Seven candidates – including three sitting city representatives – are seeking to become El Paso’s next mayor. Eighteen other candidates have filed for city representative seats in six of the eight City Council districts.
The deadline to file for office was Monday, Aug. 19, though that only applied to the general election – those that were scheduled to be held on the uniform election date. Two races – to fill the unexpired city representative seats in Districts 1 and 5 — have filing deadlines of Sept. 4 as they were not scheduled to be on the ballot this year.
Mayor Oscar Leeser has served two terms and cannot seek reelection. City Reps. Cassandra Hernandez, Brian Kennedy and Isabel Salcido are running for mayor, with the latter two leaving their seats two years early.
The city representative positions on the ballot are Kennedy’s District 1 seat on the Westside/Upper Valley, Hernandez’s District 3 seat in East Central/Lower Valley, and Salcido’s District 5 seat on the far Eastside.
In District 2 in Central El Paso, only incumbent Josh Acevedo filed for office, so he’ll be effectively reelected. District 4 city Rep. Joe Molinar is seeking reelection to represent Northeast, while District 7 city Rep. Henry Rivera is not seeking reelection, leaving the Lower Valley/Eastside seat open.
Also on the city ballot are municipal court judges Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, as well as the judge for the municipal court of appeals. Only court No. 4 has more than one candidate, meaning the other four judgeship candidates will be automatically elected.
City elections are nonpartisan. If a runoff election is required, it will be held Dec. 14. The elected officials will take office in January and serve four-year terms, except the winners in Districts 1 and 5, who will serve the remaining two years of terms that began in 2023.
Other elections on the ballot include bond propositions for the county and the hospital district, as well as a bond revocation proposition by the city.
Here’s a glance at what will be on the Nov. 5 ballot in El Paso:
CITY OF EL PASO CANDIDATES
Mayor
Marco Antonio Contreras, restaurant owner
Renard U. Johnson, businessman
Cassandra Hernandez, city representative
Steven B. Winters, Army retiree
Brian Kennedy, city representative, attorney
Elizabeth Cordova, magazine owner
Isabel Salcido, city representative, Realtor
District 1*
Alejandra “Ale” Chavez, advisor/consultant
Monica Reyes, educator
Sam Armijo, engineering consultant
Tom Handy, writer
*Deadline to file for this seat is Sept. 4
District 2
Josh Acevedo, city representative
Isabel Ceballos Otten, Realtor
District 3
Kenneth Bell, political organizer
Jesse Romero, Realtor/entrepreneur
Fabiola H. Arellano, attorney
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, capacity analyst
Jose Rodriguez, Realtor
District 4
Sissy M. “Dorothy” Byrd, retired/insurance specialist
Joe “Chief” Molinar, incumbent city representative, retired police officer
Wesley Lawrence, consultant
Cynthia Boyar Trejo, business owner
District 5*
*No candidates had filed as of 5 p.m. Monday; deadline to file for this seat is Sept. 4.
District 7
Lily Limón, retired educator, consultant, former city representative
Fabiola Campos Lopez, former financial social services employee/El Paso Neighborhood Coalition chair
Alan Serna, landscape company owner, conservation advocate
Chris Hernandez, YISD trustee, political consultant
Don’t know who your city representative is or in which district you live? Type in your address in the city’s district locator to find out or check out the city’s district map on the elections department website.
ALSO ON THE NOV. 5 BALLOT:
University Medical Center of El Paso
The El Paso Hospital District is proposing $396.6 million bond for ne clinics and health centers in Horizon and the Westside, expansion of surgical suites and operating rooms, and equipment for the planned cancer center
El Paso County Bond
The county of El Paso is proposing a $324 million bond for projects ranging from improvements to Ascarate and other county parks; revitalizing the coliseum; building an animal shelter; and moving the medical examiner’s office to the Eastside
Downtown arena bond revocation
The city of El Paso is asking voters whether they want to ax the arena by canceling its authority to issue the unspent funds from the bond voters approved in 2012
El Paso District Attorney
The seat covers El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties in the 34th Judicial District
James Montoya, Democrat
Bill Hicks, incumbent, Republican
El Paso County Sheriff
The Sheriff’s Office is responsible for enforcing laws within El Paso County and will replace Richard Wiles, who is retiring after 16 years in the seat
Oscar Ugarte, Democrat
Minerva Shelton Torres, Republican
El Paso County Commissioners Court, Precinct 1
Precinct 1 covers the Eastside, and the winner will replace Carlos Leon, who is retiring. Find a map for Precinct 1 here. The other seat up for grabs on the court was in the Lower Valley’s Precinct 3, to which Democratic incumbent Iliana Holguin was reelected in the primaries as she does not face a Republican opponent.
Jackie Arroyo Butler, Democrat
Claudia Rodriguez, Republican
Other races on the ballot include congressional seats for District 16 and District 23 and District 74 state representative, as well as some judgeships.
The Canutillo Independent School District will also hold elections for four at-large trustees, while the El Paso County Water District No. 4 will hold elections for two at-large board members.
The presidential race will also be on the November ballot, pitting Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee following this week’s Democratic National Convention against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who served as president from 2016 to 2020 and accepted his party’s nomination July 18.
KEY DATES TO REMEMBER
Oct. 7: Last day to register to vote
Oct. 21: First day of early voting
Oct. 25: Last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received, not postmarked)
Nov. 1: Last day of early voting
Nov. 5: Last day to receive ballot by mail
Nov. 5: Election Day
EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
Making a plan to vote? Here’s a list of early voting locations from the El Paso County Elections Department. You can vote at any site during early voting. To find a voting site near you, you can type in your location here or filter by ZIP code.
HOW DO I REGISTER TO VOTE?
To register to vote, simply fill out an application available online at the El Paso County Elections Department. You can download an addressed, postage-paid application here. Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election.
The post Elections 2024: Who’s running for El Paso mayor, City Council appeared first on El Paso Matters.
Read: Read More