Mayor Dee Margo delivers first State of the City address

After four months in office, El Paso mayor Dee Margo delivered his first State of the City to more than 700 people in attendance at the city’s convention center.

“We have a great city,” said Margo, who began by recognizing the members of Council. Margo started his term with five new Council members and three veterans. He also recognized city staff led by City Manager Tommy Gonzalez.

“Withing a few weeks of being at the City, we were recognized as the #1 best managed city in Texas,” Margo said.

While the mayor said the city is going through a renaissance, he also acknowledged the challenges ahead. He talked about the city’s bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. He also talked about the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement to the Borderland region.

The mayor gave the audience an update on they City’s Quality of Life Bond program which includes 188 projects.

“I am happy to report that we have completed half of those projects. 62 to be exact within five years. We have 41 projects in the design phase and 11 are under construction,” Margo said.

The mayor focused on three of the city’s signature projects, the Children’s Museum, the Mexican American Cultural Center and the Multipurpose Performing Art and Entertainment Center. The downtown arena has not progressed at city officials had hoped and is caught up in a legal battle. The city also just rejected an agreement with the non-profit Mexican American Cultural Institute trying to raise millions for the Mexican American Cultural Center.

Mayor Margo emphasized the city’s relationship with Mexico.

“The City of El Paso is committed to maintaining the strong relationship with Mexico and our sister city of Cuidad Juarez. On Oct. 30 we will have a joint council meeting with Cuidad Juarez with a focus of updating the Sister City Agreement we have with our neighbors,” Margo said.

The Mayor touted the strides the City has made in funding public safety, streets and the Quality of Life projects. He also pointed to the attention being given to the redevelopment of downtown El Paso.

“In the last three years there has been over $300 million in private investment,” Margo said. “We need all our projects mentioned completed as soon as possible to provide sales tax revenues and Hotel Occupancy Taxes to offset our residential tax base. We need people visiting our city and purchasing our good and services. These investments provide us the opportunity.”

The mayor said one of the biggest challenges for the city involves public relations.

“Our biggest challenge is informing people out there who we are and what we are about. We are a light under a bushel basket . We are an unknown commodity,” Margo said. “It’s up to us. It’s up to everybody in El Paso to educate others about who we are and what we are and what we have. We are unique.”

The mayor ended by encouraging all El Pasoans to share how great it is to live in El Paso. The city is currently asking people to post pictures and posts on social media using the hashtag #ELPASOTXHQ2.