There are several issues today that will likely make for a busy day for the news media as the city council votes on a new city manager. Additionally, a controversy erupted over the weekend over one of the finalists up for consideration today to be the city’s new city manager. And today is also the last day to file to run in six of the eight open city council seats. Two new seats will remain open for candidate filings until September 4. Here are the latest details we know.
City Manager Selection Expected Today
Tommy Gonzalez, the city’s second city manager was fired by the city council in February 2023 and left in June of 2023. In March 2023, the city council appointed Cary Westin as the interim city manager until a new city manager is hired. On February 27, 2024, the city council contracted Baker Tilly US, LLP to recruit candidates for the city manager position. The recruitment firm was paid $42,585.
Westin did not apply for the position.
The finalists for the city manager position are Robert Cortinas, Mario D’Agostino, Nicole Ferrini and Dionne Mack. All four candidates are current city employees. Cortinas is the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager for Internal Services. D’Agostino is the Deputy City Manager for Public Safety. Ferrini is the Community and Human Development Director and Mack is the Deputy City Manager for Quality of Life.
City representative Josh Acevedo, who was elected to the District 2 seat in January has criticized today’s expected vote on the new city manager, arguing that today’s vote violates the “lame duck period” of city council before an election to fill multiple city council seats. However, the “lame duck period” does not begin until November 5, when the election will be held. Acevedo faces at least one candidate in November.
City officials and mayor Oscar Leeser, who is termed out, responded to Acevedo’s criticisms about the pending appointment of a city manager by pointing out that the four remaining candidates were chosen from an initial list of 80 candidates over a five-month period with multiple open meetings.
The city council will be holding the special meeting today to discuss the appointment of the city’s next city manager. The majority of the city council must vote on the candidate to become the new city manager.
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Controversy Over City Manager Candidate Erupts Over The Weekend
One of the candidates for the city manager position faces scrutiny today over an El Paso Times article on Friday questioning her credentials. [Paywall] The article by Adam Powell alleges that Nicole Ferrini has misrepresented herself as an accredited architect when she is not.
Powell’s article references a draft letter from the El Paso Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) stating that Ferrini has been misrepresenting herself as an architect. Although the letter was drafted in February, the AIA El Paso chapter decided not to send the letter to the city council for “fear that it might impact architectural contracts with the city,” according to Powell.
According to Powell’s reporting, the AIA letter states that Ferrini should be investigated for “frequent, possibly illegal use of a professional designation and misrepresentation by a city [sic] of El Paso employee.”
The El Paso Times article explains that it is “against the law for any individual to claim to be an architect…unless he or she is registered” with the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners. Ferrini is not registered as an architect, according to Powell’s reporting.
Max Grossman, who frequently writes about city politics on his El Paso Taxpayer Revolt blog provided us a copy of open records requests he filed with the city asking for information about Ferrini. Grossman was the first to question Ferrini’s credential in January.
According to the documents in the Grossman open records, Ferrini’s resume provided to the City’s recruiter before she was hired by the city, states that Ferrini graduated from Texas Tech University in May 2012 with a Bachelor of Architecture and in 2001 with a bachelor’s in interior design.
The El Paso Times report alleges that the two degrees are not “accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board.”
Ferrini was hired by the City on December 1, 2014 as the Director of Community & Human Development, Chief Resilience Officer. In 2023, Ferrini was named Managing Director for the City’s Climate and Sustainability by Tommy Gonzales shortly before he was fired by the city council. This was in addition to her original position in the City.
Her most recent resume lists Uncommon LLC and PSRBB Commercial Group as Ferrini’s previous employers. According to the latest resume provided to Grossman as part of his open records request, Ferrini worked as PSRBB starting in 2009 and ended when she was hired by the city. Ferrini also listed Uncommon LLC as a former employer from 2007 through the time the city hired her.
Uncommon LLC was owned by Ferrini. According to online records, the company was “involuntarily ended” by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Another item on today’s special city council agenda is filling the District 5 seat vacated by Isabel Salcido.
The November 5 Municipal Elections
Before the discussion on the city’s new city manager begins, the city council will vote to hold a special election in the November 5 ballot, after Isabel Salcido vacated the seat to run for mayor.
Salcido remains the District 5 representative until her successor is elected. Two other city representatives are also running for mayor. They are Cassandra Hernandez and Brian Kennedy. Because they are running for mayor, their seats, Districts 1 and 3 are also holding elections, making the November 5 ballot crowded for municipal offices.
In addition to voters selecting city representatives for Districts 1, 3 and 5, voters will also be electing city representatives for Districts 2, 4 and 7. Only Art Fierro in district 6 and Chris Canales in District 8 are not on the ballot. In addition to the open city representative seats, the mayoral seat has nine candidates announced as of this morning.
Today is the last day to file to run for the municipal seats in Districts 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7, including the mayor’s office. The last day to file to run for Kennedy’s District 1 seat is September 4. The period to file for Salcido’s seat begins when the city council adopts the resolution today. The period to file also ends on September 4.
Former state representative and city representative Joe Pickett has been rumored to be considering running for mayor. In June, Pickett told us he would decide in July. In July, Pickett told us that he would decide the “first week of August.”
Today is the last day to file. Political observers and mayoral candidates are watching if Pickett files today.
On Friday, we reported that political consultant Chris Hernandez will be filing today for the District 7 seat. At least two other candidates are expected to file for one of the open seats by the time the filing period ends.
El Paso News will continue to monitor the developing details with candidates filing for the open seats in the municipal elections and any developing stories with the expected appointment of the city’s third city manager and any new information regarding the controversy over Nicole Ferrini’s credentials throughout the day.