Judy Gutierrez believes City Hall experience gives her edge in El Paso City Council race

The field of candidates in the El Paso City Council District 2 race is growing with the addition of veteran campaigner Judy Gutierrez.

Gutierrez will face off against three other opponents — lawyer and activist Veronica Carbajal, school board member Josh Acevedo and perennial candidate Ben Mendoza — in the Dec. 9 special election for the seat.

Taxpayers are currently footing a roughly $275,000 bill for the December election — with four candidates in the race, a costly runoff is likely.

The District 2 spot came open after current El Paso city Rep. Alexsandra Annello announced that she would be resigning from her City Council post to pursue the Texas House District 77 seat. Whoever is elected will serve out the remainder of Annello's term, which expires December 2024.

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Gutierrez's entrance into the race precipitated the first attack ad of the contest. Though Gutierrez says she will not accept campaign contributions in the race, a pro-Gutierrez mailer paid for by El Paso Progress PAC recently hit mailboxes slamming Carbajal over her purported support last year for a $400 million bond to fund University Medical Center projects.

The bond was ultimately defeated with a petition from the conservative Koch brothers-backed Libre Initiative. El Paso County Commissioners Court initially approved the bond, which would have resulted in higher property taxes without voter approval.

Gutierrez, a product of Logan Heights in District 2, believes her years of experience running offices for previous city representatives gives her an edge in the race.

"I feel working there and having to deal with two city managers and multiple city representatives that I have the experience and the knowledge, definitely the knowledge," she said. "I believe that what's giving me the advantage."

Working with City Council

Though she worked for a while at Sierra Medical, Gutierrez tends to focus on the 24 years she spent as a City Hall employee working in economic development and serving as chief of staff for multiple city representatives.

"My work history at the city is what I actually tout a lot," Gutierrez said.

The daughter of illegal immigrants who eventually gained U.S. citizenship, Gutierrez began working alongside City Council around the same time El Paso hired its first city manager, Joyce Wilson, in 2004. She worked first with District 2 city Rep. Susie Byrd and later city Rep. Larry Romero.

"We see (representatives) on council ... and that's only a few hours once a week," Gutierrez said. "For me, connecting with the constituents and actually dealing with their issues, that to me is 90% of what being a representative is about."

When Romero resigned in late 2015 after suffering a stroke and receiving an Ethics Review Commission reprimand for gaining a personal benefit related to street resurfacing contracts, the city opted not to hold a special election — for eight months, Gutierrez managed the District 2 office without a city representative at the helm.

"That office ran well and I was in charge," Gutierrez said.

When Annello was elected in 2016, Gutierrez was preparing to bid farewell to City Hall, but a car crash that left Annello badly injured after the election extended Gutierrez's time with the city.

"When she won the election, but the staff and I ... were already packing and getting ready to leave," Gutierrez recalled. "I had never met Annello prior to that or never worked with her. But you had to put politics aside and continue to work for the people."

When Annello returned, Gutierrez stayed on but ended up mounting a failed campaign against Annello for the District 2 seat in 2020.

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Gutierrez ran for a Commissioners Court seat a year later but lost to incumbent Commissioner David Stout.

Beyond managing council offices and running for office, Gutierrez has also worked with the Five Points Business Association, mentored with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and served on advisory boards for both the El Paso Police Department and the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

"I've done a lot of civic, community volunteer work," Gutierrez said. "I've done my community service way before I ever thought about running for office."

Not taking a salary

If elected, Gutierrez said relocating the city's expansive migrant shelters will be one of her top priorities.

"We've got to get the migrant centers out of our neighborhoods," she said. "It's not a city issue, it's a federal issue."

While campaigning, Gutierrez said she has heard continuous "outrage and outcries" from constituents over the presence of migrants on city streets.

"Safety is one of, if not the, top priority," Gutierrez said. "Law enforcement, public safety, has to be up there but ... we have to make our neighborhoods safe. We cannot have these centers in our neighborhoods."

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The city has to make moves to create new jobs, but said companies will have to do their part as well, Gutierrez said.

"I do support the tax abatements (for companies) because I think that's how we keep businesses here," she said. "However ... we cannot continue to give away our tax dollars if we don't get something back of equal or greater value. I'm happy to support tax abatements but we have to get more bang for our buck now."

Gutierrez vowed to vote against certificates of obligation, which City Hall uses for special projects and raises government debt.

"We're at or over $2 billion in debt and a lot of that is because we continue to fund our projects through COs," she said. "Unless there's another flood or a catastrophic event, I'm not going to vote for COs."

She has a similar philosophy when it comes to tax increases. She is open to cutting city spending.

"I have been very firm and, of course, I have been asked, 'Are you willing to make cuts?'" Gutierrez said. "Absolutely. There is absolutely the ability to say, 'We are not going to continue to raise your taxes.' We have to stop ... hundreds of people are losing their homes because they can't pay their taxes."

Gutierrez is putting her money where her mouth is — if elected, she said she will not accept a salary and instead funnel that money back into District 2.

City representatives currently receive around $51,000 a year.

"Every penny that I earn, I will pay taxes on the earnings, but then the take-home pay, every penny of that, is going back into District 2," she said. "I have to show the people of District 2 that this is not about a salary to me.

"For me, donating my salary back to the community shows my commitment and where my heart is because no other candidate is going to come do this for free. I am here for these next 11 months to do the best that I can for the people of District 2."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Judy Gutierrez mounting campaign for El Paso City Council District 2