Eagle Pass City Council Election Candidate Question & Answer Session Held
By: Victoria Martinez, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
With 47 days remaining for the City of Eagle Pass, Texas City Council Election on May 3, 2025, a public non-partisan City Council Election Candidate Question and Answer Session was held on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at the International Center for Trade in Eagle Pass, Texas, drawing an audience of over 100 persons and thousands more on Facebook and social media.
The non-partisan public forum was co-hosted by the Eagle Pass Business Journal, Eagle Pass Border Coalition, Eagle Pass Digital Arts Society, and Elm Creek Park Conservancy for the purpose of educating and informing the citizens of Eagle Pass learn more about the candidates seeking election and the key issues and challenges facing Eagle Pass. All candidates in the May 3rd City Council Election were invited to participate in the March 18th Question and Answer Session.
Candidates participating in the March 18th Question and Answer Session included Mayoral candidates Jesus Casas, CPA, and Aaron Valdez and City Council Place 2 City Councilman Elias Diaz and City Council Place 4 candidate Hanson Uy Tesy.
Candidates not participating in the March 18th public forum due to previous scheduling conflicts included Mayoral candidate City Councilwoman Monica J. Cruz, City Council Place 2 candidate Jorge Sierra, and City Council Place 4 candidates Jessica Rey Ramon and Alberto Rodriguez.
Moderator at the public forum was Ricardo E. Calderon, Publisher of the Eagle Pass Business Journal. The host committee and the public citizens attending the Question and Answer Session developed key questions concerning the issues and challenges facing the City of Eagle Pass for the candidates to answer during the public forum. Each candidate was allowed to present an introduction at the start of the session.
Over 10 questions in a two hour period were addressed by the candidates on a range of salient issues facing the City of Eagle Pass and its taxpayers, including the reasons of each candidate for seeking public office, identifying the top three issues facing the City of Eagle Pass, what steps should be taken to promote transparency and citizen participation in city government, each candidate’s goals for economic development in Eagle Pass, the use of revenues from the City’s two international bridges and the impact of future competition from a private third international bridge, what are the critical transportation needs of Eagle Pass and steps to complete construction of Loop 480, how to expedite the expansion of U. S. Highway 57 from two to four lanes, how to expand U. S. Highway 277 for the Ports to Plains Project, what steps to take to expand educational opportunities in Eagle Pass, steps needed to establishing a four year university in Eagle Pass, steps needed to decrease delays in hiring professional and department head directors within the City, how to request the State of Texas to return Shelby Park to the taxpayers, development and implementation of a Master Thoroughfare Plan for Eagle Pass, how to improve the infrastructure of Eagle Pass, how to improve transparency such as the release of the forensic audit of 57 Music Fest, and others.
The candidates engaged in a dynamic and exciting discussion on these key issues and challenges facing the City of Eagle Pass and how they would tackle these matters. At the conclusion, each candidate was allowed to make a conclusory statement on why they should be elected to the position they seek.
The public forum was presented live on the Eagle Pass Business Journal Facebook page and will be broadcast on YouTube this weekend under the Eagle Pass Border Coalition YouTube channel.
“The first public non-partisan candidate question and answer session was a tremendous success with the citizens of Eagle Pass and the candidates who participated,” Jessie F. Fuentes, President of the Eagle Pass Digital Arts Society, said. “The public forum provided Eagle Pass voters and the candidates an opportunity to learn and exchange ideas concerning the governance of the Eagle Pass City Council and most pressing issues facing Eagle Pass,” added Fuentes.
“The public comments on the City Council Election Question and Answer Session have been very favorable and positive,” Jose Corpus, Board of Director of the Eagle Pass Border Coalition, said. “Eagle Pass voters demanded a non-partisan public forum to meet and learn more about the candidates and their positions on the issues facing the city,” added Corpus.
A Mayoral Debate is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. at the International Center for Trade, 3295 Bob Rogers Drive, Eagle Pass, Texas for the benefit of the community and candidates. All three candidates for Mayor in the upcoming May 3, 2025 City Council Election have been cordially invited to participate.
