Judge, commissioners up for vote in March

CLOVIS — Voters in Clovis will have five city commission seats and a municipal judge position on ballots when they go to the polls on March 6.

Of the five current commissioners whose terms are expiring, four say they intend to seek re-election. Commissioner Tom Martin declined to comment on his intentions.

Commissioners Helen Casaus, Fidel Madrid, Gary Elliott, and Mayor Pro Tem Juan Garza all said last week they plan to seek new terms.

Four of the commission seats will be four-year terms; Casaus’ term will be for two years after she succeeded Robert Sandoval, who resigned mid-term.

Judge Jan Garrett also plans to seek re-election and four more years as municipal judge.

More will be known about other candidates and Martin’s decision to seek re-election or not on Jan. 9, the filing date when all candidates must announce their intentions.

Some of the current commissioners listed road improvements as a top priority for the next four years.

Madrid singled out Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard as a street that needs work.

“It’s kind of dangerous and there are a lot of people that walk down that street and one of these days someone is going to hit somebody and they might get hurt,” Madrid said.

Casaus she would also like to improve street lighting by repairing broken lights and adding street lights where there currently are none.

“I know there are a lot of streets that are really dark; that’s one of the biggest complaints I get nowadays,” Casaus said.

Elliott said he would like to follow through with the construction of a pair of new buildings at local parks: the proposed senior citizen center at Hillcrest Park and the proposed shotgun range at Ned Houk Park.

Of the proposed shotgun range, Elliott said, “It will be a good thing to bring people into Clovis and increase the revenue. It will just be a real good deal, not only for Clovis but hundreds of miles around people will come to this.”

Garza said economic development will be one of his main focuses if he is elected for another term.

“We depend on the (Air Force) base, the cheese plant and the railroad right now,” he said. He hopes to “see if we can work with companies to relocate in Clovis,” Garza said.

All four commissioners also pointed to securing water for the city for years to come as something that will need to be addressed over the next term as well.