Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read October 2022 — Early voting began yesterday, with Bexar County’s county judge seat becoming the race to watch in San Antonio.
San Antonio and Bexar County residents are seeing the County Judge race heat up as early voting began this week. The equivalent to a county mayor and overseeing the Commissioners Court, executive staff and a $2.8 billion budget, the race has become more competitive as election day draws near. Bexar County District Court Judge and Democrat Peter Sakai is squaring off against Republican County Commissioner Trish DeBerry as they look to succeed Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff after a 21-year term in the position.
Over the last few weeks, the race has centered around DeBerry’s labeling of Sakai as “Dr. No,” a reference to the half-Chinese antagonist of the James Bond series. Local Asian American groups such as the Asian American Alliance of San Antonio, an umbrella group representing 28 local AAPI organizations, condemned the remarks.
Genaline Escalante, president of the AAASA, is quoted in the San Antonio Current as saying, “From our perspective, [DeBerry’s use of the nickname] was unequivocally deplorable and a racist statement.”
DeBerry’s campaign advisor and two-time mayoral candidate Greg Brockhouse refutes the claims, calling it a well-worn political phrase referring to Sakai’s voting record, with DeBerry herself noting Sakai’s opposition to moving the Bexar County Jail and refusing to build a new downtown baseball stadium.
“Typically, it’s used to describe someone who says ‘no’ to everything,” DeBerry said on TPR’s The Source, claiming that Sakai wasn’t upset on the debate stage earlier this month and that the outrage was politically manufactured. Sakai said the comments reminded him of experiences he endured in his youth, adding “I find it so insensitive that Commissioner DeBerry just won’t acknowledge that all we had to do was make reference to each other using our name or professional title. I, you — you don’t have to call me ‘judge.’ I said, ‘Call me Peter.’ But can we not get to name-calling? That is why people are so upset.”
The comments were the latest incident in a race that has become increasingly contentious, with DeBerry having made outside, dark-money spending a hallmark of her campaign and claiming that Sakai has helped orchestrate the attack ads. At an earlier forum hosted by the North San Antonio Chamber, DeBerry addressed Sakai directly, saying, “Peter, the Bexar County judge’s seat is not for sale. And you can say all day long that you have nothing to do with this, but you do.” Sakai firmly rejected the claims, saying his campaign had nothing to do with the ads.
While the candidates have focused their attention on more recent attacks, local issues will likely remain the top issues influencing voters. Sakai entered public service in 1995 with his appointment to Associate Judge of the Children’s Court. His platform is centered on economic recovery and fighting inflation, making the justice system more efficient with the creation of expedited “rocket dockets” and the creation of a public internet utility to help close the digital divide and provide broadband access to Bexar County residents. Nearly 1 in 5 people are without internet, according to Sakai’s campaign.
DeBerry, who is a small business owner and touts her outsider status as a way to leverage making local government more accountable, serving 11 months out of of her four-year term as Commissioner, has pushed for reducing taxes and property appraisal reform, reducing them to their lowest point while she served on the Commissioners’ Court, according to her campaign. She has also pushed for more job training programs for veterans and elder care, and in June unveiled a new school safety initiative to better protect children and prevent school shootings.
While these issues are no doubt critical to the future of the county, more recent discourse, centered on political attacks, has sidelined those issues. Bexar County voters will have the opportunity to shake up much of Texas’ political landscape, with a number of positions on the ballot up for grabs, including the governor’s race between Gov. Greg Abbot and Beto O’Rourke, the lieutenant governor, the state attorney general, the county attorney general and a number of other congressional and local races.
With early voting just beginning, voters will have the chance to cast their ballots up until Nov. 4, with election day taking place on Nov. 8.
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