New district 6 city rep Ordaz to start Aug. 5

Claudia Ordaz won the seat for district 6 Saturday night with two-thirds of the vote.

ABC-7 asked Ordaz questions about her new position, and if her close relationship with a county commissioner poses a potential conflict of interest.

El Paso’s newest city councilwoman and County Commissioner Vince Perez have been together for three years, but she Ordaz said that won’t interfere with her new job. Instead, it will give her the opportunity to work together to influence progress in local government.

When current District 6 City Rep Eddie Holguin took a shot at a county judge position, he gave up his seat. That gave Ordaz an opportunity to run for the spot in a special election.

“I’m just so excited, and I’m thrilled. I’m so appreciative of all the people who came out and supported us,” Ordaz said.

Perez supported her desire to represent east side, Lower Valley residents. He represents a lot of the same area.

“I think we’re just two people who really care about El Paso. We want to do our part to make El Paso a better place. I think that’s what attracted us to each other, is that we share that same passion for the community,” Perez said. The two plan to host joint community meetings in the near future.

“We need to start talking about how we’re going to provide more effective services for our growing community, so it’s exciting that we have our commissioner here and myself that can really make that happen,” Ordaz said.

Ordaz will be joined by seven other district reps and Mayor Oscar Leeser at city council meetings. She will also be the youngest in the group, at just age 28.

“I’ve been talking about transportation services, an east side entertainment district, just a lot of ideas that I want to bring forth. I have a lot of energy to do it, and with my experience I think that I can make a lot of good things happen for this community,” Ordaz said.

Ordaz’s first city council meeting is Aug. 5.