'Please do not vote for me,' says El Paso Judge Luis Aguilar, who wants name off ballot

District Judge Luis Aguilar, who was seeking reelection to the 243rd District Court, said he wants his name removed from the ballot and urged voters not to select him when they go to the polls.

"I sent a notarized affidavit to the Democratic Party requesting that my name be removed from the ballot," Aguilar wrote in an advertisement he placed in Sunday's edition of the El Paso Times. "Unfortunately, as of today, I have been unsuccessful."

He added, "Please do not vote for me. I am not running for another term."

Aguilar, who did not respond to multiple attempts seeking comment on the race last week, drew three opponents. They are Feliciano “Felix” Castañón, an El Paso County public defender; Roberto J. Ramos, who heads the foreign prosecution unit for the El Paso County District Attorney's Office; and Selena Solis, a lawyer and an El Paso Community College trustee.

El Paso County Democratic Party Chairwoman Iliana Holguin said Aguilar notified her of his decision not to run in early January. She said Aguilar did not give her a reason for his change of mind, other than to say it came after discussion with his family.

It is the first time in recent history that a candidate has asked to be removed from the ballot after the deadline has passed, Holguin said.

According to Texas Secretary of State officials, the last day for candidates to pull their names from the ballot was Dec. 12, the day after the March primary filing deadline.

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“That is the problem right now,” Holguin said. “There is nothing that can be done to take him off the ballot. ... I understand he doesn't want to run anymore, but there is not a way for us to take him off the ballot."

Sam Taylor, communications director for the Texas Secretary of State's Office, said deadlines to "remove or otherwise decertify a candidate from appearing on the primary ballot have passed."

Taylor said Aguilar can remove his name from the ballot if he can show his filing documents do not meet "applicable requirements as to form, content and procedure."

Otherwise, Aguilar's next opportunity to withdraw from the election would be if he gets enough votes to force a runoff with one of his challengers, Taylor said. Aguilar would be able to drop out of the runoff election, and the challenger would be declared the primary winner.

If Aguilar were to win the primary, he could remove his name from the general election ballot, but that would force the El Paso Democratic Party to find a replacement candidate.

In order to replace Aguilar, the party would have to show that Aguilar is “critically ill” or was elected or appointed to another office. The party also could replace Aguilar on the ballot if no other political party has a nominee for the position, Taylor said.

According to election documents, no Republican challenger has filed to run for the 243rd District Court seat.

Holguin said that if Aguilar wins the primary, the El Paso County Democratic Party leadership will meet and vote on who will replace him on the ballot.

"We would have to pick a new nominee," Holguin said. "It would be at our discretion. The party would come together and make a decision. Whenever there is a vacant seat, the party is responsible for filling that vacancy. If it gets to this point, the party would get together and vote on who would be the replacement nominee."

Holguin said she believes voters won't cast ballots for Aguilar since he's notifying them about his decision not to run. She added that the Democratic Party will continue to inform the community of his decision.

"There really isn't anything we can do except get the word out and answer any concerns or questions community members have," Holguin said. "When we get calls from the media or community members, we will answer their questions and tell them everything we know about the situation."

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She stressed that it is vital that voters take the primary elections as seriously as they do the general election.

"This is an example of why the primaries are so important," Holguin said. "A lot of people think of the November general election as the important one, but, again, the primaries are equally important. The primaries is where we pick our nominees that are going to represent the party on the ballot in November.

"In this situation, we have someone who doesn't want to be running in November," she added, "so it is important for voters to be engaged and know that he doesn't want to run anymore."

Aguilar, who won his seat in 2012 after defeating incumbent Bill D. Hicks, was recently reprimanded by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The reprimand was handed down after nine complaints were filed against Aguilar alleging that he was being “impolite and disrespectful” to several lawyers, jurors, defendants and other court officials. The complaints were filed between July 29, 2015, and Dec. 12, 2016.

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Along with the reprimand, Aguilar was ordered by the commission to attend eight hours of conduct and ethics classes.

Known throughout the courthouse as a strict judge who focuses on moving his docket as quickly as possible, Aguilar has handled several high-profile criminal and civil cases.

Some of the recent prominent cases he presided over include the four life sentences handed down to Arturo Valtierra-Payan in a series of rapes in the Manhattan Heights neighborhood in Central El Paso in 2013, and the sentencing of reputed Barrio Azteca gang member John Paul Perry, who pleaded guilty to intentionally crashing into and killing an El Paso police motorcycle officer last year.

At least two high-profile murder cases still are pending in Aguilar's courtroom. 

The murder trial of Luis Javier Solis-Gonzalez is still pending in an appeals court as prosecutors and defense lawyers argue over DNA testing, confession recordings and the role prosecutors played in the investigation.

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Lawsuit pending in girl's death at church carnival

Solis-Gonzalez was arrested in June 2012 in connection with the slayings of his estranged wife, Marysol Saldivar, 34; her boyfriend, Eric DeSantiago, 42; and her daughter, Cassaundra Holt, 13, in May 2012.

Another case still pending is the civil lawsuit filed by the family of a teenage girl, Samantha Aguilar, who was killed when she was thrown from a carnival ride at the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church bazaar on April 29, 2016.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinez31 on Twitter.