El Paso City Council, District 5 candidate: Sean Orr

Candidate for El Paso City Council, District 5

Sean Orr

Age: 21

Please describe your personal and professional background.

I am the youngest candidate for the city council, having been born in Las Vegas, Nevada. My family relocated to this area in 2014, and I have since established my residence in the Far Eastside of El Paso. It is here that I met and married my wife in 2023, and we currently share our home with two dogs, Astrid and D.Ö.G. My professional journey began in 2020 when I worked as a phone banker for the Dr. Jo Jorgenson presidential campaign. After approximately three to four months, I was invited to assist with media consulting for Libertarian candidates seeking office. In 2024, I was honored to be selected as a Delegate for the Texas Democratic Party. Over the past eight years, I have actively engaged in community service, ranging from serving as a volunteer track coach to participating in Wreaths Across America.

How do you earn a living? Do you plan to continue if elected?

Working as a Supervisor Security Officer AT A Private Security Company. I would continue to work at the company but take a step down from Supervisor and cut my hours to ensure I am able to give attention to El Paso.

Please describe your education. Where did you get your high school diploma? What higher education degrees and certificates have you earned from where?

I received my education from El Dorado High School and completed some college from Penn Foster Community College in Paralegal Studies.

What experiences in leadership do you have that qualify you for this position?

Leadership training, I received in High School, from NJROTC, Law Enforcement Club, and AVID, these classes help me be able to lead my peers to success. From my 3 years of working in a supervisor position gave me the ability to run a team and improve ourselves. Following a budget, setting schedules and working with different departments to ensure objectives were completed.

Have you ever been arrested or charged with a crime? Have you ever had a civil judgment against you? Have you ever been in arrears on local, state or federal taxes? If so, please provide an explanation.

No.

If elected, would you have any potential conflicts of interest that you are aware of that would impair your ability to serve? Please explain what they are and how you would avoid the conflict.

I don’t have any potential conflicts of interest.

Issue related questions

Why are you the best candidate for this office?

I am a people candidate, the only candidate to file via petition and I am the only one who has not sought donations. I am the youngest and most driven candidate, ready to tackle issues directly. I don't view the divisions within political parties; instead, I see individuals from various groups all united by a common desire to address the problem yet struggling to work together. I am committed to fighting for the issues I believe in, never yielding. My approach is not about being the best candidate; it's about serving the people. I recognize the issue at hand and am prepared to work towards its resolution.

What are your top three priorities?

My top 3 priorities are lowering property taxes, reducing crime, and supporting small businesses.

Property taxes continue to be a challenge for Texans. How would you address this issue?

The city levies 28% of El Pasoans' property taxes, while 16% comes from the county, and over 40% is allocated to school districts. The city's ability to influence property tax rates is limited. However, by addressing the issue head-on, we can make a significant impact. This includes cutting city spending by hiring independent auditors to identify wasteful expenditures. Additionally, we should oppose the construction of a city arena, collaborate with the county to reduce spending, and maintain transparency with the community about any progress or setbacks. Our goal is to achieve a balanced budget by the end of 2025 and a surplus in 2026.

Immigration is a federal issue, but migrant influxes pose challenges locally. What is your vision for the city role in addressing mass migration?

The federal and state governments have decided to divorce on this issue, and I believe the city should step in to provide support where it's needed. This includes offering shelters and food banks, but we must not overlook the El Pasoans who are already facing difficulties. We should also make use of the funds that El Paso received from federal grants earlier this year.

Do you support the widening of I-10 through Downtown El Paso?

Yes, but alternate routes must be opened to prevent little delay.

If voters approve a new Downtown arena, will you work to get the project started immediately? Yes or no.

If the Voters vote to do so, Yes.

What’s the most important issue facing El Paso?

Property Taxes. They go up people leave, businesses leave, unfunded projects and less people buying houses. A ripple affect that starts from an increase of taxes.

What’s the next big thing El Paso should do in the city?

The next big thing we need to do is to focus on ourselves for a moment, conduct audits, make sure crime is being dealt with. Spend 2 years improve our departments and Aiding others.

Should City Hall do more to grant more public access to government leaders, including the city manager, police chief and its key department heads.

Yes, we should have full transparency is important.

What does transparent government mean to you? Will you be personally accessible to answer questions while in office?

Everything anyone does in public service should be and always be open to the public. I will be personally accessible to any questions from the public and the press.

The candidates' responses are being published largely as they were submitted.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso City Council, District 5 candidate: Sean Orr