Candidate profile: Aaron Montes, El Paso City Council District 7

NAME: Aaron J. Montes
OFFICE YOU SEEK: City Council District 7
AGE: 28
OCCUPATION: Freelance writer
EDUCATION: University of Texas at El Paso: Major: Multimedia Journalism and Minor: History. KNIGHT-CUNYJ Summer Diversity Initiative at the City
University of New York Graduate School of Journalism

Number-one campaign focus: We may need to address the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic for the next several years. We need to use the remaining federal dollars to put over 400 city employees back to work. Like the city of Houston, they can be reassigned to help with the administrative side of addressing the pandemic. That will provide assistance to those tasked with testing and analyzing data.

I also support releasing data on where the virus is spreading in the city.
The public deserves to know where to practice extra precaution.

We also need to use funds from the city's Impact Fund to provide support
for local businesses. It's clear, many El Paso businesses are struggling
because of pandemic precautions and a hurting economy.

Any extra funds from the federal government needs to be used to provide
protective equipment to health workers, city employees providing public
transportation, to hire more code enforcement personnel, job training,
rental assistance and testing.

What sets you apart from your opponent?
Our city was struggling financially before the pandemic. We lead major
Texas cities in non-voter approved debt, we are at risk of hollowing out
the residential and commercial tax base. And, our population is stagnating.

I am not afraid to share my policy with the public. But my opponent has
dodged every public forum to explain his vision for the district and city.

My vision in this role is to be an advocate for the working people of my
district. My campaign is funded by the people of this community and I
answer to them. My opponent has supported a policy that largely benefits
downtown and the people who contribute to his campaign. Mainly developers who continue building subdivisions further East and Northwest. That kind of policy puts a burden on the people of this community.

Since 2012, our city has lost $5 million a year, on average, because it
grants subdivision improvement waivers to developers who don't want to pay for public infrastructure requirements, according to data provided by the city's planning department. The city needs to ensure developers pay their fair share for public investment. And, those waivers are heavily granted in District 7.

Having to pay for those costs takes away from what we could be investing in streets, parks, lighting or parks in older parts of the city.

My opponent and a majority of the City Council approved using $100 million of non-voter approved debt for bond projects. That kind of debt should only be used for emergencies. Now, because of our debt, our city pays over $100 million in debt from our revenues from the budget.

Our city's economic development policy has largely been dedicated to
tourism and entertainment. Those kind of jobs provide low-paying service
work, which young graduates are not looking opportunity in. We need to
attract renewable energy and technology-based industries.

Those kind of practices are not sustainable and need to be addressed.

Relevant experience that qualifies you for the position you seek:

As a watchdog reporter for the El Paso Times, I covered City Hall providing
daily coverage and investigative stories into issues impacting the
community.

I was placed on investigative teams to provide an in-depth look at the
migrant situations along the U.S. Southwest Border. I worked on a
collaboration with the New York Times and the El Paso Times to provide a
report on the conditions of a Clint detention facility where migrant
children were being kept aft traveling to the U.S. alone.

My experience explaining government decisions and processes to the public
through stories has given me a unique and complete understanding of
governmental processes and policy making.

If you had the chance to revoke one ordinance in El Paso immediately upon taking office, which one would it be?
Earlier this year, the City Council passed a relaxed version of limiting
regulations on cell towers, which had heavy influence from the industry. I
would replace it with the original ordinance passed that limited distancing
and height of cell towers in proximity to neighborhoods.

In what ways is City government on the right track, and in what ways does it need to change course?
There is a great focus on the binational relationship between El Paso and
Juarez. We should focus on expanding our relationships with the
manufacturing sector in Juarez, which provides a great opportunity to turn
our region into a technologic corridor.

What steps can you or the city council take to increase transparency and the public's understanding about what's going on in the city?
The City Council can rescind its heavy-handed policy when it comes to
listening to the community over contentious issues. The most troubling
issue I saw was when a member of the public was arrested for voicing their
concern over a vote and no one from the council stepped in to stop it.

Representatives need to answer questions from the press. And, the City
Council can start being more transparent by releasing their evaluations of
the City Manager's evaluations.

Are you in favor or opposed to the construction of the downtown arena in the Duranguito District?

I am opposed because it sets an awful precedent. We should not be
threatening people with eminent domain for their homes so we can build an entertainment facility. That is a horrible policy. Also, we need to deal
with the budget shortfalls of the pandemic for at least the next several
years. It would be irresponsible to continue with that project before
addressing the needs of this community.

Do you think local health and city officials have responded to the
coronavirus pandemic properly?

Overall, we could do a better job. We need to release data on clusters to
the public. That is a responsible thing to do amid a pandemic. We also need
to boost the amount of personnel responding to the pandemic with federal
dollars. The city can say it is going to enforce requirements but if there
are not enough people staffed to handle the work, you cannot expect an
adequate response.

Are you in favor of diverting some police department funding, reallocating it toward local social programs?

One thing we can do immediately is form an oversight and advisory committee to keep an eye on the Public Safety Bond that was just passed with $413 million for the construction of new police and fire buildings.

The current City Council, including my opponent, voted against forming one
and that was a mistake. The city’s track record with rolling out such large
bond initiatives is not very good and that’s where we can start talking
about providing for financial oversight on spending with the police.

Another financial issue spawns from the department’s overtime policy. In
some instances, it’s acceptable to think officers are needed for extra
hours during certain scenarios but there is personnel who double their
salary through overtime in the department. And, there are costs associated
with officers who have damaged equipment or made mistakes during
dangerously long shifts. The city’s budget shows police overtime accounts
for $8.5million in this year’s budget, an increase of $420,000 compared to
last year. Those figures are $1.2 million more than they were in the 2017
fiscal year.

But there are a number of other issues we need to address.  There exists a
racial disparity in El Paso when it comes to traffic stop searches for
minorities, also known as consent searches. Specifically, data suggests
members of the Black community are more likely to experience searches than Anglos and Hispanics by the police department, despite a significant
difference in population size.

This reality evidenced in a study authored in Feb. 2005 by several civil
rights groups and reports provided by El Paso Matters, show a systemic
problem. This issue needs to be examined and thoroughly vetted.

The city needs to implement comprehensive training in sensitivity,
de-escalation techniques and thoroughly examine applicants looking to
become cadets.

Also, an independent review and accountability board is needed to implement an independent watchdog mechanism to the police department. Such a board requires subpoena power and should be made up by members of the community including: civil rights attorneys, former journalists, and community leaders.