The El Paso City Council appoints Dionne Mack as the new city manager of El Paso by a vote of 6 to 2.
The City Council spent most of Monday, August 19, in closed session. The meeting began at approximately 8:30 a.m. Council members questioned each of the four finalists before announcing their decision shortly after 6 p.m.
However, before the board meeting began, some council members requested that the selection of a new city manager be delayed until a new city council takes office in January 2025.
The City Council was split on the issue: City Councilors Josh Acevedo, Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido and Henry Rivera voted to postpone, while City Councilors Brian Kennedy, Joe Molinar, Art Fierro and Chris Canales voted to continue – forcing Mayor Oscar Leeser to break the deadlock and make a selection.
Although at the end of the day most City Council members lined up behind Mack, Molinar and Fierro lined up behind the city’s Chief Financial Officer, Robert Cortinas.
Mack, the city’s deputy director for quality of life, prevailed over four finalists who had served in El Paso city government for at least a decade, all of whom worked under previous city director Tommy Gonzalez, who was fired from his position last year.
Monday’s decision is the culmination of a roughly 18-month process in which city council members, former city managers and others were criticized for the rushed and opaque nature of the process and drew the ire of Leeser, who tried at every turn to justify the search.
Canales noted Monday that Mack received the highest marks among all four finalists in the reports of the two interview committees appointed by the City Council and in the surveys conducted at the four meet-and-greet events.
In brief comments after the City Council vote, Mack said she was “shocked” and “thrilled” to be selected for the city’s top administrative post. She will officially take office on Sept. 3.
“I am honored to be able to carry forward the vision of this city,” Mack said.
