Tom Handy, candidate for El Paso City Council District 1

Name: Tom Handy

Age: 51

Party: Nonpartisan

Occupation: Writer, investor, and retired Army officer (20 years)

Relevant Experience: I have spent over 10 years working in non-profits after retirement as President of the Veteran Business Association (helping Veterans transition to small business owners), Vice President of BUILD (helping businesses become compliant with ADA laws), and Vice President of Fort Bliss ROCKS (mentoring junior officers and raising money for ROTC students). These positions allowed me to see issues in the community that people are dealing with that usually don't make the news. 

Personal: I am married to Narichica Handy for 23 years and we have two children, Thomas and Hannah who attended EPISD schools.

Website: https://tomhandyfordistrict1.com

Tom Handy is running for El Paso City Council District 1. Here are his answers to KVIA's questions regarding his candidacy.

How will you work with your colleagues on the City Council to enact change for El Pasoans?

Working with City Council members will be interesting as there will be a complete turnover of personnel in January. I want to have lunch or tea (coffee) and learn about their goals and personal life. I see working with City Council members as being on a team, you need to work with them to get things accomplished while in office.

What steps do you think City Council should take to alleviate the impact of the immigration crisis on El Paso?

The City needs to continue as it did before and make contact with sanctuary cities to send migrants to those locations. Transparency is key and it appeared sometimes that wasn't always done according to the media and other cities, New York City for instance.

What are your plans to ensure transparency and make sure you are accessible to constituents?

I will continue to provide open communication with constituents in District 1. The City has done a good job but more can be done. I will provide in person updates bi-weekly, provide updates on my website and social media almost daily, and email. Communication with constituents is very important.

What are your thoughts on the future of the Multi-Purpose Performing Arts Center?

Voters have the choice this election to decide on the future of the Multi-Purpose Performing Arts Center, which will be key to its future. The funding for creating the facility is not there since $51,000 has been spent out of $180,000. With today's rate for construction, this is not enough to build a performing arts center which is estimated at $416 million according to the city. If voters say no, then City Council can decide the next best option to use the remaining money.

How should the city improve El Paso’s roads?

The city needs to allocate a budget to fix the roads correctly. The material used may not be the best but it needs to be better since once roads are repaired, sometimes they need to be fixed not long after. In addition, each repair rew should have a supervisor, that person needs to inspect the work once it's done to prevent residents from putting in an EP 311 request on a recently repaired road which is what I have done a few times. 

In addition, the city needs to keep residents informed. Some people  go to the city or district representative website, but social media is one area that is missing. I plan to keep residents informed almost daily on social media as I do now. 

Then progress on roads needs to be provided. Weekly updates are good, but a long-term status would help immensely. For instance, the status of roads in Enchanted Hills and Country Club.

Whether it’s a high property tax rate or climbing property values, El Pasoans are struggling with skyrocketing housing costs. If elected, what will you do in the next 4 years to provide relief for homeowners?

Climbing property values is not something someone on the city council can control but taxes are. Since property taxes come from the city council, county commissioners, and the school district, I would arrange to talk to each group and sometimes people to help understand why they are asking for more money which in turn taxes residents. I think some people do not look at the results their actions may cause. The city went through the pandemic and then inflation and some groups have continued to raise taxes as residents were feeling increases in prices.

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

I bring the most leadership experience as I have worked with teams of two up to hundreds managing personnel, a few were in combat as well where time is of the essence to make quick but safe decisions. In addition, I have managed a budget of $7 million to provide support to people.