Delta voters re-elect felon Bazan by wide margin

[Texsox]

 

Delta voters re-elect felon Bazan by wide margin

 

Jeremy Roebuck March 4, 2008 - 11:41PM ELSA — Walo Bazan has done it again.

 

For the second time this decade, Hidalgo County’s Precinct 5 constable has won the Democratic primary under a cloud of legal problems and accusations of criminal wrongdoing.

 

Now, with no Republican challenger, the five-term incumbent is slated to become the only elected peace officer in the state to take office with a felony record, no license and a legal restriction barring him from carrying a weapon.

 

As election returns came in Tuesday night, challengers Mario Leal and Juan Diaz Alemán gracefully conceded.

 

“If that’s what the people want, then that’s fine,” Leal said. “I’m not disappointed.”

But for Bazan, who has retained much of his support in the Delta despite his conviction on theft charges in 2006, Tuesday’s results hardly came as a surprise.

 

He won re-election in 2004 by more than 1,000 votes over his closest competitor — even while Bazan was under criminal indictment. Now convicted of those charges, his popularity among voters has only grown.

 

His policies of patrolling the streets around area schools and providing free escort services for funerals have endeared him to his Delta constituents.

 

And on Tuesday, voters swept him back into office with almost 2,000 votes over Leal and more than 63 percent of the total vote — in a race in which nearly 5,900 votes were cast.

 

A state licensing board revoked Bazan’s peace officer’s license in 2006 after a jury found him guilty of getting personal use of a car his deputies seized.

 

The constable is currently appealing that conviction and has maintained his office despite Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra’s attempts to remove him.

 

The Texas attorney general bolstered Bazan’s claim to elected office last year in a legal opinion that suggested constables do not necessarily need a law enforcement license to hold their office.

 

But Bazan’s re-election Tuesday may not mean he will serve a full sixth term. The constable previously said he will consider stepping down should the state’s courts deny his appeals.

Bazan could not be reached for comment after his victory was declared.

[kapkomet]

Delta voters re-elect felon Bazan by wide margin

 

Jeremy Roebuck March 4, 2008 - 11:41PM ELSA — Walo Bazan has done it again.

 

For the second time this decade, Hidalgo County’s Precinct 5 constable has won the Democratic primary under a cloud of legal problems and accusations of criminal wrongdoing.

 

Now, with no Republican challenger, the five-term incumbent is slated to become the only elected peace officer in the state to take office with a felony record, no license and a legal restriction barring him from carrying a weapon.

 

As election returns came in Tuesday night, challengers Mario Leal and Juan Diaz Alemán gracefully conceded.

 

“If that’s what the people want, then that’s fine,” Leal said. “I’m not disappointed.”

But for Bazan, who has retained much of his support in the Delta despite his conviction on theft charges in 2006, Tuesday’s results hardly came as a surprise.

 

He won re-election in 2004 by more than 1,000 votes over his closest competitor — even while Bazan was under criminal indictment. Now convicted of those charges, his popularity among voters has only grown.

 

His policies of patrolling the streets around area schools and providing free escort services for funerals have endeared him to his Delta constituents.

 

And on Tuesday, voters swept him back into office with almost 2,000 votes over Leal and more than 63 percent of the total vote — in a race in which nearly 5,900 votes were cast.

 

A state licensing board revoked Bazan’s peace officer’s license in 2006 after a jury found him guilty of getting personal use of a car his deputies seized.

 

The constable is currently appealing that conviction and has maintained his office despite Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra’s attempts to remove him.

 

The Texas attorney general bolstered Bazan’s claim to elected office last year in a legal opinion that suggested constables do not necessarily need a law enforcement license to hold their office.

 

But Bazan’s re-election Tuesday may not mean he will serve a full sixth term. The constable previously said he will consider stepping down should the state’s courts deny his appeals.

Bazan could not be reached for comment after his victory was declared.

 

 

[Texsox]

 

Too bad the REPs don't have a candidate that can win

 

How embarrassing to lose to a convicted felon?

[BigSqwert]

How embarrassing to lose to a convicted felon?

How is there not a law that prevents a felon from running for office? I find that to be odd.

 

EDIT: So let me get this straight. If you're a felon you cannot vote but you can run for office?!?

Edited March 13, 2008 by BigSqwert

[Balta1701]

How is there not a law that prevents a felon from running for office? I find that to be odd.

 

EDIT: So let me get this straight. If you're a felon you cannot vote but you can run for office?!?

It's actually a state issue. Most states prohibit felons in prison from voting (like 48/50), some states prohibit people on probation from voting, and something like 13/50 prohibit anyone with a felony conviction from voting.

[santo=dorf]

How is there not a law that prevents a felon from running for office? I find that to be odd.

 

EDIT: So let me get this straight. If you're a felon you cannot vote but you can run for office?!?

What's the big deal? He served he sentence. Our prison system works perfectly as a rehabilitation center for our misguided citizens.

[knightni]

Too bad the REPs don't have a candidate that can win

 

How embarrassing to lose to a convicted felon?

Almost as bad as losing to a dead guy.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Carnahan

[kapkomet]

Too bad the REPs don't have a candidate that can win

 

How embarrassing to lose to a convicted felon?

This paper is all over the party - and I know you noted it, but I wanted to NOTE it.