Past Projects
2009 Mayors’ Race
Objectives
The objectives of the El Paso Mayors’ Race 2009 are to 1) educate the El Paso polity about the 2009 mayoral election and the candidates, 2) ask the El Paso mayoral candidates the questions that are most important to the students and student organizations, 3) promote student involvement in El Paso politics, and to 4) cooperate with the Ray Pearson Forum with Joe Oliva, the Student Government Association, Students for Reform, and College Republicans in the successful promotion and execution of a high-profile program.
Mission Tasks
- Develop a program platform with the co-hosts.
- Determine the question most pertinent to the Regional Economic Development Association.
- Design a flyer for the program.
- Photograph, record, and cover the forum.
Recap
On Monday, April 20, 2009, the Regional Economic Development Association co-sponsored a Mayoral Forum with the Student Government Association, Students for Reform, and the College Republicans. The event was held at the UTEP Union Cinema.
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
Pros: As the incumbent, he used his record over the past four years to make his case for re-election. He pointed out all his accomplishment, including redeveloping Downtown, creating parks, and revitalizing Sun Metro. Cook was also the most assertive when the question over drug legalization as a means to curb cartel violence was asked, stating repeatedly that in no way was it an option. The other candidates shied away from a concrete answer, simply saying that all options were on the table, but not whether they were for or against it.
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.
