(C) El Paso Matters.org
This story was originally published by El Paso Matters.org and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
District 3 council candidates differ on property taxes, city manager’s role, fundraising support [1]
['Priscilla Totiyapungprasert', 'More Priscilla Totiyapungprasert', 'El Paso Matters', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width']
Date: 2024-11-22
Voters in the city of El Paso District 3 must choose between two candidates who offer different views on how to expand business opportunities and services, keep property taxes in check and respond to the incoming president’s plans for mass deportations.
After a tight race in the general election, two candidates are now in the Dec. 14 runoff to represent District 3, which covers portions of the Eastside and the Lower Valley.
Jose Rodriguez, a Realtor, captured 27% of the vote, the most of the five candidates in the Nov. 5 race. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, a capacity analyst, edged out progressive
Kenneth Bell for the second spot in the runoff with 22.2% of the vote.
The City Council seat is now held by city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez. Whoever wins the runoff election will take office in January and serve a four-year term, receiving an annual salary of $63,038.
Here’s the candidates’ positions on several topics, including the city manager’s contract and President-elect Donald Trump’s plan for mass deportations.
Who is District 3 candidate Jose Rodriguez?
Rodriguez, 78, is a U.S. Army veteran and has been a licensed Realtor since 1990. He ran unsuccessfully for District 3 representative in 2020. He has volunteered to teach conversational Spanish at Fort Bliss and at El Paso Public Libraries.
Jose Rodriguez, candidate for District 3 city representative.
He grew up in Segundo Barrio and now lives in East El Paso. He served in the Army during the Vietnam War, working as a combat engineer to build roads and bridges in Korea. Afterward he graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelors’ in business administration.
Rodriguez said his work as a Realtor has flexible hours, which gives him time to dedicate to his duties as a city representative.
He said the city manager’s role is unnecessary, and that department heads are sufficient to handle day-to-day management. The city manager serves as the chief administrative officer for the city and is tasked with overseeing all city operations.
Rodriguez proposed the city consider returning to a strong mayor form of government – which would require the council vote to put that on the ballot and voters to approve the change.
He opposed former city manager Tommy Gonzalez’s contract extensions and criticized the City Council for allowing a termination process that pays out his lucrative contract. Gonzalez’s contract allowed for the city to fire him without good cause. Rodriguez said he would have urged the city to find good cause before putting his termination to vote.
Rodriguez said he would not oppose Trump’s mass deportations plan if that’s what voters wanted – “as long as he throws out the ones here illegally and have no intention of applying for asylum … if he concentrates on the people who have criminal records.”
He said he opposes getting the El Paso Police Department or other city resources involved with deportations because immigration law enforcement is a federal responsibility.
Rodriguez’s priorities include street improvements and growing the tourism industry in El Paso. Rodriguez said the city should work jointly with the El Paso Chamber, Ciudad Juárez and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo to promote and invest in attractions, such as the Tigua Indians Cultural Center, Speaking Rock Entertainment Center and Mexican American Cultural Center.
Rodriguez said he did not support the Downtown arena because the city already has other large event venues. The city should focus instead on creating a pedestrian-friendly entertainment hub, similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk or Ciudad Juárez market, with mariachi music, shopping and dining, he said.
He did not specify how the city would pay for this initial tourism investment.
Rodriguez said he would vote against any item that increases property taxes. He did not say how the city would fund affected services.
Who is District 3 candidate Deanna Maldonado-Rocha?
Maldonado-Rocha, 51, is a capacity analyst for health care technology company Accolade, where she analyzes how the company can meet its performance goals and profitability with its current resources.
She previously worked at AT&T for almost three decades, where she worked in financial analysis. At AT&T she served as president of HACEMOS, the nonprofit Hispanic/Latino Employee Association that coordinates volunteer activities.
