February 1, 2019 • Regional News
Art Fierro wins special election for El Paso House seat vacated by Joe Pickett
AUSTIN — Democrat Art Fierro will be the next representative from House District 79 in El Paso after winning Tuesday's special election.
Fierro, chairman of the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees, will replace state Rep. Joe Pickett, who has held the seat since 1995 and stepped down to deal with cancer-related health issues. The district includes parts of the East Side and Northeast El Paso.
The three-person race for the seat featured Fierro, Democrat Michiel Noe, a former El Paso City Council representative, and Republican Hans Sassenfeld, a retired engineer.
The race for the open seat was somewhat subdued, given the short duration of the campaign cycle. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called the special election at the end of December.
About 5 percent of the more than 88,000 registered voters in the district voted in the race.
Fierro started the night ahead of his opponents after results were reported from the two-week early voting period. He secured 51 percent of the 2,750 votes cast early.
He maintained his lead as precincts across the district reported results from Election Day.
With all 37 precincts reporting and early voting totals, Fierro finished with 53 percent of the 4,713 votes cast in the election. Noe came in behind him with 27 percent, followed by Sassenfeld, who claimed 20 percent of the vote.
Fierro was not immediately available for comment.
Fierro will join the rest of El Paso's delegation in Austin, where this year's legislative session is already underway. The new lawmaker will serve on the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee and the House Elections Committee.
Fierro earned early endorsements from Sen. José Rodríguez and state Reps. César Blanco, Mary González, Joe Moody and Lina Ortega, the five Democrats who represent El Paso at the Capitol.
Moody said the members are looking forward to adding Fierro to their delegation.
"We’re adding another smart, hardworking leader who will put El Paso first while helping move us all forward," he said in a text message. "This isn’t just a win for District 79, but for Texas as a whole."
All three candidates have raised more than $115,000 throughout the campaign: Fierro reported raising more than $59,000, Noe raised more than $55,000 and Sassenfeld raised more than $2,600.
Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa applauded Fierro for his victory and said it is clear that the district "will remain in strong Democratic hands tonight."
“On behalf of the Texas Democratic Party, we congratulate Art Fierro on his victory tonight in Texas House District 79," he said in a statement. "Fierro ran a campaign focused on delivering solutions for El Paso’s families."
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