Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Age issue is at the heart of commissioner contest

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Thursday, October 19, 2000

Age issue is at the heart of commissioner contest
Incumbent touts his experience, while challenger calls youth key to understanding Precinct 3 issues
By Jason Ma
Caller-Times
A generational battle is forming over the County Commissioners Court Precinct 3 seat.
   Challenger Craig Edgecq, 32, said there should be younger people on the Commissioners Court, who can identify with the needs of young residents, many of whom are leaving the area.
   Incumbent Oscar Ortizcq, 49, said he has the experience to serve the county effectively and that the county cannot afford to elect someone who must start from scratch.
   The two men are vying for a job that carries a four-year term and pays $55,081 annually. Precinct 3 covers an area that includes Robstown and is bounded by Bluntzer to the north and Driscoll to the south.
   Both men want to improve the county's economy.
   Ortiz, a Democrat, said the county needs to create a good business environment that will attract more businesses to the area and keep the existing ones .
   "We need to focus on job creation," he said. "We need to look at maintaining existing companies and make sure they don't move out."
   He points to his record as a county commissioner since 1994, saying that while he was in office the commissioners changed the tax polices to be equal with those of the City of Corpus Christi, allowing tax breaks to businesses that would hire a certain number of workers.
   He also said he wants to work on getting the proposed Interstate 69 under way to connect Nueces County with the rest of the U.S. economy and those of Mexico and Canada.
   Edge, an independent, said there are too many tourism industry-related service jobs and not enough higher-paying jobs.
   "Those (service) jobs aren't going to support a family," he said. "That's why there's an exodus."
   If elected, he would work with local colleges to provide enough skilled workers for prospective high-tech companies.
   "There needs to be a tight relationship between the Commissioners Court and the deans of these colleges," he said.
   While Edge has never held public office before, he said his experience in the Army as a logistics officer and his business degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi can help him as a commissioner.
   And as the founder and curator of the Alpha Museum in Robstown, which houses old news clippings, recordings of oral histories and 12,000 books, he says he is intimately familiar with the history of the area and its potential.
   "It has led me to the belief that Nueces County can be a lot better," he said. "It has been in the past and it can be in the future."
   Ortiz stands by his record, pointing to the agreement with Spohn Health System to help the county provide indigent care that allowed the hospital district to lower taxes between 1995 and 1999. During his term, the court also addressed juvenile crime problems and county jail overcrowding.
   Ortiz has raised $13,148 in contributions and loans and said he probably will spend it on brochures. Edge said he will not raise any money and has spent less than $200, mostly on office supplies.



Staff writer Jason Ma can be reached at 886-3778 or by e-mail at maj@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

[an error occurred while processing this directive]