Polinotes - Analysis & Research
Analysis and Research on Border Issues by Martin Paredes
When Renard Johnson announced his candidacy to be El Paso’s next mayor on January 30, 2024, few knew Johnson, his business or his history. Hence the reason of Johnson’s early mayoral announcement to introduce himself to El Paso’s voters. However, as this paper shows, Johnson’s public persona is a carefully crafted identity designed to keep the voters from looking too deeply in who Renard Johnson is.
In 2020, political underdog and activist, Verónica Carbajal came close to showing that a grassroots-driven political campaign can overcome long odds to win a marquee election. Carbajal almost unseated a former mayor coming in a close third in a tight race for El Paso’s next mayor. Carbajal went on to endorse the eventual winner, Oscar Leeser. Carbajal, it seemed, could compete in El Paso’s politics. However, two missteps in 2022 and 2023 made her an unviable for future elections. In this paper we examine Carbajal’s controversial vote for $400 million in non-voter approved certificates of obligations and her support for a controversial climate charter hurt her political future.
How did a person who had little ambition to run for office, suddenly win a municipal election and before anyone looked was running to be president? It starts with a quick handshake in an office filled with furniture from the 50’s, a meeting with his father that led to a discussion about the future of politics through the internet and a small online newspaper. This is the story of how Beto O’Rourke became political.