Statement on the devastating number of COVID-19 cases reported in El Paso

El Paso, Texas — Carlos Gallinar, candidate for Mayor of El Paso, issued the following statement:

Today’s COVID-19 infection numbers released by the City of El Paso are tragic, unacceptable, and as result of ineffectual leadership that has put El Pasoans at great risk, made us a top national hot spot, and has drawn national attention to our community for all the wrong reasons.

This is a clear indication that city leadership has failed us and we cannot trust this mayor or this administration to get the virus under control. The city’s response is broken and there is no discernible path forward.

Before this month, the highest single-day count for positive cases was 441 on July 19. At the time, the mayor and city council also
received the recommendations from the El Paso United: COVID-19 Transition Task Force. Nothing of consequence has been done to advance a rapid response since then and the city is now
experiencing an even larger surge.

The consequences of this inaction are dire: Hospitals are reaching capacity, this mayor has been granting waivers to select people who’ve wanted to proceed with parties, weddings, and social
gatherings instead of enforcing the orders. Not only was this
irresponsible in the face of the growing pandemic, but it was
especially irresponsible because the City’s contact tracing is so weak.

Now is the time to lead with clarity and conviction. El Pasoans
deserve better from our elected officials and from those in charge of addressing this pandemic.

In order to mitigate further tragedy, our community must have the following:

• Enforce the orders: People and businesses violating the orders and putting others at risk should be held accountable. No
  exceptions. We need to increase capacity of our health inspectors and have them out in full force.
• Full transparency by disclosing the clusters: To ensure El
  Pasoans have the most reliable information to stay safe, we need to know where the highest number of infections are located. El
  Pasoans deserve to have information that will keep them safe.
• Increased contact tracing: The City’s contact tracing
  processes are not working. We need to increase capacity,
  funding, and response rates. All available resources need to be allocated to ensure we know where infections are coming from. We cannot continue with failed responses.
• Close down parks and cancel ALL sporting events: Parks and all public spaces should be closed immediately. All sporting events, without exception, need to be canceled. This
  includes high school sports, collegiate games, and professional sporting events.
• Provide daily public service announcements: El Pasoans need information on where to get tested daily, we cannot rely that everyone has access to the website and we need to do everything to share information widely to the public. Our leaders need to lead by example.
• Collaborate with school district leaders: The Texas
  Education Agency must do everything possible to keep our
  children and teachers safe, and that means allowing for more
  flexibility and local control, not mandates that make us unsafe. The City’s Health Department should be leading this conversation and fight for every El Pasoans.
• Implement the task force recommendations ASAP: On July 21, 2020, the El Paso United: COVID-19 Transition Task Force presented its recommendations to the Mayor and City Council. To date, very few, if any, of the recommendations have been
  implemented.

As part of our campaign, we had counted on many
volunteers to be out at the polls, passing out literature. Effective immediately, we are now scaling those efforts back and asking all of our volunteers to stay home. We will not risk the lives of our volunteers or the lives of voters for political expediency — it is not worth it.

El Pasoans cannot wait for city leadership on the pandemic and should take on the responsibility of curbing the spread of the virus seriously. We are on our own. Please stay home, leave only to perform essential activities, wear a mask, practice social distancing and check in on loved ones. Most importantly, don’t gather with others in large numbers. Let’s all do our part to ensure each
other’s safety. We will get out of this, but we all need to do our part.

About Carlos

Carlos is a native El Pasoan, the first person in his family to attend and graduate college. He has dedicated his life to improving the lives of El Pasoans. His work includes affordable housing development, community master plans, modernizing school facilities, and international philanthropic work. For the last three years Carlos has managed his own small business — Gallinar Planning & Development, LLC focusing on community development and urban planning. His goal is to improve the quality of life for all El Pasoans through a more sustainable and healthier city.

Carlos has been married for 15 years to Janine, a social worker and mental health professional. They met while volunteering at Annunciation House, an immigrant shelter and refugee advocacy center. They live in El Paso’s historic Sunset Heights neighborhood with their two young children, Olivia and Joaquin.

You can learn more about Carlos and his run for Mayor of El Paso at www.CarlosForMayor.com.