Since UTEP sits right at the border between Mexico and the United States, it is no wonder that it draws its students from both sides of the border.  Oscar Chavez, a computer science major, lives close to campus yet frequently travels across the Rio Grande to visit family.

“As I lifelong El Pasoan with strong ties to Juarez, the only thing that makes me feel I am visiting a foreign country when going to my grandmother’s house in Juarez is the waiting time at the bridges,” Chavez said. “Even though the day-to-day violence was enough of a deterrent from visiting my family often, the waiting lines only add to the problem of trying to get to and from Juarez in an efficient manner.”

Though commuters might feel otherwise, the Customs and Border Protection agency believe properly checking every vehicle entering the country is essential to maintaining the nation’s security.

Officer Ruben Jauregui, a Public Affairs spokesperson for the Customs and Border Protection, referred to the bridge waits as an “unfortunate circumstance”, yet feels nothing is more important than keeping our country safe from outside threats.

“Since 9/11, our department has increased our vigilance along the borders, and thorough car screenings is only one of the many steps that we have taken to prevent not only another terrorist attack, but to inhibit illegal drugs from entering the country.”

Jauregui stated that unlike other locations along the US-Mexico border, commuters in our area actually have a choice as to which port of entry is most suitable for them.

“In San Diego for example, there is only one port of entry with 24 lanes, and everyone must enter through this port even if it diverges them from their destination.  In our metro area, we have 3 major international bridges spaced out across the city, allowing drivers to ultimately decide which is most suitable for them.”

Jauregui added that the recent increase in violence in Juarez has not altered the Customs and Border Protection agency’s operations, and he also has advice for UTEP students who travel frequently to Cd. Juarez.

“I would suggest that by comparing traffic on the bridges at different times of the day and week, students can plan ahead and make their frequent commutes less stressful than they already are.”

Out of the six candidates that are running for Mayor of El Paso, four attended and laid out some of their proposals on how to make the city progress and prosper over the next four years.

Among the attendees were incumbent Mayor John F. Cook; Gus Haddad, a local businessman; Carlos Rivera, a former farm-worker and Air Force veteran; and Lee Mendez, a UTEP student and Navy veteran.

Each candidate did a good job presenting themselves to the UTEP students and to those that live in the surrounding community who took the time to attend. With that said, none of the candidates did enough to completely separate themselves from their opponents.

The big question going into this race is not whether one of Cook’s opponents will be able to beat him outright, but whether or not any of his opponents can force a run-off. A run-off occurs when none of the candidates can garner more than 50% of the votes, which then leads to another election where only the top two candidates compete.

The latest polls have shown Cook is close to that 50% mark that he hopes to achieve, yet at least one-third of El Pasoans remain undecided.

To those who might believe that a run-off is just delaying an inevitable Cook re-election, recent history proves otherwise.

Cook himself benefited from a run-off back in 2005, when then-Mayor Joe Wardy received the most votes but did not clear the 50% “safety line”, allowing Cook (as 2nd-highest vote-getter) to remain in the race. The one-on-one matchup and extra time to campaign before the run-off election proved to be more valuable to Cook than to the incumbent, as Cook came out on top after the final votes were counted.

With all this in mind, Cook, Haddad, Rivera, and Mendez took the stage at the Cinema on Monday, and the following is an assessment of their performances.

John F. Cook

Cons: Cook’s campaign organization at the event was very poor. While the other candidates had supporters present and shook hands with whoever approached them, Cook had no posters up (if he did, I did not see them) and did not spend as much time in the lobby as his opponents did. Also, while all the candidates criticized the status quo as being inefficient and out-of-touch with voters, Cook did very little in regards to refuting these claims, something he must do in the coming weeks so as to not be viewed as complacent.

Gus Haddad

Pros: Out of all the candidates present, he came off as the most “people-friendly”. While two other candidates also shook hands with the attendees in and around the Cinema, Haddad was the most engaging, making the majority of those with whom he met feel as if they held a true stake in this election. When on stage, he also made it clear that he played a key role in most of the initiatives that Cook was taking credit for, such as the 2000 Quality of Life issue.

Cons: The most controversial question of the day was the one concerning drug legalization, and in an auditorium full of students who made it evident through cheers and jeers (according to the direction that the discussion was headed) that they smoked marijuana, Haddad did not give a concrete yes or no as to whether he supported the idea. He is currently in second place behind Cook in most polls, and at some point, Haddad will have to answer tough questions such as this one and show that his views will not be swayed by a boisterous audience if he wishes to push Cook to the limit.

