District 3 candidates seek accountability, unity
Early voting for the May 6 election runs through May 2.
Lack of accountability, unity and equal representation are some of the issues District 3 candidates want to address if elected to the City Council.
Casey Antonio Williams, 35; Elias Camacho, 70; Jaime Barceleau, 62; Cassandra Hernandez-Brown, 30; and Louis Pellicano, 76, are vying for the East-Central city representative seat that Emma Acosta, who is running for mayor, will leave vacant in June after eight years in office. This is all the candidates' first time running for office.
Early voting for the May 6 election runs through Tuesday.
Williams, a private practice immigration attorney, said his position as a member of the city’s civil service commission has helped him better understand the way the city works and recognize its deficiencies. He said the main issue the city currently faces is a lack of accountability.
Williams said that to run the city better, the City Council must address the accountability issue by restoring the mayor’s power over the city manager to hold department heads accountable.
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He said his priority will be to limit the amount of time a city manager serves and create an ombudsman’s office to help evaluate the way departments are performing and to investigate concerns. If elected, Williams said he also would push for direct elections for county attorney and police chief to make them accountable to the voters. Currently, the city attorney reports to the mayor and the police chief reports to the city manager.
Represent the people
Camacho, a Vietnam veteran and retired El Paso Police Department detective who also has worked as a substitute teacher and private investigator, said he is running for office because voters are tired of traditional politicians who forget about the people as soon as they take office.
“I feel that there is no representation. A representative is an individual chosen by others to speak for them, but once the person gets elected, they forget about it and they start voting and doing things the way they want to. It becomes them, not us,” he said.
If elected, Camacho said he would form a committee with eight residents from all parts of his district to advise him on how to vote and address the issues that are brought up at the City Council. He said he wants to be a true representative, not a leader. Typically, people surrender certain authority to their leader, he said.
Traditional politicians have big contributors, creating an obligation, Camacho said. He said his campaign is based on donations from family and friends.
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Camacho opened a GoFundMe account to raise contributions, which according to the Texas Ethics Commission is legal as long as Camacho reports the contributions. In the past three months, Camacho has raised $310 through GoFundMe.
Texas Ethics Commission General Counsel Ian Steusloff said there are no campaign laws that prohibit any particular method of fundraising, but there are prohibitions on anonymous and corporate contributions.
“As long as the person who is running for office knows where the contributions come from and reports that contributions are coming from permissible sources, there is nothing that would prohibit any method of fundraising like a GoFundMe account,” Steusloff said.
Serving community
Barceleau, the former executive director for the Paso del Norte Children's Development Center, said he has devoted his life to helping and serving the community. Barceleau retired in January to be able to serve as a full-time city representative, he said.
Because not all areas of District 3 have been equally represented, he said, Barceleau plans to engage residents in his district by encouraging the creation of neighborhood associations.
Unfortunately, there are people in his district who do not know who their current city representative is or believe they are in another district, he said.
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Barceleau said he also plans to host community meetings and use social media to engage younger generations of El Pasoans and keep them involved in local government issues.
Leader for district
Hernandez-Brown, deputy director at Dynamic Workforce Solutions, said she is running because she thinks she can be a leader for the people of her district.
Hernandez-Brown said her priority will be to work toward unifying the City Council and building relationships with the city attorney and city manager.
“Because when you have a functional and united council, you have a more effective council,” she said. Hernandez-Brown said she has been disappointed in the dysfunction and lack of leadership by the City Council. When a council is united, it is easier to work toward the betterment of the city, she said.
Hernandez-Brown said she would like to see the city partner with other government organizations, such as the county, school districts and colleges, to share resources to save taxpayers money.
Tackling old issues
Pellicano, a retired vocational rehabilitation counselor at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said he decided to run for office because old issues persist. “We are going to have issues, but some of this issues continue to fester — poor streets, high taxes, spending on projects that don’t contribute to the quality of life. But these problems are manifested only during election time," he said.
He said City Council representatives waste time arguing on petty differences while streets remain in bad condition. Even though this is his first time running for office, Pellicano said he knows exactly what it is going to take to serve on the City Council.
“I know that it takes a lot of work and I’m ready to devote myself full time,” he said.
Aileen B. Flores may be reached at 546-6362; aflores@elpasotimes.com; @AileenBFlores on Twitter.
Name: Casey Antonio Williams
Age: 35
Education: Bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Texas at El Paso, doctor of jurisprudence at Texas Tech University School of Law
Occupation: Immigration attorney
Name: Elias Camacho
Age: 70
Education: Associate degree in criminal justice from El Paso Community College
Occupation: Retired El Paso Police Department detective
Name: Jaime Barceleau
Age: 62
Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master's in social work from the University of Texas at Austin
Occupation: Retired social worker, former CEO of Paso del Norte Children’s Development Center
Name: Cassandra Hernandez-Brown
Age: 30
Education: Bachelor’s degree in political science and master’s degree in public administration from the University of Texas at El Paso
Occupation: Deputy director at Dynamic Workforce Solutions
Name: Louis Pellicano
Age: 76.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation from San Diego State University
Occupation: Retired vocational rehabilitation counselor at the Department of Veterans Affairs