Most County elected positions to be decided in the March 2 Democratic Party primary have only a single candidate at this point, less than a week before the Mon. Jan. 4 filing deadline. Anyone wishing to file should contact Party Chairman Ernesto "Lefty" Cavazos at 384 N. 5th St.

The lack of candidates is surprising given the fact that so many names have been mentioned as possible county judge candidates. So far, the only judge candidate is former Pct. 3 commissioner Emilio "Jr." Vera.

The county judge job pays a salary of $48,770 ($66,051 with benefits included.) Incumbent County Clerk Teresa "Terry" Flores has filed for re-election to her $34,100 job ($44,758 with benefits.) Incumbent District Clerk Gilbert Lozano has filed for reelection to his $34,100 job ($44,758 with benefits.) Incumbent County Treasurer Ruben Cavazos has filed for reelection to his $34,100 job ($44,758 with benefits.) Former Pct. 2 County Commissioner Noe Loya has filed for his old $24,351 job ($34,490 with benefits.)

Oscar Garcia has filed for Pct. 4 County Commissioner which also pays $24,351 ($34,490 with benifits.)

In the most hotly contested race to date in next year's election three men are facing off for Pct. 1 Justice of the Peace. They are Apolinar "Polo" Gracida, Jesse Coy and Roy Hernandez. (This is the vacant position previously held by Richard Solis, who retired this year).

No one has yet filed for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2.

The incumbent Juan Silva has filed for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 3.

The incumbent, Juan Salinas, has filed for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 4.

The incumbent, Rudy Cantu has filed for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 5.

Justice of the Peace jobs pay $19,000 ($27,793 with benefits).

The cost of filing for county wide positions such as county judge, county or district clerk is $750 and the cost of filing for county commissioner is also $750, however, the cost of filing for Justice of the Peace jobs is $375.

Those who cannot afford to pay the filing fee may qualify to be on the ballot by obtaining signatures from a large number of individuals who support them and live in the district in which they plan to serve. Party Chairman Ernesto "Lefty" Cavazos says, however, it is difficult to pay the cost of the election when so many candidates opt out of paying the filing fees.

"Every penny of the filing fees go to running the election and the Democrtic Party has no other way of paying our debts. So, I encourage all candidates who can afford to do so, to pay the filing fees", he said.

Cavazos said so far only a few candidates have paid their filing fees and most are bringing in signatures.

Those who have paid include: Noe Loya, Emilio "Jr." Vera, Gilbert Lozano, Ruben Cavazos, Juan Silva and Jesse Coy, Cavazos said.

Deadline for filing to be a candidate in the March 2, 2010 county election is Monday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.