Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff is no longer running for re-election unopposed. Bexar County Probate Judge Tom Rickhoff filed as a Republican candidate on Monday, the final day to register.
Before entering the race for county judge, Rickhoff had planned to retire from the bench.
Rickhoff, 73, has been critical of how much money the County spends under Wolff’s leadership, arguing that vital County initiatives, such as guardianship programs for disabled wards, have been shortchanged as a result. In particular, Rickhoff believes Wolff and other commissioners unnecessarily added to growing debt when they purchased the $735,000 statue “Plethora” for the San Pedro Creek restoration project
“We are $3.7 [billion] in debt,” Rickhoff said in a statement to the Rivard Report. “Five more years of legacy spending and your granddaughter can’t pay off the bonds.”
Wolff, 77, is seeking his fifth term as Bexar County judge. The Democrat was appointed to the position in 2001, winning re-election four times since.
Rickhoff is not “the kind of serious guy that would be a hardworking county judge,” Wolff said. “He certainly has not been one as probate court [judge].”
Wolff said Rickhoff ceased hearing mental health court cases after winning re-election in 2006. That refusal forced the County to create and fund a new associate judge position in order to avoid what Wolff described as “a terrible mess.”
At his October campaign announcement, Wolff said he wanted to continue building a safe city with attractive amenities including better public transportation. He has been instrumental in the County’s initiative to restore San Pedro Creek.
Rickhoff and Wolff are the only candidates in the race.
Commissioner Paul Elizondo (Pct. 2) is also running his 10th County re-election campaign against the County’s Veteran Service Officer Queta Rodriguez and environmental outreach specialist Mario Bravo.
Two terrible choices. Just retire already both of you!
Rickoff is going for his 3rd government pension talk about fiscal waste.
Given that Judge Rickoff could not handle the rigors of the mental health docket and refused to carry out a significant portion of a Probate Court judge’s job, I find it laughable that he feels he could handle the rigors of the County Judge position. Would he declare that it was just too traumatizing for him shortly after the electiojn?
HELL TO THE NAW
Today I saw a plea for donations for renovations and restorations for our National Treasure, our missions…at the same time dollars (6 figures) are being spent for artwork created by outsiders. Local artists are selected without open call, for county funded projects, another wrong. If County Commissioners were paying out of pocket perhaps they would be more frugal and responsible to and for constituents. Just saying, research.
in 2013, Tom Richoff, threw me in the trash. My father, Frm Ambassador Keith L. Brown,(twice Presidentially appointed Ambassador, to Two countries) and Victoria Bennett, conspired, to make me a ward of the court. The subsequent filing of false documents, croneyism, my fathers dementia, the complete lawlessness of Mr. Richoffs fiefdom, removed me of my life.
Fact: I was not a resident of Texas, nor the United States. My father was in complete dementia, there was no due diligence, I was denied legal representation.
This man IS A CRIMINAL!!!