Progressive candidates advance to runoff in El Paso City Council District 2 race

The race for the District 2 seat on the El Paso City Council is headed for a runoff between the two most progressive candidates in the race.

Activist and lawyer Veronica Carbajal and El Paso independent School District trustee Josh Acevedo finished the Dec. 9 Election Night in a dead heat, at 35.92% and 35.73% respectively. The two finished the night with only four votes between them.

Longtime City Hall insider Judy Gutierrez finished the night with 24% while longshot Ben Mendoza finished with 4%.

More: Acevedo, Carbajal set for City Council District 2 runoff battle after final results

Carbajal and Acevedo were locked in a tight race from the onset, with early voting totals showing Acevedo ahead by only four votes. The trend continued with the first set of Election Night results, which had Carbajal ahead by a narrow six votes.

The razor-thin margins proved to be enough, however, in a special election scheduled between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays that drew only 4.5% of the 46,762 registered voters in District 2.

A date for the runoff will likely be set in the coming days, but both Carbajal and Acevedo are ready for the challenge.

"The strategy moving forward is going to double down on what we've been doing, which is connecting with voters, giving voters hope and staying true to my promise of being a grassroots candidate," " Carbajal said.

For Acevedo, the biggest job in the coming weeks will be getting more voters out to the polls for the runoff.

"It's disheartening to see the low turnout, but I think we can definitely keep knocking on doors and calling voters and get people out to the polls because this is such an important race," Acevedo said. "I have my platform and my platform has been community driven, so I'm going to continue to have that message in everything I do."

As for the possibility of throwing her support behind one of the remaining two candidates, Gutierrez flatly declined.

"I feel that strongly," she said. "They are one in the same candidate. Too extremely liberal."

Progressive ideals hold strong in District 2

The fact that the most progressive candidates advanced in the District 2 race should come as no surprise — for the last six years, the district has been represented by city Rep. Alexsandra Annello, who has become a loud progressive voice on City Council.

Annello, who announced her resignation from City Council in October to run for the District 77 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, has become a champion of progressive causes from abortion rights to campaign finance reform.

More: El Paso city Rep. Alexsandra Annello looks to leap from City Council to Texas Legislature

The working-class population of District 2 appears to support a continuation of that trend with the advancement of Carbajal and Acevedo over Gutierrez and Mendoza, both of whom appeared decidedly more conservative in a recent forum held at Memorial Park Senior Center.

While Acevedo has played lip service to progressive policies such as protections for the LGBTQ+ community, his platform has stuck closer to quality-of-life issues in District 2, fiscal responsibility and the need to hire a "community-oriented" city manager.

Carbajal, on the other hand, has been a vocal advocate for progressive causes ― her political action committee, Justicia Fronteriza, was the first to bring the idea of radical campaign finance and election reform before the city and worked alongside other advocacy groups in support of the doomed climate charter.

With the makeup of City Council already radically changed after last year's election, the election of Carbajal or Acevedo represents a mild return to normalcy as their progressive voices will be filling the political void left by Annello.

Veronica Carbajal takes aim at Jose Acevedo donors

Despite the low voter turnout, donors showed up for the District 2 special election.

Carbajal received over $6,000 according to her Dec. 1 campaign finance report, the largest for $1,000 and many as low as $10 or $25.

Acevedo, meanwhile, collected nearly $7,700 according to his Dec. 1 report, including $250 from El Paso County Commissioner David Stout and $2,500 from the Texas Association of Realtors political action committee. His Nov. 9 report also showed a $2,000 contribution from Dualie Properties Inc.

"We're the only grassroots campaign powered by volunteers and we're going to keep building on that," Carbajal said. "Unlike my opponent, I have not and will not take corporate money, money from developers, or money from people who don't have our neighborhoods as a priority."

But Acevedo insisted the furor over his campaign contributions is much ado about nothing.

"I think that all the donors that have made donations to me, especially the large $2,000 contribution, that's a family friend," Acevedo said. "There's no connections to any of the assumptions that have been made."

What's next in the District 2 race?

Though a date for the runoff still has to be determined, it is supposed to happen six weeks after the election, which would have it falling on Saturday, Jan. 20.

That gives Carbajal and Acevedo just a few weeks to energize voters that so far have been largely apathetic about the City Council race.

Both candidates noted the difficult conditions of the election, which occurred on a cold and blustery Saturday, but remained confident that they can rally supporters to the polls next month.

More: Few voters cast early vote ballots in El Paso City Council District 2 special election

"It's such a hard time of the year, with all the holidays happening, I think it makes it hard to get people out," Acevedo said, adding that he plans to keep bringing his community-driven message to the people of District 2. "We just have to make sure that message resonates across District 2."

During the campaign, Carbajal said her team of roughly 50 volunteers met with community leaders across District 2 about initiatives that can be implemented quickly in their neighborhoods.

"It was disappointing to not have a clean win, just because we worked really hard and made some important contact with voters throughout the district," Carbajal said. "I really am hopeful that we can win because we're ready."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Veronica Carbajal, Jose Acevedo set in District 2 runoff election