EDINBURG – Former District Attorney Rene Guerra wants his office back.
EDINBURG – Former District Attorney Rene Guerra wants his office back.
The longtime Hidalgo County DA announced on Friday his intent to run again, hoping to unseat current DA Ricardo Rodriguez.
“Mr. Rodriguez is doing a terrible job,” Guerra said about his successor.
Rodriguez successfully ran against Guerra in 2014, ending Rodriguez’s reign of 32 years. Guerra’s 32 years in office are the second-most ever for a Texas district attorney. Former Tarrant County DA Tim Curry served for 36 years and four months.
“The Irene Garza case murdered me politically,” Guerra said on Friday.
Rodriguez’s biggest platform at the time centered on the McAllen beauty queen’s death. Rodriguez criticized Guerra about his refusal to indict former Catholic priest John Feit in the 1960 murder.
The Monitor reported after the election that the now 57-year-old case, “which happened when Guerra was an eighth-grader at an Edinburg school, became a campaign issue when Garza’s relatives campaigned on Rodriguez’s behalf, claiming Guerra bungled the 2004 reopening of the case. CBS aired an episode of the news magazine program 48 Hours … that delved into the case and highlighted the DA’s race as a possible path to attain justice for Garza.”
Feit was indicted shortly after Rodriguez took office, and he is currently being held behind bards awaiting trial.
Guerra joked only two things would prevent him from running again: getting hit by lightning or winning the lottery. Filing for candidacy begins in December.
