Candidate profile: Alexsandra Annello, El Paso City Council District 2

NAME: Alexsandra Annello
OFFICE YOU SEEK: City Representative, District 2
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: City Representative, District 2
EDUCATION: Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design, Communication
FAMILY: Alberto Halpern, husband
Number-one campaign focus: My number one campaign focus is on improving and moving District 2 forward. What that means now during this pandemic is ensuring that we have proper safety measures for residents and businesses, especially as COVID-19 cases continue to rise. I think the city, along with our health officials, should enforce strong structures to enforce facemask coverings for residents who enter businesses and ensure that businesses uphold social distancing and face covering rules. Our economy cannot improve if our population continues to get sick.
This focus also extends to helping small businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The city has vast economic development funds which should be used now to help businesses pay their employees so that both business owners and employees can continue to pay their rent or mortgage, healthcare costs, and provide for their families. This will also help ease the shortfalls businesses are experiencing in order to get employees back to work to continue making our community strong and vibrant.
This also includes working through the budget shortfalls that will come as a result of COVID-19, which will be an important and major task. We need someone in office who has an understanding of the city’s budget process so that we can get our employees back to work and continue with projects that were approved by council and promised to District 2, such as the Chelsea Pool Park renovation, the flat fields/sports complex at Fred Wilson, the new police headquarters, and the Grandview Recreation Center. Having stood against unnecessary, non voter approved debts over the last few years, I have proven that I have a commitment to the financial security of this city and its residents.
What sets you apart from your opponents?
The biggest thing that sets me apart from my opponents is that I have a plan to move District 2 forward. I have a plan for streets, parks, and neighborhood improvements. I have a plan for true, community involved economic development. All I have heard from my opponents during this
campaign is negativity and quite frankly, a multitude of fabrications. But I haven’t heard a single plan from either of them. At some point in the campaign, they need to present a clear message.
The truth is, District 2 residents don’t want negativity anymore and they made that decision when they first elected me in 2017.
What also sets me apart from my opponents is my background working in government, education, my business experience, finance experience, and the relationships I have created as a sitting City Representative.
I have served as the District 2 City Representative for the past 3.5 years. I have served in this role as a full time representative and have given this job my undivided attention. I hold regular bi-monthly community meetings and special meetings to keep my constituents informed about City business.
This also helps me continue to build the voices of our community.
In my first term in office, I have worked with community members and City staff to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods by bringing more funding for street and sidewalk improvements as well as parks and open space improvements.
I have also worked hard to serve those with mental health needs, collaborating with various stakeholders in the community to create a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) with our police force. I led
the effort to help fund the CIT pilot program at the city and cultivated support from colleagues to implement this initiative through its passage. This important accomplishment pairs mental health professionals with police officers responding to calls to people who are experiencing a mental health emergency. This improves the lives of residents and results in fewer escalations between law enforcement and individuals with mental health needs. In my capacity as a City Representative, I also sit on a number of important boards including the Rio Grande Council of Governments, Emergence Health Network, the 2020 Census Complete Count Committee, and the City’s Animal Shelter Advisory Committee.
Relevant experience that qualifies you for the position you seek:
I began my career in government working in the Massachusetts House of Representatives where I conducted policy research for a state elected official. Upon moving to Texas, I worked in the film industry for years where I helped oversee large production budgets and maintained a demanding schedule to assemble and maintain state of the art products. Following that, I worked in the arts and nonprofit sector, helping manage art production budgets and schedules for visiting artists to the
community. In addition, I worked teaching elementary students in a rural school district that did not have an arts education program. I taught students in the public school and during after school learning sessions.
I currently serve as the District 2 City Representative and that is my full time and only job. As a public servant, the workload is demanding and I often find myself working nights, weekends, and
holidays. If re-elected, I will continue to serve the community as a full time representative as I believe I would owe it to the people who placed their faith in me to serve and represent them. I am the best choice for this office as I have the administrative, policy, and diplomatic skills to
conduct the work associated with public service. Over my years in office and in the community, I have the constituent and business relationships necessary to make sound policy and business
decisions. I have spent my time in office being the voice of the people and fighting with them. I further have the financial management skills required to oversee the city’s large budget and tax rate through my years of work in nonprofits, the film industry, and education. I also conduct
policy research myself, making me an exceptional candidate for this position who knows the policy goals firsthand as well as having the necessary skills to promote, debate, and defend those goals.
If you had the chance to revoke one ordinance in El Paso immediately upon taking office, which one would it be?
Currently, there is a city ordinance that states sidewalks and alleys are the responsibility of property owners. In District 2, we have an aging community and sidewalks are in poor condition, to a point where the city needs to step in and help our community with beautification and safety
priorities. Leaving this up to the property owner becomes a financial burden on most residents and can not be resolved by them alone. Alleys are constantly being littered with trash and furniture by those illegally dumping. Enforcement and clean up needs to be dealt with headon
and swiftly by the city, to help maintain a community reflective of our neighbors. I believe we need to take charge and help our community by changing the ordinance so that the city can invest funds to ensure we have safe sidewalks for our families to use and ensure that code enforcement officers cite individuals for dumping garbage in alleyways.
In what ways is City government on the right track, and in what ways does it need to change course?
I think the city government is on the right track when it comes to street repair and maintenance. We now have allocated more dollars to improving streets throughout the city which were in dire need of repair. There is now a dedicated fund specifically for street maintenance, as well as an
improved process in determining which streets need repair. In the past, a former District 2 City Representative chose which streets to be repaired, which benefited that representative’s family
and friends at the expense of residents whose streets should have been addressed first. The new process studies streets throughout the city and streets in need of the greatest repair and slated to be fixed first.
The city needs to change course when it comes to community engagement. I think the main focus for local government should be community involvement. In the last four years, there have been two citizen petitions to reverse city policies because those El Pasoans felt left out of the
process and ignored. Local leaders should be the voice of the community and each decision a city representative makes should be based on the preferences of their constituents.
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?
I have been and will continue to be an advocate for greater transparency at city hall. It is for this reason that I hold regular community meetings to inform my constituents about city business, as well as a newsletter that I publish. If re-elected, I will continue to hold such community meetings
and include a virtual element so that those who can’t attend in person can participate online. I also engage in all news media requests for interviews and would urge other elected officials to do so as well. In addition, I have not supported executive session discussions on items that I believe should be held in public. I truly believe the public needs to be as informed and engaged in the process as much as possible. Therefore, I think the city should take a hard look and really consider what items are brought to executive session for discussion should the public’s input be necessary for
decision making. I also believe that public comment during city council meetings is a right that should be upheld for all. It is imperative that the city ease the process for El Pasoans to engage and participate in
items during council meetings.
Are you in favor or opposed to the construction of the downtown arena in the Duranguito District?

I am and have always been opposed to the construction of the arena in Duranguito. I do not support the displacement of El Pasoans for an entertainment venue, especially when the price of the structure continues to balloon. I am a proponent of historic preservation and rather than
demolish one of the first neighborhoods in El Paso, I believe we should invest more to build up and maintain that neighborhood for families to live, work, and play.
Do you think local health and city officials have responded to the coronavirus pandemic properly?

I think the city’s response to COVID-19 was mixed. I believe that the first responders and public safety personnel have performed a great job in ensuring our community understands how to combat COVID-19 and that we can maintain greater public health standards. I am less than happy with the
city’s lack of public health enforcement that businesses must maintain to reduce further outbreaks of this virus. I would support robust enforcement of public health measures recommended by the CDC and health experts which would greatly reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths that our community has seen. This would include warnings followed by citations for businesses who fail to maintain imperative health measures.
Are you in favor of diverting some police department funding, reallocating it toward local social programs?

I believe certain reforms must take place. The first thing I did in office was work with our Police Department and our local mental health authority, Emergence Health Network, to create the Crisis Intervention Team which is the first mental health unit in El Paso Police Department. I did so
because we had an alarming number of police related shootings in response to mental health crises. This program will come under the City of El Paso in FY21 and it is important to expand this program to be available 24 hours, as well as add mental health providers and training into our 911 sector to help mitigate confusion with calls.
I understand that there are issues in our police force, and I have worked hand-in-hand with the community and the police department to find solutions for these problems. I believe in absolute transparency and that means in all departments, which is why I have spent my time in office working towards building an Independent Oversight Committee for the El Paso Police Department to ensure that police officers are following all rules.
I have spent the last year working to push grants that serve a community purpose in El Paso, an area where we have lacked the effort to do so for so long. This includes grants like the PAL program, which pays officers overtime to interact with the youth and build relationships to de-escalate future incidents on both sides.
I understand that my community is concerned with an increase in crime in the area, which is why I supported more police academies for officers and vehicle replacements. I have also been a champion for community policing and have taken action on assisting officers in reaching their goals and outcomes in resources to keep our community safe. I identified and will
continue to identify money to secure funds for more equipment and better facilities for our police department.