Former mayor of El Paso John Cook has joined El Paso News. Cook brings his institutional knowledge and historical perspective to the issues facing El Paso today. Cook served as mayor for two terms, from 2005 to 2013. He was termed out in 2013. Previously Cook was the city representative for the Northeast from 1999 to 2005. Cook ran for county judge in 2017. He also ran for Texas Land Commissioner in 2014.

From 1967 to 1970, Cook was in the U.S. Army serving in military intelligence.

While Cook was mayor, city council began working on the Paso del Norte Group (PDNG) downtown redevelopment efforts. Cook was also a member of the PDNG. The city’s city hall was demolished to make way for the Chihuahuas stadium while Cook was mayor. Also, as mayor, Cook faced a recall attempt after breaking the city council’s tie vote over domestic health benefits for unmarried couples. Cook voted to keep health benefits for gay and lesbian couples against strong community opposition in 2009.

Cook will be writing about politics, public policy and the history behind the events in downtown El Paso today and the politics behind them in his column, Truth Matters. Cook brings a wealth of institutional knowledge about the political mechanics in El Paso to our readers.

Please join us in welcoming John Cook to El Paso News.

Look for the Truth Matters column next week.

Editor’s note: we are actively seeking readers interested in contributing to El Paso News about the issues El Pasoans face. We are focused on bringing as many hyper-local perspectives to our readers as possible. It is our mission to deliver to our readers as much actionable information about current events and the history that brought the community to today by bringing as many perspectives as possible to you. El Paso News is your community news source, brought to you by the people who live in the community.

Contact us today if you are interested in contributing editorials or news items, or if you would like your own column space, podcast or video cast.