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El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser talks about his first 100 days in office and the challenges that he has faced since taking office.
Cindy Ramirez

›› Previous: Oscar Leeser marks first 100 days in office

When Mayor Oscar Leeser took office with resounding support behind him, some voters expected sweeping changes at City Hall.

But one expert said the changes will be more subtle as Leeser, a first-time office holder, is still on a learning curve under a city manager form of government that doesn't give him much power.

"Mayors don't have the kind of power they once had," said Gregory Rocha, a political science professor at the University of Texas at El Paso. "The mayor can be at the forefront of setting a tone for how city business is handled, but ultimately the vote is with the council and a lot of authority is still with the city manager."

Leeser celebrated his first 100 days in office last week, highlighting some accomplishments and the work that lies ahead in his four-year term.


Already Leeser has made several decisions that have won him praise and criticism: He kept the city manager on board despite her plans to take another position outside the city, and approved a budget that increased taxes by $28 for the average homeowner. He also agreed to sell bonds for the Downtown ballpark at an increased amount approved by the previous administration, and later, rejected a proposal by MountainStar Sports Group to change its development agreement and possibly again increase the cost of the stadium.

Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times

"Remember that we don't ever rush into something because it becomes very costly when you don't take time to understand what you're doing," Leeser said when asked how he approaches major decisions.

Rocha said it's to be expected that no major changes would take place so soon into Leeser's administration.

"There really hasn't been a huge shake up or big confrontation. He's holding things pretty steady," Rocha said. "But many issues, good and bad, you inherit from the previous administration and can't turn them around immediately."

Leeser, the city's 53rd mayor, said he's remained excited about the job ahead and the ultimate goal of bringing industry and better paying jobs to the city. He said he's held a series of roundtables with business leaders and other constituents citywide to brainstorm ideas on how to grow the city and its tax base.

Leaders of the city's two chambers of commerce praised Leeser for his transition into the city's top elected office so far, but note that 100 days may be too soon to fairly evaluate his work.

"There's nothing, I think, more valuable from an elected official than to hold a candid conversation with the public, and in this case, the business sector," said Richard Dayoub, chief executive officer of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

"So far I give him a solid 'A,' based on trying to get to the root facts of issues before making a decision, and also recognizing that he doesn't know everything yet," Dayoub said. "He doesn't understand all the issues, and he's learning and doesn't pretend he has all the answers."

Cindy Ramos-Davidson, chief executive officer of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, informally polled the group's members and said their evaluation of the mayor varies.

"The common thread is that they welcome the change," Ramos-Davidson said, adding that others said 100 days was too short a time to make any kind of business or personal evaluation of the mayor.

"Most are still watching, listening," she said. "And then others who are more involved are very excited, particularly that he's engaged more than 100 CEOs and business leaders in roundtables."

Among them has been County Judge Veronica Escobar, who said she's been impressed with Leeser's willingness to listen to, learn from, and work with El Paso's elected officials at all levels.

"We've not actually tackled any specific issues together yet, but we're both interested in working closely and positively for the betterment of the entire community," said Escobar, who had supported Leeser's opponent, former city Rep. Steve Ortega, in the mayoral race this summer.

"When we first met, I told him that in political life, campaigns are a battle of ideas, Election Day is when the community chooses the ideas it prefers, and once that is over is when the real work begins," Escobar said.

"The greater purpose in everything we do really has nothing to do with us personally," Escobar continued. "It has to do with the community and I really think he is of that same mind set."

Aside from praise for his outreach, the mayor has been criticized by some who say they're disappointed there hasn't been more of a shake up at City Hall.

Ankle-biter Sal Gomez, who lead a fight to stop the demolition of the former City Hall building, said he expected a tougher mayor.

"I expected more of a conservative attitude," Gomez said. "I think he's fallen into the same old click as before, very liberal tax-charging, tax spending kind of guy. I'm kind of disillusioned at this point. But we'll go week-by-week and see if he turns out to be a more open kind of guy who will lean on the fight of the people."

Leeser said the 2-cent tax rate increase could have been higher, but through a series of meetings and compromises, the council dwindled that down by cutting travel costs, representatives' expenses and making other compromises.

"We are already looking at the next budget moving forward," Leeser said. "We need to really start looking to make sure we don't have a tax hike moving forward. A lot of the things we did, when you look at the tax, is money that was already spent, that had already been allocated."

Government watchdog Andres "Andy" Gonzalez, a retired social studies teacher, said he's looking to Leeser for more than the impact to his tax bill.

"I think more than anything, especially since he only votes to break ties, I haven't seen him give his opinions, his thoughts, his direction to the other council members," Gonzalez said. "He can't, and shouldn't, tell them how to vote, but he can tell them what he thinks and why, and he should do it publicly and not just behind the scenes."

That's a perspective shared by Rocha, who said that Leeser may be more interested in stability and working behind the scenes than being disruptive in public meeting discourse.

"What any executive can do is serve as the broker and offer the persuasive argument about what is the right thing to do," Rocha said. "The elected officials work more in the informal setting of government. They do a lot of their work away from the public eye, and it's up to them to come out and tell the public what they've been doing."

And, Rocha points out, the direction of the city will be dictated more by the eight city representatives than by the mayor.

"What we've seen is (city Reps. Carl) Robinson's and (Eddie) Holguin's positions get strengthened by (Lily) Limon, and Emma (Acosta) moving a little more their way," Rocha said. "They're the group advocating for more interest in their individual districts and less of a focus on Downtown."

Holguin said he's still giving Leeser time to really demonstrate where he stands on numerous issues.

"I think he's growing into the role. He's doing okay," Holguin said. He said he would have liked the mayor to vote against the tax rate and overhauled the city's administration, but understands Leeser may want to take things slow.

"Obviously we're all very different," Holguin said. "I'm still giving him the benefit of the doubt. At the end of the day, I hope he sides with the citizens of El Paso and what the majority wants for our city."

City Rep. Cortney Niland, who serves as mayor pro-tempore, said she believes Leeser is doing a great job.

"I have the utmost confidence in him," Niland said. "I'm very appreciative of the fact that given his business experience, he is shifting the focus to developing policy based on fostering economic growth."

"The mayor has set a tone, and my impression is that he's going to do what's right for the city and not make decisions based on politics," Niland said. "I have the utmost respect for that."

Leeser has had to break a few tie votes in council when factions are clearly formed, especially when it comes to spending tax dollars.

"I don't know that you can prevent any one faction from forming or voting as they do," Rocha said, adding that the mayor can still have influence over the council.

"He has to demonstrate leadership in order to get any form of respect and support from the council and administration," Rocha added. "He has to show himself as a visionary who's willing to listen and lead and explain his points of view."

Ramos-Davidson of the Hispanic chamber said some members said leadership--as well as passion for their work and the city they represent--needs to be more visible in the mayor and the rest of council.

"They would like to not only see the mayor but the entire council more energized, excited, thrilled, impassioned about all the new developments happening in the city," she said. "They feel that they should personally show uplifting comments, emotions and excitement that will go a long way in encouraging a more positive attitude among the citizens of El Paso."

Cindy Ramirez may be reached at 546-6151.