El Paso Walmart shooter has already been sentenced to life in prison in federal court, but Hicks is seeking the death penalty against him in state court. Montoya and Trejo have focused on Hicks' struggles to take the case to trial.

More: DA candidate James Montoya responds to campaign flier mailed by state Rep. Joe Moody

Both candidates said one of the first things they would do if elected is review the mass shooter's case to see if seeking the death is the right decision or if a plea deal for life in prison is in the best interest of the El Paso community.

Trejo and Montoya have claimed one of the reasons for the delays with the mass shooter cases and a backlog of thousands of cases is because of staffing shortages within the district attorney's office. Hicks claims the allegations are false as the office is almost fully staffed and the backlog of cases is nearly erased.

Montoya said he has dozens of attorneys ready to join the district attorney's office if he is elected to meet the staffing shortages. Trejo campaigned on her decades of legal experience which she said would have helped her immediately address any staffing shortage.

Montoya will face a tough challenge in the general elections as Hicks is expected to receive statewide support from key state leaders, including Abbott.

Hicks, a prominent El Paso attorney with decades of legal experience, is expected to raise large amounts of money leading up to the general election. Montoya and Trejo have already raised and spent thousands of dollars just to win the Democratic nomination.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Democrat James Montoya wins El Paso's primary runoff race for DA