Transparency remains focus of City Council race

Transparency remains a key focus in the race to represent West-Central El Paso on City Council.

Newcomer Alexsandra Rose Annello has made open government the focal point of her campaign against incumbent city Rep. Jim Tolbert as the two battle in the June 10 runoff election for the District 2 seat, which encompasses parts of Central, East and Northeast El Paso.

“My focus continues to be bringing transparency and winning the community’s trust back, working on fixing our streets and economic development,” Annello said. “Our district has seen a lot of unethical representation for a while."

Tolbert declined an interview with the El Paso Times. In the past, he has said he has been open and transparent and that he has not violated any state laws.

The six-person race for the District 2 seat was narrowed to two during the May 6 election after no candidate received enough votes to win outright. Annello received about 36 percent of the vote, while Tolbert got about 31 percent.

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Early voting for the runoff election starts Tuesday and continues through June 6.

Tolbert, 64, is among five City Council members who participated in December meetings that are the focus of an investigation by the Texas Rangers and the District Attorney’s Office for alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

"Mr. Tolbert did take part in these secret meetings and voted on that. We learned he did not give text messages when requested" by the media under tate open records laws," Annello said. "Those are problems.”

On Dec. 16, Tolbert, Leeser and city Reps. Lily Limón, Cortney Niland and Peter Svarzbein cycled in and out of closed-door meetings with opponents of the city’s plan to build a $180 million arena in the Duranguito neighborhood, south of the convention center in the Union Plaza district. The meetings are the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation into whether the elected officials knowingly conspired to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act by gathering in numbers less than a quorum for the "purpose of secret deliberations."

A spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office said on Tuesday that the Rangers investigation is ongoing and will be presented to the DA when complete.

More: Transparency remains focus of City Council race

While the focus of the race has been on transparency, Annello and Tolbert have also cited the need for street improvements during their campaigns.

Annello, 33, said that money from the city's Capital Improvement Program for Streets has been allocated to other projects. She added that funding needs to be brought back to Central El Paso to fix the roads.

“In 2012, more than $200 million was (allocated for) street projects but only 2 percent has been used,” Annello said. “We need to prioritize street improvement planning and make sure the money is being spent on street projects.”

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinez31 on Twitter.

Name: Jim Tolbert

Age: 64

Education: Texas Tech University, Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

Occupation: Current District 2 City Council representative

Name: Alexandra Rose Annello

Age: 33.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in communication from UTEP

Occupation: Previously worked as a public relations intern at UTEP’s Rubin Center