Citizens who live in Central El Paso known as District 2, will soon have a new representative. District 2 Rep. Alexsandra Annello resigned to run for Texas House District 77, opening the door for another hopeful candidate. Veronica Carbajal and Joshua Acevedo are the two candidates heading to the runoff election this Saturday and the candidate selected will be sworn in before Jan. 30. 

Early voting was available from Jan. 3 to Jan. 16 in four different locations: El Paso County Coliseum, Enrique Moreno County Courthouse, Memorial Park Senior Citizen Center and Wellington Chew Senior Center. The elected official will serve the term for approximately 11 months. These two candidates may have different experiences for the job, however, they both share an objective of improving District 2.   

Carbajal works as a lawyer and community activist for El Paso County. Now running as a representative, she has many objectives in mind. For example, keeping property tax rate low and improving city services such as public transportation. If elected, Carbajal also intends to hire a new city manager to help execute her plans. Acevedo resigned his position from the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) board of trustees to run for District 2.  With his board experience, Acevedo wants to start a ‘new era’ for EPISD by collaborating with the City Council to help improve education and begin investments for District 2 with empty EPISD facilities. Participating in four budget meetings, Acevedo announced to citizens that he is going to be able to handle their tax dollars wisely. 

Residents of District 2 say they would like to see improvements to their aging neighborhoods as streets, buildings and parks are worn down. Stretching from the south of Franklin Mountains to Ascarate Park, District 2 is one of the largest districts in El Paso. The new representative will be announced Jan. 20, and will begin their journey to helping District 2. 

Sofia Sierra is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected]