El Paso health department control should return to county due to city virus failures, commissioner says
EL PASO, Texas -- A county commissioner on Friday called for control of the El Paso Department of Public Health to be returned to the county after what he said was a botched coronavirus response effort by the city.
"It has become so clear to me that the City has no business running public health. It needs to come back to the County," said El Paso County Commissioner David Stout.
In social media posts on Friday, Stout blamed the health department for a "lack of information, misinformation and confusion" on items ranging from testing to contract tracing.
He also lashed out at city leadership and Mayor Dee Margo for "sending mixed messages, like allowing non-essential businesses like restaurants to remain open, and at the same time telling people to stay home."
Stout became the second public figure in recent days to openly question the city's handling of the pandemic amidst a record-setting number of infections and hospitalizations.
Just a day prior, Congresswoman Vernonia Escobar said El Paso was in a "state of emergency" due to the virus, and blamed city leaders for taking the community down a "dangerous path, with shrinking intensive care unit availability and low hospital capacity."
Margo has sought to largely ignore the criticism, saying "We're doing the best we can... We think we're doing what needs to be done given our situation and we're monitoring it on a daily basis."
Stout has endorsed Veronica Carbajal in her mayoral bid to unseat Margo from winning another term this November. Meanwhile, Escobar is backing another Margo challenger, Carlos Galliner.
