The City Council is nonpartisan and comprises eight district representatives who annually set a tax rate, adopt a budget and make wide-ranging policy decisions. City representatives also appoint a city manager and city attorney. They serve four-year terms and are paid $63,038 a year. District 3 represents parts of Central, East Central and the Lower Valley.
Who’s running for this seat?
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, 41, is a capacity analyst.
Jose Rodriguez, 78, is a Realtor.
Fabiola H. Arellano, 57, is an attorney.
Kenneth Bell, 39, is a campaign organizer.
Jesse Romero, 71, is a Realtor and entrepreneur.
Candidate Questionnaires
Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 100 words. Responses have been lightly edited for grammar.
What is your vision for the city of El Paso for the next 10 years and what needs to be done to get there?
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha: My vision for El Paso for the next 10 years is to have a clean (well-maintained, clean streets, parks that are taken care of) and even safer community (provide public safety with necessary equipment and create a retention program), with a vibrant economy (spurring innovative and economic growth). You accomplish this with community engagement, prioritizing funds, if possible, and education.
Jose Rodriguez: We need high-paying jobs so that our children do not have to leave after graduation. Tourism is the cleanness industry. Not enough is being done to attract tourists.
Fabiola H. Arellano: Stop burdening taxpayers with bond debt. Eliminate government waste, fraud and corruption. Audit all government departments and hold the heads accountable. I work at the District Attorney’s Office, so community safety is paramount. I will support and work with law enforcement to ensure our neighborhoods are safe. I will advocate for higher wages. When I worked at McDonald’s in the 1980s. I was making $3.65 an hr., it is now $7.25. I will work with state/U.S. representatives to increase wages.
Kenneth Bell: My vision for El Paso is to create jobs, provide property tax relief, and repair streets to make our city more competitive. We must attract companies with metric-based incentives to create living-wage jobs for high school and college graduates. With many seniors on fixed incomes, the city should maintain no-new-revenue rates to provide relief. We need to secure funds by conducting internal audits and seeking state and federal grants to support these initiatives.
Jesse Romero: My vision is to see University Medical Center strong and prosperous, increase in housing for the elderly of El Paso, available two-tier (bottom part going west, top part going east) freeway in Downtown area and a viable tourist industry in El Paso. What will it take to get to where I want it to be? It’s not going to happen any time soon, not the way the city is run.
The city of El Paso since 2004 has had a council-manager form of government, limiting the mayor’s power. In the past year, the city manager’s authority over auditing and other functions has been removed. How do you balance power between elected city officials and the city manager?
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha: I believe in the council-manager form of government. I believe that the power lies in the contract verbiage and negotiations and to also have open communication and mutual respect, budget control, frequent performance evaluations and the ability to effectively resolve conflicts.
Jose Rodriguez: There shouldn’t be a need for a highly paid city manager. The mayor and the department heads need to run the city. The city auditor needs to do his job better.
Fabiola H. Arellano: No elected official, city manager, nor department can have authority over an audit of itself. There must be checks and balances. And apparently there are none, as demonstrated in the recent audit of the Economic and International Development 380 incentive agreements which uncovered the misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars. Taxpayers deserve better. They deserve audits of all departments, audits of taxpayer money spent by elected/appointed officials, transparency, and accountability.
Kenneth Bell: The role of the city manager is to oversee the day-to-day operations and report to City Council, to include the mayor. City Council is accountable to the voters, not the city manager. There have been concerns that the previous city manager’s influence extended beyond their duties, which led to a perceived imbalance of power. We need to restore a balance of power with communication and oversight. It is council’s job to lead the strategic direction of El Paso and represent the will of the voters.
Jesse Romero: I’m not familiar with the role of the city manager. From what I understand the mayor and City Council hire this individual to run the city. So, what is the purpose of having a City Council and mayor if they’re letting someone else do their job? The city manager has too much power, City Council with the mayor should have checks and balances to monitor the city manager.
The November ballot asks voters whether to revoke the Downtown arena bond. Do we need such a venue? Please explain.
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha: I honestly feel that the voters approved it 12 years ago and should not be added back to the ballot this November because it has the potential to cause a precedent for the future. I was one of the people that voted for it 12 years ago because I did feel that this would spur economy.
Jose Rodriguez: Not needed. Money should be spent on things that improve the quality of life.
