Jaime Perez

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jaime Perez

Libertarian Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2016

Education

High school

Bel Air High School

Bachelor's

Brandeis University

Graduate

University of California, Berkeley

Other

University of Texas, Austin

Personal

Profession

Professor

Contact

Personal website

Jaime Perez was a candidate for mayor of El Paso in Texas. He was defeated in the general election on May 6, 2017. Although mayoral elections in El Paso are officially nonpartisan, Perez identified as a member of the Libertarian Party at the time of his 2017 candidacy. Click here to read his response to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal candidate survey.

Perez previously ran for mayor of El Paso in 2013. He was a 2014 and 2016 Libertarian candidate for the U.S. House in the 16th Congressional District of Texas. He was also a Libertarian candidate for Texas Railroad Commission in the 2012 election and a Republican candidate for the El Paso County Court in 2010.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Perez earned a B.A. from Brandeis University and an M.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He also did graduate work at the University of Texas at Austin and the Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City.

At the time of his 2017 run for office, Perez was the editor-in-chief of the independent bilingual news magazine The Stallion Crest Messenger. His professional experience also includes work as the chief of staff for El Paso County Judge Anthony Cobos, a professor of government for El Paso Community College, an assistant director of community development for El Paso County, a researcher for the city of El Paso, and the director of the Bridge Center for Contemporary Art.

Elections

2017

See also: Municipal elections in El Paso, Texas (2017)

The following candidates ran in the general election for mayor of El Paso.

Mayor of El Paso, General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Donald Margo	45.31%	14,918
David Saucedo	23.95%	7,885
Emma Acosta	15.92%	5,240
Elisa Morales	5.60%	1,845
William Cager Jr.	4.22%	1,388
Jaime Perez	2.89%	952
Charles Stapler	1.25%	412
Jorge Artalejo	0.85%	281
Total Votes		32,921
Source: El Paso County Elections, "Official Final Election Results," accessed May 23, 2017

Click [show] on the right for information about other elections in which this candidate ran.

2016 See also: Texas' 16th Congressional District election, 2016 Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Beto O'Rourke (D) defeated Jaime Perez (L) and Mary Gourdoux (G) in the general election on November 8, 2016. O'Rourke defeated Ben Mendoza in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2016. No Republicans filed to run in the race. U.S. House, Texas District 16 General Election, 2016 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Beto O'Rourke Incumbent 85.7% 150,228      Libertarian Jaime Perez 10% 17,491      Green Mary Gourdoux 4.3% 7,510 Total Votes 175,229 Source: Texas Secretary of State U.S. House, Texas District 16 Democratic Primary, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Beto O'Rourke Incumbent 85.6% 40,051 Ben Mendoza 14.4% 6,749 Total Votes 46,800 Source: Texas Secretary of State 2014 See also: Texas' 16th Congressional District elections, 2014 Perez ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Texas' 16th District. Perez won the Libertarian Party nomination at the state convention in April 2014. He was defeated by incumbent Beto O'Rourke (D) in the general election on November 4, 2014. U.S. House, Texas District 16 General Election, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Beto O'Rourke Incumbent 67.5% 49,338      Republican Corey Roen 29.2% 21,324      Libertarian Jaime Perez 3.3% 2,443 Total Votes 73,105 Source: Texas Secretary of State 2012 See also: Texas down ballot state executive elections, 2012 Perez ran for Texas Railroad Commission in 2012. Incumbent Barry Smitherman, Greg Parker, Elizabeth Murphy-Kolb and Al Lee all sought the Republican nomination. Since no candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote getters - Smitherman and Parker - faced off in a runoff election on July 31, 2012, which Smitherman won. Smitherman defeated Josh Wendel and Jaime Perez in the general election on November 6, 2012. Texas Railroad Commissioner 3 General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Barry Smitherman Incumbent 73.8% 4,537,625      Libertarian Jaime Perez 18.3% 1,127,074      Green Josh Wendel 7.9% 486,485 Total Votes 6,151,184 Election results via Texas Secretary of State 2010 See also: Texas county court judicial elections, 2010 (D-E) Perez was the Republican candidate for the El Paso County Court in 2010. He was defeated by Veronica Escobar in the general election.

