El Paso County commissioners and the county judge have spent nearly $234,000 on travel since fiscal year 2022, with trips stretching from Austin and Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas, Hawaii and Taiwan. Precinct 2 Commissioner David Stout alone accounted for more than $126,000 of that total between fiscal year 2022 and May 2026, according to records reviewed as part of the analysis.
The figures come from nearly five years of travel and expense records obtained through a Texas Public Information Act request, as reported by KVIA. The county's fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30, and the outlet's review covers spending from fiscal year 2022 through May 2026. Stout's travel included a May 2026 trip to Hawaii for a conference, while commissioners as a group traveled frequently to Washington, D.C., Denver, Las Vegas and Austin.
Beyond Stout, the report shows Commissioner Iliana Holguin spent nearly $30,000 on travel over that span, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego spent about $28,000, Precinct 4 Commissioner Sergio Coronado spent almost $23,000, former Commissioner Carlos Leon spent about $10,381 during his final 39 months in office, and Commissioner Jackie Butler spent more than $16,412 during her first 20 months in office. El Paso County's travel and professional education spending was also part of the analysis.
Stout's Travel Peaked in Fiscal Year 2024
Stout's annual travel spending climbed from $13,425 in fiscal year 2022 to $29,701 in fiscal year 2023, then peaked at $37,725 in fiscal year 2024 — a year that included nine trips to Austin alone. He had spent more than $18,000 through May 2026 before losing his Democratic primary reelection bid on March 3, 2026.
Stout told the outlet that travel helps county officials advocate for El Paso and bring back ideas from other jurisdictions. His trips included a May 2024 visit to Yosemite for the National Association of Counties Western Interstate Region conference, which cost taxpayers about $3,559, and a Las Vegas trip for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference that cost more than $3,250. A conference trip to Maui cost taxpayers about $4,800 and earned Stout 7,024 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards points on the taxpayer-funded flight. Stout said the county paid only for hotel nights tied to the Western Interstate Region conference, and that when family members, friends or other non-county personnel joined him on taxpayer-funded trips, he covered their expenses himself. He was accompanied by at least one county staff member on the Hawaii trip.
Under Texas Penal Code § 39.02(d), frequent flyer miles and other travel discount awards earned during official public business are explicitly excluded from being considered government property under state criminal misuse laws, according to the Texas Ethics Commission. That means Stout's accrual of airline points on a taxpayer-funded trip, while drawing public scrutiny, is not a crime under state law — though the county's policy on travel rewards, airline miles or other loyalty benefits earned on county business is not addressed here.
Samaniego's Taiwan Trip and a Reversed Donation Vote
Samaniego's travel included a six-day economic development trip to Taiwan in 2025, tied to Taiwanese cloud infrastructure provider Wiwynn's manufacturing investment in Socorro. The trip initially cost taxpayers about $9,200 in March 2025 and included roughly $7,855 in business-class airfare. Commissioners court voted unanimously on March 10, 2025, to allow Samaniego to accept private donations for the trip, then reversed that decision in a 4-0 vote a week later, on March 17, 2025.
County official Betsy Keller said Samaniego ultimately paid for the trip himself and did not accept donations for travel, though he did receive a $2,000 donation from the Taiwanese council. Samaniego said he reimbursed $4,200 for the difference between economy and business-class airfare, formally repaying the county $4,024 on September 2, 2026 — bringing the trip's net cost to taxpayers to about $5,200. Separately, campaign finance disclosures reviewed by El Paso News show Samaniego reported spending $7,855 paid to United Airlines for travel outside the district in the same period he sought approval for outside donations.
Wiwynn's Growing Footprint Behind the Taiwan Trip
The Taiwan trip's economic backdrop is substantial: Wiwynn's Socorro project involves a reported $275 million investment and 2,000 promised jobs, with the broader workforce expected to reach 2,500. The project involves assembling server hardware and AI cloud infrastructure. Public records filed with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts show Socorro's 10-year economic development agreement with Wiwynn requires an initial minimum capital investment of $92 million in personal property and building improvements. The City of Socorro's Chapter 380 agreement includes an earlier maximum property-tax rebate of $1,255,399 and a later package capped at $1,836,462.54, with projected jobs paying an average hourly wage of $26.80 compared to El Paso County's median wage of $17.31 per hour, though Hoodline has previously reported only 100 of 2,000 jobs from an earlier phase of the deal were reserved for local hires.
Travel Rules, Exemptions and Post-Election Approvals
County travel rules and approval procedures are part of the broader discussion of county business travel.
Despite losing their primaries, both outgoing commissioners remained part of the records' account of county travel. The records did not specify a projected fiscal impact for travel after the election.
Stout and Coronado together accounted for nearly $149,000 of the court's travel spending, and both lost their Democratic primary re-election bids on March 3, 2026 — Stout to Miguel Teran, who won 53% of the vote, and Coronado to Annette Griego, who won 57% to Coronado's 43%, according to KVIA's election coverage.
A Stalled Reporting Policy Comes Back Into Focus
The article also examines whether officials communicate what they bring back from travel.
Local commissioners routinely travel to state and regional conferences, including for continuing education.
Budget Pressure and an Election on the Horizon
Samaniego now faces Republican challenger Minerva Torres Shelton in the November 2026 general election. The article also discusses municipal spending and fiscal oversight and links to Ballotpedia.
