Arturo Alluin, candidate for El Paso City Council District 8
Name: Arturo Alluin
Age: 35
Occupation: Business owner
Relevant Experience
My experience comes from building businesses, creating over 150 jobs for El Pasoans, managing multimillion-dollar budgets, and leading teams. I have negotiated contracts, prioritized limited resources, and made difficult decisions while being accountable for the outcome. Those experiences have taught me to listen, adapt, solve problems, and follow through.
Growing up crossing the El Paso–Juárez border daily taught me to navigate different cultures and understand different perspectives. My education in international relations and experience studying in Germany and France gave me a global perspective rooted in the realities of our border community.
I have invested my own resources, time, and future in El Paso. I have skin in the game. My son lives here, my parents live here, and my professional career is rooted in our community. The decisions made at City Hall affect my family, my team, and my neighbors. I understand that responsibility because I share in the consequences.
Government should not be run like a business, but it must deliver results to its shareholders—the people. El Paso needs results. Our taxpayers deserve a return on what they pay to operate this government, and I believe City Hall is falling far short. It is time to clean house, demand accountability, and put our community’s needs before its wants. That means holding the line on property taxes, supporting local economic growth, fixing our streets, strengthening public safety, and returning the voice of government to the people it serves
Personal
I’m Arturo R. Alluin, a father, entrepreneur, and local job creator raised on the El Paso–Juárez border. For more than ten years, I crossed the border daily to attend school in El Paso. My parents’ sacrifices taught me the value of hard work, perseverance, and making the most of an opportunity.
I graduated cum laude from Austin College with a degree in International Relations and a minor in Philosophy focused on ethics. I also studied in Germany and France and speak Spanish, English, French, and German. Those experiences taught me to adapt to different cultures and approach challenges with an open mind.
Beyond building and leading my own businesses, I have consulted for companies across various industries, helping them institutionalize their operations by establishing clear structures, responsibilities, and processes. My work has focused on building strong organizational cultures, developing staff, and creating operating systems that improve profitability and allow businesses to scale and grow. That experience has reinforced my belief that lasting results depend on prepared people, clear expectations, and consistent accountability.
El Paso is where I have invested, built businesses, created over 150 jobs for El Pasoans, and am raising my son. My parents live here, and my professional career is rooted in this community. As a father, I want my son—and every child growing up here—to see a future in this city. That means making El Paso a place where people can afford to live, build a career, start a business, and choose to stay. That is personal to me, and it is why I am running.
What is your position on data centers?
I believe our deal with Meta was one of the worst deals El Paso has made in a very long time. In my view, it disregarded our community, our resources, and, most importantly, our future. The deal was so attractive to Meta that they turn around and sold 80% of their interest to BlackRock and made over $1 billion. Our community, our resources, and our children’s future deserved better. Meta negotiated for their interests. Who was negotiating for ours?
I welcome investment and growth in El Paso, whether that means technology, other industries offering
high-paying jobs, or opportunities for our existing local businesses. But we need to put our community first, make reasonable decisions that promote sustainable growth, and give residents a clear understanding of what we are committing and what we will receive in return.
For data centers, that means independently evaluating water use, energy demand, infrastructure costs, and permanent local jobs before making commitments. Developers should pay for the infrastructure their projects require, and residents should be protected from costs being shifted onto their tax or utility bills. Our Chapter 380 economic development agreements should include clear ten-year plans showing how each project will improve El Paso’s economy and overall quality of life. Those plans should establish measurable commitments for jobs, wages, workforce development, and community benefits, with public progress reports and enforceable consequences when commitments are not met.
We have a responsibility to secure our children’s future. Every agreement should help build a city where
they can find opportunity, afford to live, and choose to stay. Corporate investment should advance our
community’s future, and City Hall must negotiate with that responsibility first.
What would you do differently to reduce property taxes?
I would start with an independent outside financial and structural audit of City government. Before asking taxpayers for another dollar, we need a clear accounting of where our money goes, what is working, and what needs to change. That review must examine spending, contracts, staffing structures, and long-term obligations. We need to cut inefficiencies, eliminate duplicated functions, scrutinize contracts, and stop automatically carrying spending forward simply because it was approved the year before.
