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Debra Guerrero & Tommy Calvert Vie For Democratic Spot On Precinct 4 Ballot

Campaign photos

Among the races being decided during the runoff election is the open Precinct 4 seat on the Bexar County Commissioners Court. One of four people, two from each party, will take the place of Tommy Adkisson, who who gave up the seat to run for county judge.

Tommy Calvert and Debra Guerrero are the two Democratic candidates who survived the March 4 primary election.

Calvert is 33 years old and is the general manager of KROV Community Radio and a PR consultant. Calvert hasn’t held an elected position before but has worked in the offices of council members. Guerrero is 47 and works for the real estate company NRP Group. She was once councilwoman for District 3 and is currently on the school board for San Antonio ISD.

Calvert said he wanted to run to address the issue that the precinct was not getting it’s fair share of resources.

“I’m going there from day one knowing that we’re about 35-40 percent of the geography but only get 17 percent of the streets and drainage budget," Calvert said. "So I’m going in there to immediately ask for our fair share."

Guerrero said she was encouraged to run by members of her community and also feels Precinct 4 is not properly represented.

"There is a disconnect between the resources going into the urban core verses what is happening out in the rest of the county and suburban communities," Guerrero said. "There needs to be more of a balance between the two."

Former-Commissioner Adkisson said he has two priorities in office that he hopes his successor will continue: health care and recidivism.

Guerrero said health care remains a major issue for the entire county.

“As diabetes rates go up, cancer rates go up," she said. "We need to make sure the University Health System continues to provide quality care but that’s accessible to everyone."

She said as for crime prevention, stopping before even the first offense relies on training people for skills that can be used to obtain a good job.

Calvert said he stands with Adkisson on both issues.

“I was already fighting for a University Health System clinic in what we call the eastern triangle between Dellcrest and Southeast Baptist Hospital to make up for the loss in these medically underserved communities,” Calvert said. “I am proud that the work I was doing before I even ran for office is starting to show some fruition.”

On crime and recidivism prevention, Calvert said he’d like to implement more community outreach and intervention through positive role models and public service announcements.

In the March 4 primary, Calvert had 25 percent of the vote to Gurrero's 26 percent. Early voting is going on all this week until 8 p.m. every night through Friday. Election Day is next Tuesday, May 27.

Joey Palacios can be reached atJoey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules