Meet the Candidate: Arturo Alluin seeks City Council, 8 seat

Meet the candidate: Arturo Alluin, City Council District 8

Age: 35

Occupation: I earn my living as an entrepreneur and business owner. For more than a decade, I have helped build and operate businesses in El Paso, creating local jobs and gaining hands-on experience managing employees, budgets, regulations, and day-to-day operations.

Please describe your personal and professional background.

I was raised on the El Paso–Juárez border in a hardworking Mexican American family. My parents taughtme the value of sacrifice, discipline, perseverance, and never forgetting where you come from. For more thanten years, I crossed the border every day to attend school in El Paso. That experience shaped my character andgave me a firsthand understanding of the people, cultures, and economies that make our binational communityso

special.

I graduated cum laude from Austin College with a degree in International Relations and a minor inPhilosophy and Ethics. My early professional experience in international trade and business taught me how toadapt, work with people from different backgrounds, and overcome challenges. I eventually returned home andbuilt my career as an entrepreneur, business owner, and job creator in El Paso.

Today, I help lead several local businesses that employ more than 100 El Pasoans. I have built businesses fromthe ground up, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, developed teams, navigated government regulations,balanced expenses, and made difficult decisions. In business, there are no excuses and no taxpayer bailouts. Youmust solve problems, take responsibility, treat people fairly, and deliver results.

I am also a father, and that responsibility drives everything I do. I want my son—and every young person inEl Paso—to have the opportunity to build a successful future here without feeling that they must leave ourcommunity to find it. I am not running to build a political career. I am running because I have had enough ofrising taxes, neglected streets, slow projects, unnecessary bureaucracy, and a City Hall that too often fails tolisten to the people paying the bills. District 8 deserves leadership that respects taxpayers, supports public safety,invests in infrastructure, strengthens local businesses, and creates real opportunities for working families. Publicservice should be simple: listen to the people, work hard, spend responsibly, take accountability, and produceresults. That is how I have approached my life and my businesses, and that is the leadership I will bring toDistrict 8—From El Paso, For El Paso.

Describe your political identity.

El Paso municipal government is nonpartisan, and that is how I approach this race. 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. Local government should be focused on delivering basic services effectively and solving problems that affect people's everyday lives. I am running to represent everyone in District 8, regardless of political affiliation.

Questions related to El Paso City Council District 8 race

Do you support the proposed Downtown I-10 Deck Plaza project? Why or why not? If elected, would you support using city funds to help finance the project?

I do not support using city taxpayer dollars or other public funds to finance the Downtown I-10 Deck Plaza. I support the vision behind the project, and I have personally donated my own money to help advance it.

I believe it has the potential to reconnect neighborhoods, strengthen Downtown, and create new economic activity. However, there is an important difference between choosing to contribute private money and requiring taxpayers to fund a project.

El Paso has too many basic needs that remain unresolved. 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.

I am willing to invest my own money in the Deck Plaza because I believe private individuals and businesses should support projects they believe in. But I will not ask working families—who are already struggling with rising property taxes and living costs—to pay for it while City Hall continues falling short on basic services.

The Deck Plaza should move forward through private investment and voluntary contributions. Public dollars should be used first to fix the problems taxpayers already expect their city government to address.

Property taxes remain a top concern for many El Paso homeowners. What specific actions would you support to slow the growth of property tax bills or reduce services?

I will not vote to increase property taxes. 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. My starting point would be the no-new-revenue tax rate, not automatically collecting more simply because property values increased.

I would support the following specific actions:

• Grow the commercial tax base by supporting local businesses, attracting new employers, simplifying permitting, and creating jobs so homeowners are not continually expected to carry more of the burden. I do not accept the argument that the only choices are higher taxes or fewer essential services. Police, fire, streets, drainage, and basic infrastructure must be protected. The first cuts should come from waste, duplication, unnecessary consulting, poor management, and programs that cannot demonstrate results. Before City Hall asks taxpayers for one more dollar, it must prove that it is responsibly managing the dollars it already receives. If you cannot explain it, you should not spend it.

• Commission an independent outside financial and structural audit of the city’s budget, departments, staffing, contracts, and operations. City Hall should not be responsible for grading itself.

• Establish public performance scorecards for departments, programs, major projects, and contractors. If something does not perform, it should not continue receiving taxpayer money without changes.

• Implement zero-based budgeting so every department must justify every dollar every year instead of automatically receiving last year’s budget plus an increase.

• Review consulting expenses, administrative costs, duplicated functions, vacant positions, and underperforming contracts before considering reductions to essential services.

• Strengthen competitive bidding and contract oversight to control costs, prevent overruns, and ensure taxpayers receive what they were promised.

• Evaluate increasing the city’s homestead exemption and providing targeted relief where legally and financially possible.

• Control long-term debt and prioritize capital spending based on necessity, public benefit, and the city’s ability to maintain what it builds.

Road conditions continue to be a major concern for voters. What steps would you take to ensure adequate and sustainable funding for street maintenance and repairs across El Paso?

Street maintenance is one of the most basic responsibilities of city government. It should be treated as a guaranteed core service—not something City Hall addresses only after roads have deteriorated or during an election year. The city’s own 2019 pavement analysis estimated that approximately $44 million per year was needed to maintain an average Pavement Condition Index of 70. At the time, only about $7 million in recurring annual resurfacing funding had been identified. That gap shows why temporary projects, bond programs, and pothole repairs alone will never solve the problem.

I would support the following steps:

• Publish a public, district-by-district dashboard showing each project’s budget, timeline, contractor, status, and completed work.

• Sustainable street funding must begin by making maintenance a permanent priority in the annual budget and redirecting lower-priority spending before asking taxpayers for more money. Preventive maintenance also saves taxpayers money because preserving a street today costs far less than completely rebuilding it later. Success should not be measured by how many millions of dollars City Hall announces. It should be measured by whether El Paso’s streets are actually improving, projects are completed on time, and taxpayers receive the results they were promised.

• Conduct an updated, independent assessment of every city-maintained street and publish the condition of each roadway.

• Establish a long-term pavement-management plan with a predictable annual funding commitment based on actual maintenance needs—not whatever money remains at the end of the budget process.

• Protect revenues and fees collected specifically for street maintenance and publicly report exactly how every dollar is spent.

• Prioritize preventive maintenance, including crack sealing, surface treatments, and resurfacing, before streets deteriorate to the point that expensive reconstruction is required.

• Rank projects using objective criteria such as pavement condition, traffic volume, safety, emergency access, and lifecycle cost—not political influence or favoritism.

• Better coordinate street projects with El Paso Water, utilities, and private contractors so a newly repaired street is not immediately cut open again. Utility work should include clear restoration standards, warranties, and accountability for poor repairs.

• Strengthen competitive bidding and contractor oversight to control costs, prevent delays, and ensure the city receives the quality of work taxpayers purchased.

• Aggressively pursue state and federal transportation funding while ensuring that local matching requirements are affordable and do not take money away from essential services.

What is your assessment of the city's Data Center Policy Framework? Does it strike the right balance between economic development and protecting community resources, or would you propose changes?

The City’s Data Center Policy Framework is a necessary step and generally moves in the right direction, but I would not consider it finished until its protections are clear, enforceable, and measurable. I support requiring hyperscale data centers to obtain special permits instead of allowing them automatically by right. I also support the framework’s position against city tax incentives for these projects. A large investment announcement may sound impressive, but that alone does not make it a good economic-development deal. We must consider permanent jobs and wages, water consumption, electricity demand, infrastructure costs, environmental effects, and whether taxpayers or utility customers could eventually subsidize the project.

I would strengthen the framework by requiring:

• Independent water, energy, infrastructure, environmental, and economic-impact studies paid for by the applicant but reviewed by qualified independent experts.

• Public disclosure of projected and actual water and electricity use, including annual reporting after operations begin.

• Binding requirements that the developer pay the full cost of infrastructure, power generation, transmission, water capacity, and other improvements created by the project—without shifting those costs to residents orratepayers.

• Strong water-conservation standards, including reclaimed or non-potable water and the most efficient cooling technology reasonably available.

• Enforceable community-benefit agreements covering local hiring, wages, workforce development, infrastructure, and neighborhood protections.

• Parent-company guarantees so commitments cannot be avoided through a subsidiary that later dissolves or fails to perform.

• Clear performance requirements, enforcement procedures, penalties, and clawbacks when a company fails todeliver promised jobs, investment, or community benefits.

• Regular public reporting and periodic review of the policy as technology, energy demand, and water conditions change.

El Paso should welcome responsible private investment, but we should not give away taxpayer dollars or place our limited water supply and electrical system at risk for projects that create relatively few permanent jobs. Residents must come first, and companies—not families—must pay the costs their developments create. My standard is simple: Does the project create lasting value for El Paso, does it protect our natural resources, and can we guarantee that taxpayers and utility customers will not be left paying the bill? If those questions cannot be answered clearly, the project should not move forward.

Should the city continue offering tax abatements and other incentives to attract profitable corporations or industries? Under what circumstances, if any, should those incentives be approved?

Economic incentives should be the exception, not the default. They should never be negotiated one project at a time without a clear long-term strategy. El Paso needs a transparent 10-year economic-development plan identifying the industries, commercial corridors, infrastructure projects, workforce needs, and locally owned businesses we want to grow. Every proposed incentive should be measured against that plan—not approved simply because a large corporation makes an impressive announcement. I would consider incentives only when independent analysis demonstrates that a project will create substantial permanent jobs with competitive wages, diversify our economy, generate significant net new tax revenue, invest in our workforce, and deliver benefits greater than the cost to taxpayers. The city should also determine whether the project would happen without the incentive and calculate how long it will take taxpayers to recover their investment.

Every agreement must include specific job, wage, investment, and construction requirements; firm deadlines; public reporting; and enforceable clawbacks allowing taxpayers to recover benefits when a company fails to deliver.

Most importantly, incentives should not be reserved for large corporations moving into El Paso. Long-established local businesses that expand, create jobs, revitalize neglected properties, or make significant long-term investments in our community should also qualify for abatements and other support where legally permitted. A business that has employed El Pasoans, paid local taxes, and invested here for years should not be placed at a disadvantage against a corporation that just arrived. We must build local and focus local. That means simplifying permitting, investing in workforce development, prioritizing local companies for public opportunities where legally allowed, and helping El Paso businesses grow into the major employers of tomorrow. Economic development should not be measured by the size of a press release. It should be measured by permanent jobs, stronger local businesses, new opportunities, and a real return for taxpayers. From El Paso, For El Paso.

Public safety remains a core city responsibility. What are your top priorities for police, fire and emergency services, and how would you pay for them?

My top priorities would be:

• Recruit and retain qualified police officers, firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers, and emergency personnelthrough competitive compensation, strong training, and clear career-development opportunities.
• Establish a long-term staffing plan based on population, call volume, response times, retirements, and theactual needs of each neighborhood.
• Reduce emergency-response times by placing personnel and resources where the data shows they are neededmost.
• Provide first responders with reliable vehicles, protective equipment, technology, communications systems,stations, and facilities.
• Return more trained officers to field duties by using qualified civilian employees for administrative work thatdoes not require a sworn officer.
• Strengthen neighborhood policing, emergency preparedness, crisis response, and coordination among police, fire, EMS, the Sheriff’s Office, hospitals, and other regional partners.
• Publish clear performance measures so residents can see staffing levels, response times, recruitment progress, and how public-safety dollars are being used.

I am honored to have earned endorsements from organizations representing El Paso police officers and Sheriff’s deputies. Their support reinforces my commitment to listening directly to the men and women on the front lines—not only administrators—and ensuring they have the resources needed to protect our community.

To pay for these priorities, I would make public safety a first claim on recurring city revenue and conduct a line-by-line, zero-based review of the budget. I would redirect money from unnecessary consulting, administrative duplication, lower-priority projects, and programs that cannot demonstrate results before asking taxpayers for more. I would also aggressively pursue state and federal grants for equipment, technology, training, facilities, and other eligible expenses.

However, permanent positions require dependable recurring funding. We should not hire first responders with temporary grants unless the city has a responsible plan to sustain those positions after the grant expires. Safe neighborhoods and fiscal responsibility are not competing goals. Responsible budgeting means funding essential services first, measuring results, and eliminating waste elsewhere. El Pasoans deserve both protection and respect for their tax dollars.

What do you see as El Paso's biggest economic challenge, and what specific policies would you pursue to address it?

El Paso’s greatest economic challenge is not a lack of hardworking people or potential. It is our failure to turn those strengths into enough high-paying jobs, growing local businesses, and long-term opportunities for our families. We educate talented young people through UTEP, EPCC, and our school systems, but too often they leave because they cannot find competitive wages or professional opportunities here. At the same time, local entrepreneurs face complicated permitting, rising costs, limited access to capital, and a city government that can feel more like a hurdle than a partner.

I would pursue a 10-year economic-development plan with specific goals for job creation, wage growth, local business expansion, workforce development, and commercial investment.

My priorities would include:

• Create a faster, simpler, and more accountable permitting process with clear requirements, firm timelines, online tracking, and one point of contact responsible for helping each project move forward
• Direct incentives toward projects that create permanent, well-paying jobs and diversify our economy—not simply those making the largest investment announcement.
• Make established El Paso businesses eligible for abatements and assistance when they expand, hire locally,revitalize property, or make significant long-term investments.
• Prioritize qualified local companies for city contracts and public projects whenever legally permitted sotaxpayer dollars circulate within our community.
• Strengthen partnerships among employers, UTEP, EPCC, school districts, and workforce organizations sotraining programs lead directly to available careers.
• Target industries that fit El Paso’s strengths, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense,international trade, logistics, healthcare, and technology.
• Use our position on the border to expand trade and investment while also strengthening local commercethrough a “Shop Local, Eat Local, Hire Local, Invest Local” strategy.
• Improve streets, public safety, infrastructure, utilities, and quality of life. Businesses invest—and talented families remain—in cities that are safe, well-maintained, efficient, and predictable.
• Publish an economic-development scorecard showing jobs created, wages paid, incentives awarded, localcontracts issued, and whether each project delivered what taxpayers were promised.

Economic development must be about more than recruiting outside corporations. We must build local, focus local, and help today’s small businesses become tomorrow’s major employers. As a father, I want my son—and every young person raised in El Paso—to believe they can build a successful future here without having to leave home to find opportunity. That is the real measure of economic success: From El Paso, For El Paso.

Have you read the City Charter? What did you learn is the top City Council priority?

Yes, I have read the City Charter. The most important lesson is that City Council’s primary responsibility is governance and accountability. The Charter gives Council legislative authority and specifically assigns it the duty to select, direct, and regularly evaluate the City Manager. Under El Paso’s council-manager system, council establishes policy, adopts ordinances, approves the budget, sets priorities, and decides how taxpayer dollars are used. The City Manager is the chief administrative officer responsible for carrying out those decisions and managing city operations. The Charter also makes the chain of accountability clear. Individual Council members cannot manage city employees directly; they must work through the City Manager. That means Council must establish measurable expectations, demand accurate information, regularly evaluate performance, and take corrective action when the administration fails to deliver. Elected representatives cannot delegate responsibility to the City Manager and then distance themselves from the results. If projects are repeatedly delayed, budgets are exceeded, or departments fail to perform, council has both the authority and the responsibility to act. The first duty of a City Representative is to the people who elected them. Council must listen to residents, protect their money, set clear priorities, and hold the administration accountable for producing results.

