Richard Cortez (born November 10, 1943) is an American politician who is the current

County Judge The term county judge is applied as a descriptor, sometimes as a title, for a person who presides over a county court. In most cases, such as in Northern Ireland and the Victorian County Courts, a county judge is a judicial officer with civil ...

Hidalgo County, Texas Hidalgo County (; ) is located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat is Edinburg and the largest city is McAllen. The county is named for Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the priest who raised the call for Mexico's independence from Spain. I ...

. He was elected in November 2018.

Biography

Richard Cortez held multiple elected positions in the City of

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, the largest city in

. In 2004, Richard held the position of Vice Chairman of the McAllen Public Utility Board, a board entrusted with the water and sewer services for the City of McAllen. In June 2005, Richard Cortez was elected the eighteenth Mayor of the City of McAllen. He was re-elected for a second four-year term in May 2009, garnering 82 percent of the popular vote. Richard was elected McAllen City Commissioner-District 1 in 2015 and continued to serve until he gave up his seat to run for Hidalgo County Judge. In 2018, after three terms as Hidalgo County Judge, Ramon Garcia did not seek re-election. Cortez became the nominee for the Democratic Party and defeated Republican Jane Cross with 72% of the vote or 106,745 votes to Cross with 28% of the vote or 42,331 votes. On January 1, 2019, Richard Cortez took office as Hidalgo County Judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cortez, Richard 1943 births Living people University of Texas–Pan American alumni Texas Democrats