Diverse field of candidates vie for El Paso City Council seats in upcoming election

One way or another, the El Paso City Council will look a lot different next year.

Six of eight City Council seats are up for grabs and only two incumbents are eligible to return — that means at least four seats will be held by new representatives. Add to that the fact that Mayor Oscar Leeser is terming out this year and city leadership is in for a dramatic change.

In the District 2 and District 4 races, incumbent city Reps. Josh Acevedo and Joe Molinar will be fending off opposition in the hopes of retaining their seats. City Reps. Art Fierro in District 6 and Chris Canales in District 8 are the only representatives certain to return in January.

The District 1 and District 5 seats came open when their respective representatives mounted bids for mayor — West Side city Rep. Brian Kennedy entered the mayoral race in mid-July while East Side city Rep. Isabel Salcido announced her candidacy Aug. 20.

A third City Council member is also vying for the mayor's seat — East-Central city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez announced her bid for the top spot in City Hall in February — giving this year's mayoral contest an air of political experience not seen for some time.

The filing deadline for the General Election was Aug. 19, but candidates in the District 1 and District 5 races will have until Sept. 4 to apply for a spot on the ballot.

With a wide slate of candidates in multiple races, it's likely that taxpayers will be footing the bill for runoffs in the mayor's race and at least three City Council races.

District 1

Five candidates have jumped into the race to replace Kennedy, whose first four-year term on City is yet to expire, but all four are virtually unknown in El Paso politics.

The candidates are Alejandra Chavez, whose ballot application lists her occupation as advisor/consultant while her campaign website touts her experience running a catering company since 2003; Monica Reyes , executive director of student support services at Canutillo Independent School District; Sam Armijo, whose ballot application lists his profession as engineering consultant; Thomas Handy, whose ballot application lists him as a writer; and Lorenzo Luna.

District 2

Acevedo, who won his City Council seat during a special election runoff earlier this year, had a clear path to reelection until Isabel Ceballos entered the race Monday, Aug. 19.

According to an email announcing her District 2 campaign, Ceballos is a real estate agent and investor.

District 3

Five candidates are running to replace East-Central city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez in the District 3 seat on the City Council. Hernandez is finishing up her second four-year term on the City Council — if she's bested in the mayoral contest, it could spell the end of her time in city government.

The candidates vying to replace Hernandez are Kenneth Bell , an Army veteran and grassroots organizer; Jesus Romero, whose ballot application identifies him as a realtor and entrepreneur; Fabiola Arellano , an Army veteran and attorney in the El Paso District Attorney's office; Deanna Maldonado-Rocha , a capacity analyst, according to her ballot application; and realtor Jose Rodriguez.

District 4

Though Acevedo and Molinar are the only incumbents in the City Council race, Molinar will see a larger field of contenders going after his seat in November.

The candidates looking to unseat Molinar include: retiree Dorthy "Sissy" Byrd; activist Wesley Lawrence ; and Cynthia Boyar Trejo , whose ballot application identifies her as a business owner.

District 5

Though the District 5 race to replace Rep. Isabel Salcido was just added to the ballot, three candidates have already thrown their names in the hat: Salvador Padilla, a technology executive according to his ballot application; Tamara Lantigua Davis, self-employed; and Ivan Nino, Salcido's administrative assistant.

District 7

With city Rep. Henry Rivera completing his second and final four-year term, the District 7 seat on the City Council is wide open to new blood and three candidates have answered the call.

The candidates vying for the District 7 seat are former city Rep. Lily Limon ; Fabiola Campos-Lopez , chairwoman of the El Paso Neighborhood Coalition; Alan Serna , a business owner and conservationist; and Ysleta Independent School District trustee Chris Hernandez.

Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Diverse field of candidates vie for El Paso City Council seats in upcoming election