Jesus ‘Jesse’ Moreno, candidate for El Paso City Council District 6
Name: Jesus 'Jesse' Moreno
Age: 25
Relevant Experience
I bring several years of direct City Council experience as a staffer for city representatives, not outside observation, but hands-on work inside the building. I've reviewed and analyzed the city budget line by line, so I understand where the real financial pressures and trade-offs are, not just the headline numbers. I know how city departments operate day to day, what they're capable of delivering, and where the bureaucratic bottlenecks actually live. I've handled constituent casework, coordinated across departments to resolve problems, and testified before multiple government bodies. I'm not coming into this office with a learning curve, I’ve already been doing the work and I am aware of community concerns and have the drive to serve our people successfully despite the barriers.
Personal
I'm a graduate of Bowie High School and have an economics background via studying at the University of Texas at El Paso, a degree I've pursued while working multiple jobs for several years to help support my family. I bring a working class mentality with policy driven, data supported governance that this region is eager for. That experience taught me what it means to balance work, education, and responsibility to the people who depend on you, and it's part of why I understand what so many District 6 families and business owners are juggling every day. Professionally, I've spent the last several years working inside El Paso City Hall. Outside of government, I serve as President-Elect of the Zaragoza Rotary Club and former member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, and have been civically engaged through neighborhood associations and local organizing throughout El Paso. I'm running for City Council because I believe District 6 deserves a representative who is responsive, proactive and understands financial pressures many residents are facing right now while still progressing infrastructure across the district.
What is your position on data centers?
I stand firmly against the current data center and especially its deal the city has approved and refused to ask for transparency formally. These projects are sold as economic development, but the price is too high considering the pollution and resource concerns, real strain on our power grid, and public health and quality-of-life costs that fall on residents, not on the companies profiting from them. Meta cannot be trusted to self-regulate here; they're facing a public relations crisis over this project. I remain skeptical of the resource impacts we still don't have full answers on, and as your representative, I will stand firmly for protecting our public health and our water and power resources over any future data center agreement that doesn't put the community first. And be sure they’re held accountable. Especially govern layer by layer with all the tools available to the City of El Paso.
What would you do differently to reduce property taxes?
Before asking residents to shoulder more, I believe the city needs to prove it's being disciplined with what it already has. I'd push to cut down on outside legal counsel and outside contracts the city routinely pays for work that could be handled in-house. I'd implement structural audits of city departments, and inform residents directly not just through the Financial Oversight Committee so we address misinformation directly and to identify inefficiency before it becomes a budget problem. And I'd support freezing salary and wage increases for city leadership for two fiscal years as a sign of shared sacrifice while we get spending under control. Property tax relief has to start with education ourselves on the challenges and how we got here, not just asking residents to absorb higher bills year after year.
What's your position on the Deck Plaza project?
Tourism is essential to economic development in our region but not at the expense of being another burden to citizens' wallets. I support the concept of the Downtown Deck Plaza reconnecting neighborhoods divided by the interstate and reclaiming public space downtown is a worthwhile goal. But again it should not become another tax on people's personal incomes. This project should be funded through private partnerships, state, and federal transportation dollars, not by asking El Paso taxpayers to foot the bill for a downtown amenity while basic infrastructure needs go unmet elsewhere in the city, including right here in District 6 where the average drive is 20 - 30 minutes to even enjoy it.
What are your plans to ensure transparency and make sure you are accessible to constituents?
Accessibility can't just be a promise, it has to be built into how I operate day to day. Constituents can reach out to me now @ 915-247-2426. I still plan to blockwalk the district and know my constituents personally and conduct district-wide surveys so residents can tell me directly what they want their city government focused on, rather than me assuming I already know. I'll visit small businesses throughout the district regularly, attend Parent Teacher Association meetings, and help stand up neighborhood associations where they don't yet exist, so residents have an organized way to raise concerns. I'll hold virtual meetings for those who can't make it in person because of work or family obligations, and I'm committing to being accessible to my constituents around the clock, not just during office hours, but as a representative who's genuinely reachable when something matters to the people I serve. This isn't a time to vote for what is familiar, this is a time to vote for genuine change.
What makes you the best candidate?
Constituents know what they’ve received with current leadership and I have the exact experience and vision to get more done for our taxpayers. I already have City Council experience and I am in tune with what constituents have been seeking, efficient timelines for capital improvement projects, lower utilities, input on governance. I'm not asking voters to take a chance on someone who will need months to learn how the budget, the departments, or the Charter actually work. I know what this community needs because I've lived it and because I've been directly involved in it. People are exhausted from the typical "mature" experienced leadership because it’s exactly what got us here to begin with.
