Art Fierro, candidate for El Paso City Council District 6
Name: Art Fierro
Age: 64
Occupation: City of El Paso representative for District 6
Relevant Experience
Art Fierro was elected to represent El Paso District 6 on Dec. 17, 2022, and took office Jan. 3, 2023.
Prior to his election to El Paso City Council, Rep. Fierro was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in February 2019 and served two terms representing Texas District 79 in El Paso's eastside. During his tenure, he served on the House Committees on Agriculture and Livestock; Elections; and Licensing and Administrative Procedures. As a legislator, he authored and sponsored various bills affecting healthcare, voter rights, and education policy for the benefit of all Texans. Rep.Fierro was a proud member of the House Democratic Caucus, Mexican American Legislative Caucus, the Texas House LGBTQ Caucus, and most recently, the Caucus on Climate, Environment, and the Energy Industry and the Texas House Women's Health Caucus.
Prior to his election to the Texas House, he served on the El Paso Community College Board of Trustees. Rep. Fierro served as Secretary from 2006-2008 and served as the Chair of the Board from 2008 until his election to the Texas House. During his leadership as Chair, EPCC was recognized nationally for developing pathways for minority and under-served students. EPCC was one of 30 colleges selected nationally to participate in the AACC Guided Pathways Program. With the President and the administrative cabinet, Rep. Fierro strived to lead strategic efforts in ensuring student success at El Paso Community College. In 2015, The Aspen Institute named EPCC as a Top 10 Community College in the Nation. In 2016, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) recognized the work accomplished by EPCC with the Student Success Award and the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) recognized EPCC with the Western Region Equity Award.
By profession, Rep. Fierro is a marketing and public relations consultant and has worked with a number of marketing firms, as well as for-profit and non-profit businesses. He has served as President and CEO of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Special skills include strategizing and fundraising campaigns, developing and conducting public relations media plans; and training and motivating volunteers.
Rep. Fierro's community service is extensive, including board memberships in the Hispanic Leadership Institute of El Paso, the El Paso International Airport Board, the City of El Paso International Bridge Commission, and others. He was appointed by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson to one of five Small Business Advisory Committees in the State of Texas. In 2017 he was elected to serve as a Member of the ACCT Diversity Committee, a national organization that ensures leadership and involvement of historically underrepresented diverse populations within the governance activities of ACCT.
He has attended both El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso.
Personal
Representative Fierro lives in El Paso with his wife, Anna, and is the proud father of Julianna and Chris.
What is your position on data centers?
I supported the data center policy framework that the City Council unanimously passed, as well as the Climate Action Plan. Together, these policies direct staff to not actively recruit or incentivize any other data centers that are looking to enter our community and set strict guardrails to conserve natural resources. I will continue to advocate for guardrails to protect water and essential resources for all El Pasoans.
What would you do differently to reduce property taxes?
El Paso needs to continue to invest in our economic development by attracting more high-paying jobs and opportunities for our community. But economic development requires balance. Every city in the country is competing to bring new businesses. We have to be competitive by offering responsible, yet attractive incentives, to attract businesses while also providing a skilled workforce, job training, and quality of life. This is the only way we will lower the burden for residents.
What’s your position on the Deck Plaza project?
The Deck Plaza is another opportunity to build an outdoor amenity to our downtown. People want a welcoming outdoor space to enjoy the Sun City with their families, pets, and community. However, I believe this should be viewed as a long-term investment that requires strong partnerships with private investors and clear planning to protect taxpayers.
What are your plans to ensure transparency and make sure you are accessible to constituents?
The City of El Paso, and City Council, must continue and strengthen our work with the local media and content creators to provide updates on upcoming changes, meetings, and important information. I am proud of the District 6 team and our work in serving and assisting our constituents every single day. We will continue to work together and serve them with empathy, efficiency, and heart. We also need to continue to promote and make materials accessible for our residents via our website, elpasotexas.gov, and our YouTube channel.
What makes you the best candidate?
I have 12 years of experience as a Community College Trustee, 10 of those as Board President, who focused on holding the line on taxes and freezing tuition to keep Higher Education affordable. I was then elected as a Texas State Representative, where my main focus was health coverage, retired teachers, and holding the line on taxes. After serving 4 years as a State Representative, I continued my public service as a City Representative where I have focused on street reconstruction/resurfacing, quality of life, and public safety. During my term as a City Representative, we have resurfaced Montwood Dr, Saul Kleinfeld Dr, Pebble Hills Blvd, and soon Vista Del Sol Dr part II, along with numerous residential streets. Our District 6 parks have improved with new playground equipment, shade, a skate park, additional walking trails, and an amphitheater soon at Marty Robbins. El Paso has consistently been considered one of the safest cities in the country and we cannot undermine the work our police and fire department have done. Now that we have brought the staffing levels for our police department, we must continue to invest in our police department. Let’s keep El Paso safe, El Paso strong.
