A schoolhouse cafeteria was filled beyond the posted 395-person capacity on Sunday afternoon as members of various church communities from across the city gathered to listen to candidates for City Council Districts 5 and 6. The 470 people in attendance were members of the El Paso Inter-religious Sponsoring Organization, or EPISO; they were interested in hearing the candidates’ positions on job training, tax relief and colonia service enhancement.

Present for what EPISO called its “accountability session” were candidates for District 5 Jim Suerken, Dan Chavez and Rachel Quintana. Maria Mejia, also a candidate for District 5, was absent from the forum. Troy Hicks and Eddie Holguin Jr., candidates for District 6, also were in attendance.

While EPISO does not officially endorse candidates, the group did invite candidates to speak to its members and answer questions provided to them two days in advance. The candidates were told there was to be no campaigning or open attacks on opponents, and they were instructed to answer either yes or no to the question, then give a brief statement as to why they answered as they did.

The first question asked of all candidates was whether they would seek additional funding for EPISO’s job training program, Project ARRIBA, which recently received $250,000 in city funds to help spur workforce development.

Dan Chavez responded that he would not work to increase funding for Project ARRIBA but that he would look into other options for funding job training. He said he would like to see a large automobile manufacturer, such as Chrysler, come to El Paso and pay for vocational and technical training themselves. “I do know these industries are interested in El Paso,” Chavez said. “I see it being feasible in the next five years.”

Incumbent Representative Eddie Holguin also said that he would not seek additional funding for Project ARRIBA. “The more that we give it (ARRIBA), it increases your taxes,” he said. Holguin said he would rather support finding outside sources to pay for the program.

Troy Hicks said that he would vote to give more money to ARRIBA. He stated that he believes economic and workforce development to be very important to El Paso’s future. “We need to be involved in bringing companies to El Paso,” Hicks said. “Economic development is the solution to all of these problems; Project ARRIBA addresses that.”

Candidates Jim Suerken and Rachel Quintanta both said they also would work towards finding additional funds for Project ARRIBA.

Another topic that in recent months has gained political prominence and is a key issue for EPISO is the idea of increasing the homestead tax exemption for the elderly and low-income families.

Jim Suerken said that he favors raising the exemption for elderly citizens with a fixed income. He said he would further work towards giving a complete property tax exemption to the elderly living on fixed-incomes of less than $45,000 a year. Suerken said that many elderly families on fixed incomes, such as social security and disability incomes, make slightly more than the $30,000 exemption and therefore do not qualify for it. “Their taxes go up and they can’t afford to pay,” he said. “The taxes then amount to a significant portion of their disposable income.”

Troy Hicks said he, too, would work toward raising the homestead exemption for the elderly. “People need tax relief,” he said, “and the homestead exemption is the best way to do that.”

All other candidates said that they would seek to raise the homestead exemption for the elderly and low-income residents.

In answering a question as to whether he would work for extending water and sewer service to colonia residents, Holguin said that he would work in cooperation with El Paso County to extend these services to the residents, as the colonias lie in the county’s jurisdiction. “I can’t create something that isn’t in the city’s jurisdiction,” Holguin added.

Hicks said that, as a City Council member, he would work toward annexation of the colonias. “This is a component of ‘smart growth,’ and I am the ‘smart growth’ candidate,” he said. Hicks contended that the colonias lie in El Paso’s extra-territorial jurisdiction. “And that is in the city’s jurisdiction,” he added.

Along with Holguin and Hicks, all other candidates said that they, too, would seek an improvement district to enhance the living conditions in the colonias.

Rene Leon can be contacted at rene@epmediagroup.com