Fabiola H. Arellano: No, we do not need the Downtown arena. We have the Don Haskins Center, the County Coliseum, and the City Council recently approved $31 million in incentives to a developer to build a 12,500 seat amphitheater in the Northeast. There has already been costly protracted litigation over the original Duranguito neighborhood site for the arena. Moreover, it is now estimated that the $180 million amount originally stated to build the arena is not sufficient. It is estimated that more money is actually necessary to build the arena, approximately $400-$500 million. Instead of building another arena, El Paso needs to take care of the basics first. Repair the broken streets, repair the potholes, repair the broken sidewalks, plan for traffic congestion mitigation, repair the bridges, etc.
Kenneth Bell: There has been controversy over the proposed Downtown arena, particularly with the estimated $400 million cost and the impact to the Duranguito neighborhood. With the November ballot, this is no longer a City Council issue, but a voter issue. I will respect the will of the voters.
Jesse Romero: Yes, we need to revoke the Downtown arena bond. The sports arena initially proposed was not feasible and never will be. Do we need another sports arena Downtown? No, we don’t. We have Southwest University Park, the UTEP Special Events Center and a 50,000-plus football field that is hardly used except for a few UTEP football games. All of these facilities are available within less than a mile from each other.
The city has long struggled with how to prioritize and fund street repairs. How would you address this challenge and pay for it?
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha: I would first look at the general fund for any opportunities there. Next, I would need to approach grant-based funding for this since it has no impact on the citizens of El Paso.
Jose Rodriguez: Street repairs are a necessary part of city functions. They should be a priority.
Fabiola H. Arellano: I would seek state and federal grants to repair the streets. The Texas Department of Transportation gives grants. The Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program is an example of a federal grant program. There are $2 billion dollars left in that program. The Highway Bridge Program is a federal-aid program that provides funding to states to improve the condition of highway bridges through replacement, rehabilitation, and systematic preventive maintenance.
Kenneth Bell: Audits of seven of the city’s Chapter 380 Agreements have shown that the city is hemorrhaging money. The city lost $1,346,322.00 from work that was not completed. Those agreements lacked a recapture clause, meaning the city cannot be reimbursed for contracts that were not honored. Auditing all 65 contracts and mandating recapture clauses is how we stop the hemorrhage and fund street repairs. I will seek federal and state grants and support the creation of a fund exclusively for street repairs.
Jesse Romero: We have a problem with the city’s street repairs. That is an issue that I get from people in my district, more than taxes and broken sidewalks. In my opinion, the best way to fund the street repairs is to get it from the taxes we get from the bridge tolls. We receive several million every year. And, we can get more if we increase the rates a few cents more.
What is the top priority specific to your district and how would you address it?
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha: Economic growth is my priority for District 3. Two of my skills are to build relationships and collaboration. I would support local businesses and work to create job opportunities. Also, I would showcase the district’s strategic location in the city with potential investors. Along with these steps it would also help to partner with educational workforce development for vocational training, continuing education and apprenticeship/internship opportunities.
Jose Rodriguez: Streets, cleanliness and property upkeep.
Fabiola H. Arellano: I will work on all issues and matters that affect the citizens in District 3, as well as all El Paso residents. Having worked as an immigration attorney representing migrant children in Special Immigrant Juvenile Visa cases, I have empathy and compassion for the migrants in El Paso. However, El Paso taxpayers cannot bear the cost. I will work with state/U.S. representatives to obtain state and federal funds to shoulder the burden of feeding and sheltering migrants allowed into the country.
Kenneth Bell: My top priority for District 3 is revitalizing aging commercial centers through inclusionary zoning and land-use adjustments. I will promote mixed-use development to create hubs combining residential, retail, and entertainment spaces. Additionally, I’ll offer incentives to property owners to repurpose vacant spaces into co-working hubs, farmers’ markets and cultural centers.
Jesse Romero: My top priority for District 3 is to make the El Paso Independent School District a viable entity. The only way that EPISD can crawl out of the grave is to bring in younger couples with children to reside in this district. A huge percentage of the people who live in my district are senior citizens, this means lower taxes because people 65 years of age and older pay close to a third in property taxes. Veterans pay little to nothing in property taxes due to reduction in taxes due to disabilities.
The post Q&A: City Council District 3 candidates in Nov. 5 general election appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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