City leaders often face divisive issues. How would you work with colleagues, stakeholders and residents to find common ground and build consensus on major city decisions?

Consensus begins with listening, but it also requires preparation, honesty, and a willingness to work before an issue reaches the Council floor. I would begin by clearly defining the problem we are trying to solve and identifying the shared outcome. Too often, people begin with political positions instead of asking what residents actually need, what the facts show, what the options cost, and what consequences each decision may create.

My background has required me to work with employees, business partners, vendors, customers, and people from different countries, cultures, and perspectives. In business, you rarely get everything you want. Effective leadership means knowing which principles cannot be compromised while remaining flexible about how you achieve the goal.

On council, I would meet with colleagues, neighborhood organizations, stakeholders, city employees, and subjectmatter experts early in the process—not after decisions have already been made. I would ask direct questions, examine the data, identify areas of agreement, and look for solutions that benefit District 8 without creating unnecessary harm elsewhere in our community.

Building consensus does not mean supporting every compromise. I will work respectfully with anyone who wants a good result for El Paso, but I will not support a bad deal simply to avoid disagreement. Protecting taxpayers, maintaining essential services, and acting honestly are principles I will not negotiate away. I will disagree with colleagues and residents at times, but disagreement never requires disrespect. When consensus is possible, I will work to build it. When it is not, I will make the decision I believe is right, explain it clearly, defend it with facts, and accept responsibility for the outcome. Leadership is not about winning every argument. It is about solving problems, bringing people together, and producing results the community can see.

What should be the city's next big civic project?

El Paso’s next big civic project should be fixing the city people use every day.

I would pursue a comprehensive 10-year Infrastructure and Neighborhood Renewal Plan focused on streets, drainage, sidewalks, lighting, parks, transportation connections, and essential police, fire, and city facilities. Instead of concentrating another generational investment in one building or attraction, this plan would improve daily life across every part of El Paso. Before we spend millions of taxpayer dollars trying to convince new people to move here, we must make El Paso a city where the people who already call it home want to stay. That means giving our children better opportunities, supporting local businesses, creating quality jobs, improving public safety, and investing in neighborhoods that residents can be proud of.

Projects should be prioritized using objective data—including condition, safety, traffic, emergency access, neighborhood need, and long-term maintenance costs—not politics or which project produces the best headline. Residents should have access to a public dashboard showing each project’s budget, schedule, contractor, progress,and final result. The plan should prioritize preventive maintenance, coordinate City and utility construction, pursue available state and federal funding, and redirect lower-priority spending before creating new debt or raising property taxes. Every new project must also include a realistic plan for long-term maintenance so future generations are not left with deteriorating infrastructure and additional financial obligations. I am willing to evaluate transformational projects, but El Paso does not need another impressive rendering while residents continue driving on damaged streets and watching family members leave to find better opportunities elsewhere. We can think big, but our next major investment should begin with the people who are already here and by getting the fundamentals right.

Learn more about Arturo Alluin

Do you plan to continue in your current employment if elected?

If elected, I will remain an owner of my businesses, but I will rely on the management teams and systems I have built so that my responsibilities to District 8 receive the time, attention, and commitment residents deserve. I know how to delegate, hold people accountable, and ensure an organization continues operating effectively. I will also comply fully with every city ethics, financial disclosure, and conflict-of-interest requirement. If an issue before City Council creates a legal or financial conflict involving one of my businesses, I will disclose it and recuse myself whenever required. The people of District 8 must always know whom I am working for. When I am serving as their City Representative, their interests—and the responsible use of their tax dollars—will come first.

