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 2 represents parts of Central and South Central roughly south of Hondo Pass Drive.
Who’s running for this seat?
Josh Acevedo, 35, is the incumbent city representative for District 2.
Isabel Ceballos Otten, 23, is a Realtor.
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?
Josh Acevedo: I want to create a vision that eases the burden on the residential taxpayer through economic development. While we lowered taxes this year, we need to develop a long-term plan to bring in high paying jobs and quality of life projects that will add more commercial properties to the tax rolls. This is a long-term solution toward addressing the increasing burden of property taxes. We must also focus on infill development throughout my district to bring people back to the core of the city.
Isabel Ceballos Otten: District 2 and El Paso is a wonderful community which I have called home all my life. As a mother of three daughters, I want to be part of building up our community. To reach that goal we need to get back to basics: public safety, streets and affordability by ensuring our taxes reflect our economic reality. El Paso families’ financial decisions are based on how much they make. El Paso’s leadership needs to do the same, spend wisely.
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?
Josh Acevedo: I believe that the auditor reporting to the City Council instead of the city manager was a good move because it allows the Internal Audit Office to have independence to better produce factual reports. For the city manager and council power balance, it is important to develop a cohesive governance team with priorities in the short- and long-term to make sure the vision of the council is executed by the city manager. This will happen by February 2025 with our new city manager.
Isabel Ceballos Otten: Under the city-manager form of government, the city council sets public policy, and the city manager implements it. City expenses which are paid by our tax dollars is a public policy decision that should be made by those we elect to office. That includes ensuring our tax dollars are wisely spent by auditing and examining the finances of the city.
The November ballot asks voters whether to revoke the Downtown arena bond. Do we need such a venue? Please explain.
Josh Acevedo: Speaking as a candidate for El Paso City Council, District 2, I voted against placing the MPC on the ballot again because almost $20 million out of $180 million has been spent on this project. I thought it was irresponsible to potentially cancel the project and lose millions of dollars in taxpayer money. I would have liked to explore a public-private partnership to make this 2012 project a reality before placing it on the ballot again. I will respect the decision of the voters on this project in November.
Isabel Ceballos Otten: El Paso, like other great cities, needs public venues for economic reasons and quality of life. The issue is not whether we need the venue, but how we will pay for it. There have been several sports arena plans going back to 1938. That was followed by several proposals in 1996, 1999, 2000 and the 2012 Quality of Life bonds. The underlying problem is that voters are told, “build it, and they will come,” but a reasonable return on investment has yet to convince the voters which is why there is controversy. Give us a plan that shows how taxpayers benefit and they will embrace it.
The city has long struggled with how to prioritize and fund street repairs. How would you address this challenge and pay for it?
Josh Acevedo: Over half of the streets in the city are in bad condition and we are only budgeting $7 million for residential and $3 million for connector streets for the entire city, when we need over $40 million a year to make a real impact. The next budget cycle will begin early in 2025 and my main priority is for us to figure out a sustainable plan to address our streets. For my district, it is more than having a nice street – we have a lot of stormwater issues and better streets address safety concerns.
Isabel Ceballos Otten: In 2022, the City Council voted to spend close to $800,000 on a feasibility study for the sports arena. That is just one of several studies where taxpayer funds have been spent on the arena. The arena was abandoned, and it is now on the November ballot. This expenditure of tax dollars without a clear deliverable to the taxpayers is the reason there are not enough tax dollars for our streets. We need to get back to the basics.
What is the top priority specific to your district and how would you address it?
Josh Acevedo: I want to make sure we improve the city services we deliver to our residents from 311 to animal services to public safety. We are in the process of reconstructing 311 to better address neighborhood issues. We increased the animal services budget by $2 million to hire more staff and alleviate overcrowded shelters. I have worked with the police chief to address public safety concerns within District 2 by bringing more police to our neighborhoods and we are working on hiring more police officers.
Isabel Ceballos Otten: My top three priorities are public safety, our streets and affordability. Addressing these priorities is simply a matter of focusing on the basics by making decisions on our tax dollars by asking the simple question, how does it benefit our community? Will investing in a feasibility study offer more of a return on investment for El Paso or is the money better spent on our streets?
The post Q&A: City Council District 2 candidates in Nov. 5 general election appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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