EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — El Paso City Council is set to interview all four city manager candidates in executive session on Monday, Aug. 19, before potentially deciding who will be selected as El Paso’s City Manager.
The four candidates for the position are Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas; Deputy City Manager Mario D’Agostino; Climate and Sustainability Officer Nicole Alderete-Ferrini; and Deputy City Manager Dionne Mack.
The finalists were selected by City Council and were announced on Friday, July 12.
As we have previously reported, City Council member Josh Acevedo shared his concerns and criticized the selection process for falling short on being transparent later that Friday, July 12.
Acevedo said City Council was notified at 6 p.m. Thursday night, July 11, that a news conference would be held to announce the four finalists for the city manager position.
“City Council never received a report from staff or Baker Tilly, the search firm, on candidate rankings nor were given a draft of candidate finalists,” according to a news release sent out by Acevedo’s office.
“Instead, council was only given a draft of today’s press release with the list of four finalists at 8:26 p.m. last night. As a City Manager/Council form of government, council should have had the opportunity to convene and review the results of the rankings compiled from the nine members of City Council and submitted on Tuesday, July 9. This would have allowed the body to give input and determine the number of finalists to interview and perhaps council would have agreed on adding a few more candidates to the list of finalists,” Acevedo’s office added.
Acevedo also said: “The effort to select the next City Manager is one of our largest goals as a major Texas city, yet we were largely kept in the dark on selecting finalists to interview. I was only notified about the list of finalists through a draft press release I received hours before the press conference.”
Later that Friday, Leeser’s office also sent a statement to KTSM in response to what Acevedo said. It reads in part:
“Contrary to his claim, the City Council received detailed reports from the search firm outlining the qualifications and assessments of all 14 semifinalists. These reports included comprehensive documents such as resumes, cover letters, extensive questionnaires, and video interviews, offering thorough insights into each candidate.
“It’s regrettable that Rep. Acevedo feels uninformed about the process. However, the claim that council members were ‘largely kept in the dark’ does not align with the factual distribution of detailed candidate assessments provided. These documents were shared well in advance of any public announcements, allowing ample time for review and consideration by all council members. Once individual preferences were submitted by council members, further debate was unnecessary to maintain the integrity of the data.
“Rep. Acevedo may express disappointment with the final list of candidates, but it’s important to note that the selection of the City Manager is a collective decision, not that of any individual member.”
Leeser’s office also said: “The decision-making process was a comprehensive data-driven effort, resulting in the identification of the top four candidates and an alternate, with a tie occurring for the alternate position. Each step was guided by rigorous evaluations and analyses, ensuring transparency and accountability in our selection criteria.”
Leeser then held a press conference on Thursday, Aug. 15, at City Hall to discuss the city manager selection process.
Leeser was intense throughout the conference, arguing that El Paso City Council has been “committed to a thorough and transparent hiring process in search of a new city manager.”
“I’m tired of hearing that it was rushed. I’m really tired of hearing that we’re in a lame-duck session, because [it’s] none of the above. What we are, is in a very transparent process,” Leeser said.
Leeser also provided handouts with a timeline of the city manager search dating back to March 28, 2023, when City Council voted to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) to select an Executive Recruiting Firm.
Leeser also said that all City Council members received a report after Baker Tilly narrowed down the pool of candidates to 14.
“Every City Council member got to look at the final 14. They had to look at their email to be able to do this. They looked at the application, they had a video on there, and then you got to pick your top 5. It was full involvement by council, you couldn’t have done it if you didn’t open your email,” Leeser said.
Leeser also addressed criticisms that there were no real efforts to conduct a national search for a candidate.
“Back in February I said ‘We ought to look in our backyard. We ought to look at our local talent first.’ And then if we don’t find anybody, if we don’t feel we have anybody qualified, then let’s go out and spend the money to hire a search firm,” Leeser said. “To spend the $40,000-$50,000 we spent to determine that the top four were sitting in our own backyard.”
Leeser noted that the City has already looked out of town twice before, and that “it’s time we stay local.”
As we’ve previously reported, Former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez’s contract was terminated by a 5-4 vote of City Council in February 2023. Leeser cast the tiebreaking vote to terminate his contract.
Westin was appointed as interim city manager in May 2023.
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