Campaign themes

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

Perez participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Coordination with other units of government	”
—Jaime Perez (April 27, 2017)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the city, with 1 being the most important and 12 being the least important: city services (trash, utilities, etc.), civil rights, crime reduction/prevention, environment, government transparency, homelessness, housing, K-12 education, public pensions/retirement funds, recreational opportunities, transportation, and unemployment. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important.

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue	Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Transportation	7	Recreational opportunities
2	Public pensions/retirement funds	8	Housing
3	Unemployment	9	K-12 education
4	City services (trash, utilities, etc.)	10	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
5	Civil rights	11	No item ranked at this value by the candidate
6	Government transparency	12	No item ranked at this value by the candidate

Local topics

Ballotpedia asked candidates specific questions regarding recent issues in the city. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column.

Question	Response
Do you think more needs to be done to promote government transparency in El Paso? Does the city need to make changes to its existing ethical guidelines? If so, what do you think the city should do?	No
In a forum hosted by KCOS and the League of Women Voters of El Paso, candidates listed the condition of city streets as a top concern for El Paso residents. What would you do to ensure that the issues with the city's streets were addressed? How do you think the city should fund work on streets and other infrastructure?	Repurpose bond issue
What other challenges do you think El Paso faces? How do you think the city should address them?	Growth in context of contracting economy

Nationwide municipal issues

The candidate was asked to answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions.

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?Answer options: Not important; Not important, but required by state law; A little important; A little important, but required by state law; Important; Very important	Not important, but required by state law
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?Answer options: None, Local, State, Federal	None
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Increased economic opportunities, Increased police presence/activity, Harsher penalties for offenders, Public outreach/education programs	Increased economic opportunities
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development? Candidates could write their own answer or choose from the following options: Changing zoning restrictions, Create a more competitive business climate, Focusing on small business development, Instituting a citywide minimum wage, Recruiting new businesses to your city, Regulatory and licensing reforms, and tax reform	Focusing on small business development
What is the one thing you’re most proud of about your city?	Culture
What is the one thing you’d most like to change about your city?	Access to information

Additional themes

CityBeat Magazine asked the 2017 mayoral candidates what their first priority would be if they were elected. Perez said, "Retool city policies and priorities and prepare for an economic hit given US policies that want to eliminate NAFTA and deport migrants and the general global economic decline. Also, organize citizen round table discussions to vet and set new priorities for the region. We must prepare for a decade of economic contraction. There has been no economic recovery nor will there be for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, there will be massive unemployment on the border."

2014

Perez's campaign website listed the following issues:

• Economy and Taxes

Excerpt: "Americans are more concerned than ever before about the future of our economy. As a nation, we can't afford to continue borrowing 45 cents out of every dollar we spend. Balancing the budget will mean making corrections America needs to remain a free, prosperous, and secure nation."

• Spending and Deficit

Excerpt: "Government spends too much because it competes with private sector which can, on its own, do a lot more. Trillion dollar deficits are the single greatest threat to our national security and well-being."

• Internet and Technology

Excerpt: "An internet free of regulation and taxation has produced innovation and enhancements to the quality of life unparalleled in human history. It is one element of our modern economy that has been uniquely left free of government interference has created immeasurable and unique growth and transformation."

• Immigration

Excerpt: "America is a land of immigrants. Legal immigration should focus on making it easier and simpler for willing workers to come here with a temporary work visa, pay taxes, contribute to society, and fill jobs as the market demands."

• Healthcare

Excerpt: "When President Obama first called for health care reform, he talked about reducing costs and increasing access to care. That laudable goal has resulted in unprecedented government mandates and tax increases."

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jaime Perez El Paso Mayor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Jaime Perez - Google News

See also

El Paso, Texas	Texas	Municipal government	Other local coverage

• United States House of Representatives
• Texas' 16th Congressional District election, 2016
• Texas' 16th Congressional District elections, 2014
• Texas' 16th Congressional District

External links

Suggest a link

• City of El Paso
• Campaign website
• Personal website
• Social media
  • Campaign Facebook
  • Facebook