The county commissioner is one of five members of the El Paso County Commissioners Court, which makes policy-making and budget decisions for county government. The commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid $133,466 a year.
Who’s running for this seat?
David Stout.
David Stout, 46, incumbent, is a communications specialist
Miguel “Mike” Teran
Miguel “Mike” Teran, 61, is a construction project management CEO.
Candidate Questionnaires
Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 100 words. Responses have been edited to fit the word count and for grammar.
What are your top countywide priorities if you were to be elected to this office and how would you work to achieve them?
David Stout: Internally, I will prioritize making sure El Paso County is efficient, provides the highest level of service, is community driven and fiscally responsible. As the most tenured member on the Commissioners Court, I’ve led El Paso County to do this in the past, and will use strategic planning to do so moving forward. Outwardly, I will prioritize working with different stakeholders for a community visioning process that will provide us with three or four big ticket projects we can all work toward over the next 20 years, and that will keep our community not only surviving, but thriving.
Miguel Teran: Restoring fiscal discipline, modernizing county operations and delivering infrastructure projects on time and on budget. My first priority is to stop the runaway growth of the operating budget. I would call for a comprehensive efficiency audit of all county departments to identify redundancies and waste. Secondly, I want to overhaul how we manage Capital Improvement Projects. Too often, bond projects approved by voters languish for years, driving up costs due to inflation. I will bring professional project management discipline to the Court. I will push for true transparency, not just posting PDF budgets online, but creating a user-friendly, real-time “checkbook register” where citizens can see exactly how their money is being spent.
What are your top priorities for your precinct if you were to be elected to this office and how would you work to achieve them?
David Stout: I’d like more equity in county spending in Precinct 2. For too long, my constituents have been subsidizing County investment in other precincts and not seeing enough investment in their neighborhoods. I created a pilot program with the city to help repair streets, and I hope to expand this program. I will continue to push for more spending at Ascarate Park, the County Coliseum and the Corbin Sambrano Wellness Center, all important county assets in Precinct 2, including continuing to work with federal and state partners, as well as local philanthropic partners to bring more investment to the area.
Miguel Teran: My priority is equity in infrastructure and responsive constituent services. We need to address aging infrastructure in our established neighborhoods. This means prioritizing road rehabilitation, drainage improvements, and park maintenance in Precinct No. 2. I will work to modify the county’s capital planning matrix to ensure maintenance of existing assets is weighted as heavily as new construction. I want to create a “customer service” culture for Precinct No. 2 residents. When a resident calls about a pothole, a loose animal, or a permitting issue, they deserve a timeline and a resolution. I plan to implement a strict 24-hour response policy for my office and hold regular “mobile office hours;”
How would you balance the need to fund local services with concerns about tax burdens on residents while ensuring approved bond projects are completed within budget?
David Stout: Bond projects must be finished on time and on budget. We can do so by not only having regular internal meetings to monitor advances and troubleshoot issues that may come up, but also having public meetings to update the community on our progress. We must also identify more grant opportunities, bring more direct funding from the state and federal government, and invest in projects that bring about cost avoidance, such as our energy audit. We need to analyze and look for ways to curb urban sprawl, which is what will drive future budget growth if nothing is done about it.
Miguel Teran: This is the core challenge of governance, and it is where my background as a construction project management CEO sets me apart. In government, if the county goes over budget, WE ALL lose money. To balance these needs, we must shift from a “tax-and-spend” mindset to an “audit-and-optimize” mindset. We can fund local services without raising tax rates by expanding our commercial tax base and eliminating inefficiencies. I will personally review the progress of major bond projects to ensure contractors are held to their contractual obligations. I will strictly scrutinize “change orders,” which often bloat project costs, to ensure they are legitimate necessities, not the result of poor planning.
What’s your plan to attract investment and good-paying jobs to El Paso County while ensuring the growth benefits residents across all communities?
David Stout: We need to invest more in small local businesses, but also in our neighborhoods, including streets, parks, access to high quality healthcare and overall quality of life. The county should play a stronger role in leading this effort, partnering with the City and other entities wherever we can. I believe that companies pay attention to how communities treat their own when looking at whether or not to locate or expand facilities in a certain area. We don’t have to throw everything and the kitchen sink at every prospect and we need to be more strategic about who we attract.
Miguel Teran: My plan involves streamlining county regulations. I want to digitize and expedite the permitting process for commercial projects so that developers can get shovels in the ground faster. I will advocate for infill incentive policies that encourage businesses to invest in Precinct No. 2 and other established areas. We need to use tools like Chapter 381 agreements strategically by awarding incentives only to companies that guarantee jobs with wages above the county median and who commit to hiring local labor. We must also partner with our trade schools and colleges to ensure our workforce is ready for these jobs, bridging the gap between education and industry.
What beliefs and values lead you to run as a Democrat?
David Stout: I am a Democrat because I support social and economic equality and believe the government should play a strong role in economic mobility/creating generational wealth by ensuring everyone has access to things like healthy food, healthcare, education, jobs, childcare and housing. I support labor unions and believe in workplace safety regulation. I also support disability rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and racial equity, and believe environmental pollution regulations and criminal justice reform are necessary. I consider myself to be one of the most progressive local elected officials, have worked toward these values throughout my career, and plan to continue if re-elected.
Miguel Teran: I am a Democrat because the values of fairness, opportunity, and community responsibility align with how I was raised and how I have served El Paso. I believe in strong public institutions, respect for working people and policies that expand opportunity while protecting our quality of life. As a Democrat, I support economic growth that creates good-paying jobs, investment in education and infrastructure and a local government that is transparent, practical and responsive to the people it serves.
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