Mr. Dylan Corbett is running for city council district eight.
He responded to our invitation to send in a post.
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Whatever the issue, we’re consumed with backbiting and the inability to find common ground, and it feel like we’re just a day or two away from backsliding.
There are problems aplenty.
No one can deny that our roads and infrastructure are in less than great shape.
Our exploding debt tops out at over two billion dollars, more than Austin and Fort Worth. Crippling budget overruns for Quality of Life projects are the order of the day. Property owners and renters are paying a higher percentage of the city’s budget, an unsustainable prospect for the veteran, retired couple and young family our city needs.
Now that our population has flatlined and the gold standard of economic development has become Top Golf, the promise downtown redevelopment held that El Paso would attract investment and living wage jobs is on shakier ground.
The crisis we face, however, is not financial but one of leadership. Our current political class is straitjacketed by a narrow vision of development, one that privileges short term gains over sustainability and political job security over the common good.
Some of our elected leaders have been corrupted not so much with money as by overly cozy relationships with developers eager to advance private agendas. Their disconnectedness has been funded by low voter turnout. Our city council is overwhelmed by a city manager more intent on burnishing his resume than on laying the foundations of stable growth that will benefit our children. And subtle racism and dismissive attitudes have generated self-inflicted political wounds like the Duranguito and Mexican American Cultural Center fiascos.
Our city’s destiny shouldn’t be small horizons and endless knife fights over checks signed years ago. What is needed is humble leadership to bring our residents together to address the challenges of tomorrow.
We need new revenues to fund our core commitments, but that will require building a sustainable economy for the long-term. We can rethink the meaning of quality of life, build on our unique strengths as a border community, leverage our assets like our open space, and invest in our historic communities south of the highway.
We also need to overcome ancient rivalries that continue to poison our democracy. To do that we’ll need compromise and dialogue with all our city’s residents but we also have to address the real problems of injustice, prejudice and inequality that still grease the wheels of our economy and politics.
Politicians lose their legitimacy when they’re no longer able to compromise. And when they’ve become indifferent to the community.
The good thing is that none of our problems are really intractable. We just need to vote for leaders up to the challenge.
elpasospeak 
Does this make him the opponent of Noe? Then, he just got my vote!
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District 8 – he’s running against Lizarraga..
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What we really need is for the taxing entities to lower their spending and take a hard look at lowering their budgets through cuts of way too many overpaid managers.
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Unfortunately I am in District 4, so can’t vote for you, but I definitely would. There are maybe one-two politicians here who actually do the JOB of REPRESENTING the people. Most are in it for the money, the “influence” they can have on the side. Payoffs, campaign “Donations”, favors for that NEXT political job. Have been here over 25 years and NOTHING ever gets better for the PEOPLE. The politicians here only TAKE from US, they GIVE nothing. Fabricated, inflated Property “Values”, because homeowners are FORCED to pay for all that these politicians WANT. And the only way to get all THEY want, is to constantly INCREASE the Property “Values”, always followed by MORE tax INCREASES. Tax, waste, spend, tax some more. BILLIONS$$ in debt and no way to ever pay it, so THEY just keep spending, taxing. It was, is a mistake for any one to ever buy a home here or Retire here.
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Take a look at Rich Wright’s site. So far he is the only candidate really getting specific about addressing overspending. The others are either vague or just touting spending differently. Dylan Corbett sounds a lot like Oscar Leeser, well meaning and probably more honest than our current pack of leaders, but likely to lead the way for spending that tiny pockets of activists want.
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Dylan Corbett,
What is your position on the idea of consolidating city and county government to reduce costs?
Simple answer, please. For or Against.
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One of the biggest advantages to a consolidation like this, would be to combine the Police Department and the Sheriff Department. The city can’t afford to put Police on the streets. They can’t afford the Retirement funds or to pay them. The TAXPAYERS can’t afford the TWO “Empires”. ONE uniform, same Patrol vehicles, same weapons, same headquarters, sub-stations, same dispatch. Either the Police Chief or the Sheriff could be the “Deputy Chief” and for the future, those are the positions that would be hired. Other high ranking positions could be eliminated through attrition, Retirements. ln some of the LARGEST cities in the country have these forces. Las Vegas………….. “El Paso Metro Police Department”. Do what is BEST for the PEOPLE, TAXPAYERS, for a change.
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Both larger and smaller municipalities consolidated long ago, but they have better leadership. Leaders here continue to maintain bloated bureaucracies to hold on to power and unnecessary jobs.
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Combined city-county IT has huge leverage that i have written about previously here.
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Mr. Corbett seems to embrace a Kum-Bay-Yah philosophy of governance when the issue of city spending is to create a trickle up economy for the benefit of the donor class. A better question for Corbett is, what is your position regarding handouts, tax breaks and subsidies for the corpoate leeches and their DTEP playground?
None of city projects have resulted in a growth taxable assets that fund city operations, only a drain.
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Corbett runs an advocacy organization that promotes causes that often increase governmental services and costs and the burden on taxpayers. Will he be an advocate for taxpayers or will he use his office to advocate for those other causes? Many of those served by Hope Border are not citizens or taxpayers. Can he be trusted to put taxpayer interests above the interests of Hope Border and those who rely on and support Hope Border? Maybe he will tell us how he will reconcile conflicting interests.
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We’re still waiting for Corbett’s responses to questions posted after reading his letter.
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A million flowery, cutesy, politician-eske, weaselly words and no more than a shadow’s worth of substance. That explains why you’re supporting Beto. First you mention that “Some of our elected leaders have been corrupted….” Then just a few sentences later you imply that our CC are just merely victims “overwhelmed by a city manager more intent on burnishing his resume….”That sounds a bit flip floppy to me. “Burnishing his resume?” There is a difference between disagreeing with someone and making crap up. l mean, if l wanted to read wild-assed conspiracy theories, l could simply walk next door over to David K’s site. But here’s my favorite: “…subtle racism…” People have disagreements over Duranguito and the cultural center mainly because of financial, historical and maybe, perhaps environmental issues. l’ve been blessed to live in one of the most culturally diversed and friendliest towns for 25.8 years. You playing the race-baiting card to get people riled-up to vote for you is disgusting. “…INVEST in our historic communities south of the freeway.” Ka-ching and double ka-ching! Ahh, it looks like you won’t be able to burnish your political resume after all.
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Still waiting for Corbett to respond to the questions posted here in response to his letter.
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Dylan Corbett,
We are still awaiting your response to the comments and questions posted in response to your letter.
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