Carlos Rivera

Pros: The most energetic of the candidates, he constantly involved the audience when he was at the podium through questions which asked for feedback through a show of hands. He promised to give everyone in El Paso “a seat at the table”, making the city government more easy-to reach.

Cons: At times, it appeared that Rivera and Mendez were saying the exact same thing. In fact, at one point, both candidates stated that “the culture must change” at the city government, seemingly word-for-word of what the other candidate stated. If Rivera is to change his current poll fortunes, he must show that he and his ideas are fundamentally unique from the rest of the field.

Lee Mendez

Pros: The most eloquent speaker, and by far the most quotable. He gave one-liners like “We cannot ask the poor to subsidize the poor”, and “the fruits of NAFTA come at a price.” Though the other candidates are graduates of UTEP, Mendez had the advantage of being the only one currently enrolled at the school, thus sharing a noteworthy link with most of those in attendance.

Cons: The least politically experienced, Mendez does not have a record to fall back on. This made it critical for Mendez to fully outline his plans while in office, and while he said many things that made sense, the substance behind those ideas was not there. Mendez spoke of keeping the city’s intellectual property in El Paso, but he did not outline how exactly he would facilitate this. A detailed plan of his ideas would be advantageous to Mendez if he hopes to not be seen as just rhetoric.

However, Legarreta is not on a congested highway or on a busy city street. Instead he is waiting outside the El Paso International Airport, and the car he is sitting in is his taxi cab.

“As a cab driver, I don’t have a fixed income, and how I earn a living depends on how many trips I can make on a daily basis,” Legarreta, who has been a cab driver since 1994, said.

“Since last summer though, I’ve had to stay out and work longer hours just so my family and I can get by.”

The truth behind the matter is that as the nation is being gripped by an economic recession, the effects have trickled down to those who are near the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.

As Americans continue to have less and less confidence in the current state of the economy, they are less willing to travel; affecting those who have jobs involved in the local tourism industry.

Some of those who have felt the full force of the recession are El Paso cab drivers. They and their taxi cabs are most visible in 3 distinct areas of the city: by the international ports of entry (bridges), outside the airport, and at the Fort Bliss military base.

“We are still getting a steady work load from Fort Bliss, for the soldiers still enjoy traveling around the city,” stated Juan Salgado, a local cab driver for the past 15 years.

“Where we are really hurting is at the airport, where flights are coming in with fewer tourists than before, and at the bridges, where Juarez residents are also trying to cut back on their own spending.”

As our neighbors across the border are fighting to stem the drug-related violence that has plagued Ciudad Juarez for over a year, they are also facing a devalued peso which gives them less purchasing power when they cross into El Paso.

“People crossing over the bridge on foot from Juarez and then taking a cab to one of the El Paso malls used to be very common,” Salgado added.

“Now so few people do that that on most days I don’t even bother going downtown to look for possible clients.”

Most cab drivers have also not been helped by the fact that the monthly rent that they pay the cab company owners for the use of the cabs has remained constant while their profits have dropped. This was made evident by Javier Aguirre, a cab driver of 12 years, as he explained his current financial predicament.

“It has always been easier to rent a taxi than to own one,” Aguirre said.

“I am not so sure of that anymore since we are still the one’s responsible for maintenance of the cars when they break down and lately those costs along with rent have been piling up as compared to our income.”

Some local residents who rely on public transportation to get around the city have also decided that in times like these, it is much more economical to simply wait for the city bus.

Guadalupe Rodriguez, a Mission Valley resident who works as a house maid at some of the homes in the Upper Westside, says that even though there is nothing like the comfort of riding in a taxi, lately she has had no other choice but to use El Paso Metro.

“I always enjoyed my cab rides up and back from the Westside; the drivers were always very friendly and I could always have them pick me up on my schedule,” Rodriguez stated.

“Now, in an effort to save money, I ride the city bus to work, but it’s difficult because I don’t know of any buses that would take me directly to my destination, so I am forced to ride a couple of different buses every morning and afternoon.”

The overall downturn in income has been widely felt by the vast majority of the city’s cab drivers.

Luis Gomez, a cab driver and owner of a local tax preparation agency, Luant Services, files the income taxes for most of the city’s drivers. He claims that in the 2008 Income Tax Returns that he has filed for his clients so far, he has noticed a substantial decrease in income.

“I myself made less last year as compared to previous years, and some of my fellow cab drivers also suffered from a drop in gross income,” Gomez said.