She attended Burges High School and now lives in the Pico Norte neighborhood near Pebble Hills. She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a bachelor’s in business management and master’s in business administration global management. She received a life coach certification from an online school owned by celebrity self-help guru Jay Shetty. She also participated in 2022 in the city’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy, a program that educates El Paso residents on how city government operates.
Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, candidate for District 3 city representative.
Maldonado-Rocha said she would not resign from her job if elected, but her employer was aware of her interest in public office and expressed support accommodating her City Council schedule. If elected, she intends to continue the community meetings Hernandez held in her district, though with more varied times and locations.
She described the way the city handled the firing of Gonzalez as fiscally irresponsible. His firing left the city on the hook for $890,000 in his contract. Maldonado-Rocha said the City Council set a bad precedent by putting city manager’s job up to vote after Gonzalez had already received a positive evaluation and contract extension. She would have voted against firing Gonzalez unless there was good cause, she said.
Maldonado-Rocha said no city services or El Paso police should be used to carry out Trump’s mass deportations plan, which is under federal jurisdiction. Residents have already spoken to her about long response times from El Paso police and using local police for a federal issue is not the best way to serve the city, she said.
El Paso should continue providing humanitarian services such as shelter as long as the city receives federal reimbursement, she said.
Maldonado-Rocha’s priorities include economic growth and workforce development. She said she would like to start a business association for District 3 and neighboring districts with the goal of attracting development to the area, especially south of Interstate 10 and along Alameda Avenue. This would create more career opportunities, she said. At the same time, the city should also partner with organizations that offer vocational training to build up the workforce.
She disagreed with the move to put the Downtown arena back on the ballot, saying it doesn’t respect democratic process of the original 2012 vote. The city should have seen the project through in a more timely manner, Maldonado-Rocha said. Though El Pasoans voted against the arena in November by approving the bond revocation proposition, the $128.5 million remaining in that bond can’t be used for other projects.
“Is that going to set a precedent in future situations?” she asked. “If voters voted for it, we can’t lead into an era that whenever someone isn’t happy, we put it back to another vote.”
Maldonado-Rocha said the no-new-revenue tax rate is not sustainable to maintain in the long run because despite the city and county not raising the tax rate, homeowners’ bills – including hers – are still increasing from rising property valuations.
She said the city needs to work on a plan to bring in more corporate tax money that will offset the burden that private residents currently carry.
Maldonado-Rocha outraises, outspends Rodriguez
Campaign finance reports show a stark gap between the two candidates.
Rodriguez has not filed a single campaign finance report. Candidates are only required to file a report if they’ve raised more than $500. Rodriguez said he has not asked for or received any donations, and estimated he’s spent $200 to $300 out of his own pocket on his campaign.
“I pay for my own signs, I walk around blocks,” Rodriguez said. “I don’t want to owe anybody anything, any favors.”
Rodriguez expressed disappointment, however, that the Texas Association of Realtors chose to support his opponent.
Maldonado-Rocha raised $32,675 in monetary donations since the start of her campaign through October, plus nearly $2,000 in non-monetary contributions. She loaned herself an additional $10,000 and has spent almost $23,000.
She received contributions from notable business people and developers, including $2,500 each from Steve Fox, CEO of Fox Auto Team car dealerships; Rick Francis, CEO of WestStar Bank; and Woody Hunt, CEO of real estate investor Hunt Companies. The Texas Association of Realtors PAC also donated $5,000.
Maldonadro-Rocha bristled at critics she’s seen or heard make comments describing her as “bought and sold” or an “oligarchy candidate.”
“I would challenge those people to come have a conversation with me, come have a meeting with me,” she said. “People who say all this behind a keyboard and screen, but never come and tell me to my face. None of them have agreed to a sitdown.”
The next campaign finance reports are due Dec. 6, eight days before Election Day.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://elpasomatters.org/2024/11/22/el-paso-city-council-district-3-runoff-candidates-election-2024/
Published and (C) by El Paso Matters.org
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 International.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/elpasomatters/
