District 2 Council candidates promise change for Central El Paso

There are six candidates running for the El Paso City Council District 2 seat, which includes parts of Central El Paso and northeast and eastside.

ABC-7 reached out to all six candidates over three days, but heard back from only three.

While Alexander Burnside, Raul Valdez and Delores Baca did not return the station’s phone calls, candidates Jud Burgess, Jim Tolbert and Alexsandra Annello shared their vision and priorities for District 2.

Tolbert is running for re-election after serving the remainder of former City Rep. Larry Romero’s term. He said street repairs seem to be the chief complaint of voters in District 2.

“I think the big issue for most people is the streets and sidewalks. And I have recently discovered the standard by which the city paves streets is really skewed to helping the east side and the west side. And we need to make that change so it is helping more of central El Paso where the infrastructure is just in terrible shape,” Tolbert said.

Mayor Oscar Leeser and City Reps. Jim Tolbert, Cortney Niland, Lily Limon and Peter Svarzbein are accused of walking in and out of meetings with advocates of Duranguito neighborhood residents seeking to convince city officials to spare the area of demolition to make way for a $180 million arena. District Attorney Jaime Esparza has referred the case to the Texas Rangers for investigation.

“Surprisingly there hasn’t been anything about the arena. I was expecting a number of questions about that. There have been a few people who have been upset about it, but they are also supporters,” Tolbert said.

There are four City Council seats and the mayor’s position on the ballot.

“I think it will be exciting, it will be exciting to see some new people on there and to start working with some new folks. I look forward to whoever is elected mayor, I look forward to working with them,” Tolbert said.

Candidate Jud Burgess said it’s time for change in District 2.

“I believe this City Council, they have a real cavalier attitude about Texas Open Meetings laws, Open Records requests. I mean the fact that they are all using private cellphones to conduct public business, they are not taking it seriously. And I think we need to have a much more open government.”

Burgess has been a strong opponent of the downtown arena.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. I think it’s going to affect taxpayers negatively. They haven’t even been forthcoming in with what all is going to be involved in the arena. Not just with the price tag, but with parking and traffic issues. They haven’t addressed how much it is going to cost to run it on a yearly basis. There are just so many things that they just haven’t been open about. So I believe we have better options and I would like to see it go to a revote.”

Burgess was also against the recent EPISD bond.

“I think I had an epiphany. Once I started getting involved and I started seeing publicly, I mentioned EPISD and that bond, I took that bond on and Dori Fenenbock and I debated her. I tried to get out the no vote. I just realized there is so much going on in our city that people aren’t aware of and I felt motivated to let people know what’s going on.”

District 2 candidate Alexsandra Annello also took aim at the current City Council.

“The arena is a big issue for me. The lack of transparency from our council. Streets are a huge issue for District 2 and right here in the northeast. You know in 2012 a study was done and we have no transparency with that process or many other processes. I would like to see that happen,” Annello said.

Annello said her background is well-suited to city government.

“I have about 14 years of experience working specifically with communications with departments with construction and with budgets and writing grants. And I think we really need some new young people with that experience who want to see the city do well,” Annello said.

Annello said she wants to help the city reach its full potential.

“You know, I do love this city. I think El Paso is a city with a special history and culture. And it really upsets me when I see some of the things that are happening in this city. And I want to see the city grow and do well and the people to do well with that growth. And I don’t think we are seeing that right now,” Annello said.

Early voting is underway. Election Day is Saturday, May 6.