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

My leadership experience comes from more than a decade of building businesses, leading teams, and creating jobs in El Paso. Today, I help lead several local operations that employ more than 100 El Pasoans. I have built businesses from the ground up, managed multimillion-dollar budgets, developed management teams, negotiated contracts, navigated government regulations, and remained accountable for the results. Running a business requires more than having good ideas. You must establish a clear plan, manage limited resources, hire and develop the right people, listen to employees and customers, solve problems quickly, and prepare for the future. When something goes wrong, you cannot point fingers or make excuses. The responsibility ultimately falls on the person in charge.

I have made difficult decisions affecting employees’ livelihoods, major investments, and the future of an organization. Those experiences taught me that real leadership requires discipline, preparation, sound judgment, and the willingness to listen before making a decision. It also requires surrounding yourself with capable people, setting clear expectations, and holding everyone—including yourself—accountable. I understand that city government is not a business. Its responsibility is to serve the public, not generate a profit. However, taxpayers should still expect their elected officials to ask basic questions: What are we trying to accomplish? What will it cost? How will we pay for it? Is there a more effective way to do it? Who is responsible for delivering it? And how will the public know whether it worked? That is the leadership I will bring to City Council: listen to the people, establish clear priorities, respect every taxpayer dollar, and demand measurable results. If a program or contract does not perform, it should not continue unchanged. If we cannot explain an expense to the public, we should not be spending their money.

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. I have never been arrested or charged with a crime. I have never had a civil judgment entered against me, and I have never been in arrears on any local, state, or federal taxes.

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.

No. I am not aware of any conflict of interest that would impair my ability to serve the residents of District 8 effectively and independently.

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

Transparent government means residents should know what City Hall is doing, why it is doing it, how much it will cost, who is responsible, and whether it produced the results taxpayers were promised. Transparency cannot mean posting hundreds of pages online after the decision has already been made. It means communicating early, explaining proposals in plain language, giving residents a meaningful opportunity to participate, and making budgets, contracts, project timelines, and performance results easy to understand. My standard is simple: if you cannot explain it, you should not spend the taxpayers’ money. I will support public scorecards for city departments and major projects so residents can see what was promised, what has been spent, whether deadlines were met, and who is accountable when they are not.

Yes, I will be personally accessible. I will hold regular community meetings, attend neighborhood association meetings, maintain open communication by phone, email, social media, and in person, and provide residents with timely updates on the issues affecting them. My staff will help resolve constituent concerns, but I will never use staff as a wall between myself and the people I represent. District 8 deserves a representative who shows up, listens, answers difficult questions, and remains accessible after Election Day. Accountability begins with accessibility.

What distinguishes you from the other candidates in this race, and why should voters choose you?

I respect anyone willing to put their name on the ballot and serve our community. What distinguishes me is the combination of my personal connection to this binational region, my proven leadership experience, and my independence from the political status quo. I grew up crossing the El Paso–Juárez border every day for more than ten years. I understand our community not from a report or a political briefing, but from living it. I know the sacrifices working families and immigrant parents make to create better opportunities for their children because that is my family’s story.

Professionally, I have spent more than a decade building businesses, creating jobs, managing multimillion dollar budgets, and leading organizations that employ more than 100 El Pasoans. I have built businesses from the ground up and made difficult decisions where employees’ livelihoods and major investments depended on the outcome. When the numbers do not work, I cannot simply demand more money. I must examine every expense, establish priorities, eliminate waste, and take responsibility for the results. City Hall’s answer cannot always be to raise taxes and ask working families to pay more. El Paso needs leadership that knows how to manage resources, maintain our streets, strengthen public safety, support local businesses, and hold departments and contractors accountable for what taxpayers were promised. I am not running because I need a title or a political career. I am running because I have had enough of watching taxes rise while basic services continue falling short. I believe El Paso can do better, and I have the real-world experience, discipline, and willingness to challenge the status quo necessary to deliver results. Voters should choose me because I will listen, tell them the truth, respect their money, and fight to put El Paso first—From El Paso, For El Paso.

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

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Meet the Candidate: Arturo Alluin seeks City Council, 8 seat