Then we need to put our community’s needs before its wants. My priorities are holding the line on property taxes, supporting economic development, demanding responsible spending and accountability, improving our streets and infrastructure, and strengthening public safety. Our budget should reflect those priorities.
Lasting tax relief also requires economic growth. We need to help local businesses expand, create better-paying jobs, and grow our commercial tax base so homeowners are not continually asked to carry more of the burden. That means making it easier to invest and operate here - and keeping more of our public spending here. My goal is at least 90% local participation in City-funded jobs, projects, and contracts, wherever legally permitted, extending through contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and hiring. We should build local capacity instead of routinely outsourcing opportunity. Our tax dollars should create jobs for El Pasoans, strengthen El Paso businesses, and circulate through our own economy. Long-term property-tax relief also requires growing our commercial tax base, supporting local businesses, attracting responsible investment, and creating better-paying jobs. Before City
Hall asks taxpayers for one more dollar, it must prove that it is responsibly managing the dollars it already receives.
What’s your position on the Deck Plaza project?
I do not support using City taxpayer dollars or other public funds to finance the Downtown I-10 Deck
Plaza. I support the vision behind the project, and I have personally donated my own money to help advance it. I believe it has the potential to reconnect neighborhoods, strengthen Downtown, and create new economic activity.
However, there is an important difference between choosing to contribute private money and requiring taxpayers to fund a project.
El Paso has too many basic needs that remain unresolved. Our streets are deteriorating, drainage problems continue affecting neighborhoods, public-safety resources are stretched, and communities still need better lighting, parks, sidewalks, and essential infrastructure. Those responsibilities must come first. I believe private individuals and businesses should support projects they believe in. But I will not ask working families - who are already struggling with rising property taxes and living costs to pay for it while City Hall continues falling short on basic services.
What are your plans to ensure transparency and make sure you are accessible to constituents?
Transparent government means residents should know what City Hall is doing, why it is doing it, how much it will cost, who is responsible, and whether it produced the results taxpayers were promised. Transparency cannot mean posting hundreds of pages online after a decision has already been made. It means communicating early, explaining proposals in plain language, providing information in both English and Spanish, and giving residents a meaningful opportunity to participate before the vote takes place.
I will support public scorecards for City departments, contractors, and major projects so residents can see what was promised, what has been spent, whether deadlines were met, and who is accountable when they are not. I will also be personally accessible. I will hold regular community meetings, attend neighborhood association meetings, and maintain open communication by phone, email, social media, and in person.
District 8 deserves a representative who shows up, listens, answers difficult questions, clearly explains his decisions, and remains accessible after Election Day. Accountability begins with accessibility.
What makes you the best candidate?
I bring the experience to turn priorities into action, the adaptability to work with people from different
backgrounds, and a personal stake in getting this right. I have created over 150 jobs for El Pasoans, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, and invested my own resources in our community. My son lives here, my parents live here, and my professional career is rooted here. I have skin in the game, and the decisions I make will affect the same community my family depends on.
My experience also goes beyond operating my own businesses. I have helped companies across different industries build stronger teams, develop their people, improve their systems, and hold leadership accountable. That work requires listening, identifying what is failing, making difficult decisions, and following through. Those are skills I would bring to City Hall.
Crossing the border daily for 13 years, studying abroad, and learning four languages taught me to
understand different perspectives and adapt without losing sight of my values. I bring a global perspective and a firsthand understanding of our border community’s strengths. I see tremendous opportunity in our people, our local businesses, and our location - and I want our decisions to reflect that potential.
My priorities are clear: hold the line on property taxes, grow our local economy, demand responsible
spending, improve our streets, and strengthen public safety. I will ask hard questions about contracts, incentives, and spending, and expect clear answers. Residents deserve to know who benefits, what it costs, and whether it delivers.
I am running to put our community’s needs first and return a stronger voice to the people who pay the bills and live with the consequences. I want our children to stay in El Paso because they see opportunity here. Earning that future takes accessible leadership, sound judgment, and the willingness to make changes when something is not working. That is the responsibility I am prepared to take on.
