City Council elections draw 16 candidates, minus incumbent Lizarraga

City Rep. Cissy Lizarraga, who is eligible for reelection, will not run again – a move that guarantees that the West Side will have two new city representatives.

Four City Council seats are up for grabs in the Nov. 8 general election, two on the East Side and two on the West Side, where District 1 city Rep. Peter Svarzbein is unable to run for reelection because he has served his two full terms.

Lizarraga did not file the application for a spot on the ballot by the 5 p.m. deadline on Monday. In a statement, she said she is not seeking reelection to District 8 to spend more time with her family and that having served for more than five years is enough. Her chief of staff, Chris Canales, is running for her seat.

The other two council seats up for election belong to incumbent city Reps. Claudia Rodriguez and Isabel Salcido, who are both seeking second terms. Former state Rep. Joe Pickett, who announced last year that he would run against Salcido, said Monday that he will not run after all.

Pickett, in an interview with El Paso Matters, said he will not run because of recent developments and travel commitments he has made including serving on the Mexican American Cultural Institute board. He said he did not feel he would be able to commit the necessary time to being a city representative.

“I’m surprised, I've never seen so many people getting involved (in this election),” Pickett said. “There's obviously a lot of people not happy with the current leadership situation.”

Those elected in November will take office in January and serve a four-year term. The mayor’s term, as well as the four other city representatives’ terms, end in 2025.

Here are the candidates who filed for a spot on the November ballot:

District 1:Portions of the Upper Valley and West Side 

Analisa Cordova Silverstein, 37, is a political newcomer and tech project manager.

Erin Tague, 36, is a political newcomer and a project manager with Software as a Service (SaaS), a form of software delivery and licensing.

Brian Kennedy, 67, is a political newcomer and local attorney who for years oversaw the El Paso Sports Commission, which operates the El Paso County Coliseum. 

Dave Jones, 62, is a political newcomer and retired U.S. Army major.

Deliris Montañez Berrios, 52, unsuccessfully ran against U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, in the March primary election. Berrios is a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent.

Freddy Khlayel Avalos, 30, is a current El Paso Independent School District trustee and entrepreneur.

District 5: Portion of Far East El Paso

Isabel Salcido, 37, is the incumbent in the race and is seeking her second term.

Richard Genera, 30, is a political newcomer, bank teller and local podcaster for The El Paso Beat.

Felix Muñoz, 57, is a political newcomer and retired federal law enforcement officer.

District 6: Portions of the Far East Side and a slice of the Lower Valley

Claudia Rodriguez, 37, is the incumbent in the race and is seeking her second term.

Art Fierro, 61, is a former state representative and consultant. Fierro was ousted from his seat representing District 79 by Claudia Ordaz Perez in March.

Cristian Botello, 25, is a political newcomer and marketing coordinator at the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation.

Benjamin Leyva, 38, a chiropractor, unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020 as an independent candidate.

District 8: Covers Downtown and parts of West El Paso

Rich Wright, 65, unsuccessfully sought the District 8 seat in 2018 and is a local blogger for El Chuqueño.

Chris Canales, 30, is a political newcomer and Lizarraga’s chief of staff.

Bettina Olivares, 35, is a political newcomer and legislative aide for District 3 incumbent Hernandez.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election is Oct. 11. Early voting begins Oct. 24.

This article first appeared on El Paso Matters and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.