Rebecca Tarango, Candidate for El Paso Municipal Court of Appeals

Name 

Rebecca Tarango

Campaign Social Media Accounts and Website: 

www.rebeccatarango.com, Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Rebecca-Tarango-for-Municipal-Court-of-Appeals-104045394782057/

Campaign Email Address: 

Rebeccatarango@live.com

Elected Office you are seeking: 

Judge, Municipal Court of Appeals

BACKGROUND: Where did you go to school to get your bachelor's, your law degree, and who is (are) your current employer(s): 

I graduated from UTEP with highest honors with a B.S. in Accounting, and then from Yale Law School.  I am currently a prosecutor with the El Paso District Attorney’s Office

1. What makes you qualified for the position that you are seeking (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

 I have been a prosecutor for 20 years, which requires that I have an understanding of appellate issues that could come up due to procedural or evidentiary rulings in trial, and experience in seeing that justice is done.  I have also prosecuted Class C cases specifically, both in the JP courts and de novo in the County Courts at Law, and later supervised the two lawyers assigned to the JP courts, one of whom was himself a former Municipal Court Judge.

2. What are the three main functions of the office you are currently seeking? 

The one main function of the Municipal Court of Appeals is to decide on appeals from the Municipal Courts.

3. What is the greatest obstacle you might face? Do you plan to serve in El Paso Municipal Court for a long time or plan to move on to another city or a more significant position after a few years of serving (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

I don’t know that there will be any obstacles necessarily, although it all may just be a matter of perspective.  I would anticipate a short learning curve, but as I have been promoted up in the District Attorney’s Office I have always learned quickly and made improvements in each new position.  If elected, I hope to remain as judge of the Municipal Court of Appeals, maybe not for decades, but certainly long enough to serve the community, and plan to live in El Paso indefinitely.

4. How long have you been a lawyer? Are you a member of the El Paso Bar Association? 

I have been a lawyer for approximately 23 years, and am a member of the EPBA.

5. List all community/civic organizations in which you are a current member, and in what capacity do you serve, or how else do you give back to the community (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

I spent the vast majority of the past year working very hard on a political campaign that I thought was in the best interests of El Paso County.  I am also a member of the El Paso Trans Pecos Audubon Society, the Trost Society, and the El Paso Sierra Club, as well as serving as a volunteer admissions interviewer of local high school students applying to Yale University, as part of the Yale Admissions School Committee program.

6. Are you a current member of any other local Bar Association(s) (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

I am also a member of the El Paso Women’s Bar Association.

7. Why do you want to be elected to that Judicial Position (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

As a long time public servant looking at the end of my career with the close of 2020, I want to continue to contribute to my community. I think it is so important that local voters have competent, hard-working candidates from which to choose on the ballot.

8. What else would you like the El Paso Community to know about you (3-4 Sentences Max)? 

 I hope the El Paso community knows that I am qualified, well-intentioned, and more than capable of serving them as judge of the Municipal Court of Appeals.  I am hardworking and conscientious, and do not take lightly being entrusted with the fiscal and ethical responsibilities of public office.