5 City Council races headed to runoff; Acevedo wins re-election in District 2

District 2 city Rep. Josh Acevedo won his second election in less than a year, while five other City Council seats appear headed to December runoffs.

Usually, only four City Council seats are up for election every two years, but this year, six were on the ballot because two representatives resigned mid-term to run for mayor.

Acevedo won 62% of the early vote to defeat Isabel Ceballos Otten for the seat he won in a special election in January.

In District 1, Alejandra “Ale” Chavez and Monica Reyes will meet in a runoff. Jose Rodriguez was the leading vote-getter in District 3, with Deanna Maldonado-Rocha and Kenneth Bell in a tight contest for the second runoff spot.

In District 4, incumbent Joe Molinar had picked up the most early votes in a four-way race and will face Cynthia Boyar Trejo in the runoff. Ivan Nino and Amanda Cunningham appear headed for a runoff in District 5.

In District 7, former city Rep. Lily Limón  was the leading vote-getter, with Chris Hernandez and Fabiola Campos Lopez locked in a battle for the second spot in the runoff.

Two city representatives – Brian Kennedy in District 1 and Isabel Salcido in District 5 – gave up their seats two years early to run for mayor. City Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, whose term ends in January, also ran for mayor.

City Reps. Art Fierro and Chris Canales are up for reelection in 2026, along with the winners of the District 1 and District 5 races.

City elections are nonpartisan. If a runoff election is required, it will be Dec. 14. The elected officials will take office in January and serve four-year terms, except the winners in Districts 1 and 5, who will serve the remaining two years of terms that began in 2023.

The council sets the city’s budget and tax rate, approves ordinances that are city law, and sets policy direction for the city government’s 7,000 employees and $1.3 billion annual budget. City representatives are paid $63,038 a year.

Here is where the city representative races stand in early voting:

City Council District 1

The Westside/Upper Valley seat is now held by Kennedy, who will have to give up his seat two years early after opting to run for mayor. The new city representative will serve out the remainder of his term.

City Council District 2

Acevedo, 35, holds the seat for District 2, which covers Central and portions of Northeast El Paso. He was elected in January to serve out one year left in the term after former city Rep. Alexsandra Annello resigned to run for the Texas House of Representatives.

Acevedo, a former trustee for the El Paso Independent School District, also served as a policy and government adjunct professor at El Paso Community College and the University of Texas at El Paso.

City Council District 3

District 3, which covers portions of  East Central and the Lower Valley, is now represented by Hernandez. She will serve through the end of the term in December. The elected city representative will take office in January and serve a four-year term.

City Council District 4

Molinar, 64, was elected to represent much of Northeast in District 4 in 2021. He served with the Marines four years and with the El Paso Police Department for 28 years, retiring as a lieutenant in 2013.

City Council District 5

The district encompasses most of the Upper Eastside east of Joe Battle Boulevard roughly north of Montwood Drive. District 5 city Rep. Isabel Salcido will have to give up her seat two years early after opting to run for mayor. The winning candidate will serve the remainder of her term through 2027.

City Council District 7

District 7 city Rep. Henry Rivera is not seeking reelection to the Lower Valley/Eastside seat because he has served the maximum of two terms allowed by the City Charter.

Limón, 74, represented the district from 2013-2017, worked for nearly 30 years as an educator and administrator with the Ysleta Independent School District. She is a political consultant on leave from her role with Sun Circle Strategic Group, she said.