Bexar County’s District Clerk race is down to two Democrats who’ve each had long careers in the office — and faced off against one another just four years ago when they both believed its future was on the line.
Though they didn’t know one another well at the time, Gloria Martinez and Christine “Chris” Castillo each launched campaigns for District Clerk in 2022 after having been pushed out of their roles by incumbent Democrat Mary Angie Garcia, who they kept from advancing from her own party’s primary that year.
Martinez went on to win the runoff by about 3,000 votes against Castillo — who is still gunning for the top job.
“It was a pretty hard pill to swallow, because I feel like my team and I did everything right, we ran a clean race, and we came up short,” Castillo said. “I’m here again because I still have that passion, I feel like I have unfinished business, and I feel like I can take this office to such a good place.”
On election night Castillo took 24% of the vote in a five-way race, sending her to another Democratic Primary runoff with Martinez, who took 33%.
Martinez declined to be interviewed for the story, but posted on Facebook after the primary that her first-place finish was evidence of the success she’s had turning things around in her first term.
“Because you, the citizens of Bexar County, we have made it this far,” Martinez wrote. “Thank you for standing with me. Let’s keep the momentum going.”
The winner of the May 26 Democratic primary runoff won’t have to face a Republican in November, since none filed for the race.
An office in transition
The district clerk is in charge of maintaining records and filings for the county’s roughly two dozen district courts — something that offices across the state have started offering online to varying degrees.
It’s also been a place where employees once stuck around for decades, as both Martinez and Castillo did until recent years.
Both San Antonio natives started their careers there shortly after high school, under then-District Clerk David J. Garcia, who Castillo remembers as a “stern” but compassionate boss.
“In my mind, I felt like ‘Well, I’ll stay a few years, just get some experience and then maybe move on. But I came to love my job,” said Castillo, who rose through the ranks as a supervisor and division chief.
Meanwhile Martinez worked in the civil, criminal and juvenile divisions of the office, while also serving in the U.S. Navy Reserves, where she was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
But Castillo said that after Mary Angie Garcia was elected in 2018, employees started “jumping ship,” and the office has never been the same.
After being shifted around to several roles, Castillo retired in 2019. Martinez was initially promoted by Garcia, according to Castillo, but later had her own falling out and also left.
“At one time, Bexar County was the ideal District Clerk’s office, a lot of counties in Texas would look to us as far as our processes and the way we handle things,” Castillo said of the office. “Now other counties are not looking Bexar County anymore, because we don’t have answers. It’s kind of embarrassing.”
Technology at the forefront
In her office’s written materials, Martinez takes some credit for a morale shift.
Her website said she was excited to have built “a dedicated and efficient team that will keep the wheels of justice turning.”
But in a primary with four Democrats, most of the criticism she’s faced was for failing to move fast enough on technological modernizations. In particular, opponents blamed her for Bexar County’s continued lack of online access to some court documents.
“I’ve done research with the other larger counties — Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth — we all seem to have the same case management system,” Castillo said. “They do offer online accessibility … It’s just about having the leadership to make it happen.”
Martinez posted on social media that she’s currently working with Commissioners Court on e-certification, which “will allow the public to request and receive certified copies of documents electronically and avoid coming downtown.”
She said she’s also “exploring the possibilities of using AI technology to assist departments that process e-filings.”
In a low-interest primary race, Castillo said neither candidate has raised enough money to do real, targeted advertising.
The issues they’re campaigning on typically don’t touch people’s lives until they’re interacting with the court system, she said, meaning such races are often more about identity-politics than qualifications.
“I get it, I’m Hispanic, so I know a lot of [Hispanic voters] go out and they vote for the first Latina,” said Castillo, who will appear second on the runoff ballot. “I’m trying to change their minds and explain to them [that I’m running] because of things that are happening right now [in the clerk’s office].”
