Voters in El Paso City Council District 8 will soon decide who will represent them at City Hall for the next four years.
Five candidates are competing for the District 8 seat in the upcoming Nov. 3 General Election, including incumbent city Rep. Chris Canales, who took office in January 2023 following former city Rep. Cissy Lizarraga's retirement.
District 8 covers Downtown and South-West El Paso, stretching down through McKelligon Canyon all the way to the Chamizal National Monument, then west before extending north along Paisano Drive to areas that include Lakehurst, Falcon Hills and Lambka Park.
The district has its own set of unique issues including the ongoing plans to modernize the Bridge of the Americas land port, which has tormented residents
in the area with noise and air pollution for years, as well as the ongoing work to bring business to Downtown El Paso, including the proposed Downtown I-10 Deck Plaza. While those priorities will be front of mind for whoever takes the reins for District 8 on the City Council, they'll also have to tackle concerns over property taxes and deteriorating streets.
Here's a look at the District 8 race with Election Day just over a week away.
Who are the candidates in the District 8 race?
The four candidates in the District 8 contest are Canales, entrepreneur Arturo Alluin, retiree Laura Ochoa-Todd, Johnny J. Gonzalez, who did not respond to the El Paso Times' candidate questionnaire, and Mary L. Peyton Foundation Executive Director Matthew Guzman.
City representatives serve four-year terms and, after a 15% pay increase that took effect Sept. 1, 2026, earn an annual salary of $72,800.
Canales hopes to run for a second, final term on the City Council, where he has proven himself highly knowledgeable about city processes and rules and has often used a data-driven approach to decision-making.
"I am a progressive, but I’m also a pragmatist," he said in his El Paso Times' candidate questionnaire. "I believe government can and should be a force for improving people's lives, expanding opportunity, protecting individual rights and civil liberties, and making sure that people who have historically had less power have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect them."
The upcoming election will be the first foray into politics for Alluin, who helped open the recently shuttered Melting Pot located at The Fountains of Farah.
"El Paso municipal government is nonpartisan, and that is how I approach this race," he said in his El Paso Times' candidate questionnaire. "I consider myself fiscally responsible, pro-business, community-focused, and results-oriented. I believe in responsible government spending, strong public safety, quality infrastructure, economic opportunity, transparent government, and protecting taxpayers. I am less interested in whether an idea comes from the political left or right than whether it works for El Paso."
Likewise, the remaining candidates in the District 8 contest — Ochoa-Todd, Gonzalez and Guzman — are taking their first leap into politics. For Ochoa-Todd, that means leaning into her background as an everyday citizen.
"Voters should vote for me because I really am for what the people want because I am a simple day-to-day citizen — I am one of them," she said in her El Paso Times' candidate questionnaire. "I cannot be bought. If I were already a representative, I would have voted for council not to get a raise and to freeze the city top officials’ raises. Unlike the other candidates running for District 8, I am fiscally conservative, against wasteful spending and over-taxing, mature, serious, fair, honest, and conscientious. And most importantly, I know my constituents are my boss."
For Guzman, his work in the financial world and in the community set him apart in the five-candidate race.
"I have a proven track record of integrity, fiscal discipline, and hands-on service to our community," he said in his El Paso Times' candidate questionnaire. "Growing up in a multi-generational household with limited means, I know firsthand the hardships our community members face. I understand both the boardroom and the kitchen table. I was fortunate to break the cycle of poverty for my family, and now I am committed to public service."
What are the big issues citywide?
No issue resonates more across El Paso than rising property tax bills.
For Guzman, reining in property taxes has to be addressed on multiple fronts by first ensuring strategic and purposeful spending and then expanding the industrial and commercial tax bases.
"We need to cut the red tape around housing development within city limits so that we can get more people into homes they can afford to further broaden the tax base," Guzman said, "allow more El Pasoans to participate in the wealth accumulation associated with homeownership, and stabilize prices by adding much needed supply."
By contrast, Ochoa-Todd believes that the city should reduce nonessential services in a bid to keep property taxes low.
"I would support making all tax entities accountable and transparent whenever they go over their budgets," she said. "Should they fall short, make them responsible in reducing their department essential services, balance their budgets and not depend on taxpayer monies."
Alluin has vowed to vote against another round of property tax hikes if elected to the City Council.
"I will not vote to increase property taxes," he said. "El Paso families have been asked to pay more year after year while too many basic services continue falling short. Enough is enough. Taxpayers feel the amount of the bill they actually pay—not the lower tax rate City Hall advertises."
"When property values rise and the city collects more revenue, families still lose more of their household income," Alluin continued. "My starting point would be the no-new-revenue tax rate, not automatically collecting more simply because property values increased."
Canales, the only candidate in the District 8 contest that has taken part in the city's budget process, has a more nuanced position on keeping property taxes low.
"My goal has been to help put the city on a more sustainable financial path so that raising property taxes doesn't have to be the answer year after year," he said. "That requires controlling ongoing expenses, continually examining programs and staffing, eliminating spending that isn't producing enough value, managing vacancies responsibly, improving productivity, aggressively managing our debt, and growing the tax base so that the cost of city government isn't continually falling more heavily on the same taxpayers."
What are the big issues citywide?
While the proposed Downtown I-10 Deck Plaza remains one of the hottest issues among El Paso voters, the plan is uniquely important to District 8 voters as the 6.5-acre development would be housed in their district. Canales has been and remains a staunch critic of the project.
"I do not support moving forward with the proposed Downtown Deck Plaza under present circumstances, and I definitely would not support asking El Paso taxpayers to make up the enormous funding gap for the project," Canales said. "I understand and fully support the goal of reconnecting Downtown with the neighborhoods that were divided by the construction of I-10. I’m in favor of investments that improve connections between Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, make it safer and easier to walk and bike, create quality public spaces, and repair some of the damage caused by past transportation decisions. But those goals need to be pursued in ways that are financially realistic and that would not require El Paso taxpayers to assume hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs. The Deck Plaza doesn’t fit that brief."
Similarly, Alluin opposes the use of taxpayer dollars for the massive project.
"El Paso has too many basic needs that remain unresolved," he said. "Our streets are deteriorating, drainage problems continue affecting neighborhoods, public-safety resources are stretched, and communities throughout the city still need better lighting, parks, sidewalks, and essential infrastructure. Those responsibilities must come first."
Ochoa-Todd and Guzman are divided on the project, with Ochoa-Todd clearly opposing the plan and Guzman enthusiastically supporting it.
"I do not support the I-10 Deck Plaza project because I feel it is a waste of money," Ochoa-Todd said. "With El Paso being ($3.1 billion) in debt and approximately 90 active proposed projects pending, we should work on reducing, not adding, more debt and finish pending projects."
On the other hand, Guzman said, "I do support the Downtown Deck Plaza. The data shows that communities that have capped a portion of their freeway have seen the area around it spring to life. New housing, small businesses, and green spaces have sprouted up in those city centers and urban areas have been revitalized.
"We need a catalyst for housing creation and restoration, and continued economic development near downtown," he added. "I believe the Downtown Deck Plaza will be just that. Downtown is for everyone and is worthy of our investment."
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso District 8 race pits 5 candidates on taxes, growth
