Voters back El Paso & YISD bond proposals, send Hernandez to runoff with Veliz
EL PASO, Texas -- Voters on Tuesday gave approval to a pair of bond proposals for the city of El Paso and the Ysleta Independent School District.
Nearly final results showed that 59% of voters were in favor of the city of El Paso’s $413 million public safety bond. It will fund projects and improvements for both El Paso Police Department and El Paso Fire Department.
That bond will raise property taxes. The city estimates that for every $100,000 your home is worth, your property taxes would rise by roughly $12 each year for six years.
Elsewhere, with all votes tallied, 58% of voters supported the Ysleta Independent School District’s $425 million bond. The money will be used for school construction and renovation work as well as purchasing new school buses.
In the hotly-contested District 3 El Paso City Council race, incumbent Cassandra Hernandez finished ahead of her three challengers, garnering 46% of the vote in the final tally.
However, she failed to garner the 50% threshold need to avoid a runoff. She will now face second-place finisher Will Veliz, who received 29% of the vote, in a special election on Dec. 14.
"I think that its a testament that my constituents still support me and they have their confidence in me and I think together we have more chapters to write, so we're looking forward to another opportunity to meet with voters," Hernandez told ABC-7.
But Veliz took away a different message from voters in Tuesday night's results.
"What they're saying is that someone brand new with some background and experience can come in and challenge an incumbent that's been there 2 1/2 years," he said.
