The campaign manager for El Paso mayor Renard Johnson was paid $89,203.19 to run Johnson’s and Veronica Escobar’s campaigns in 2024 according to the latest campaign finance reports. The funds used to pay her came from the two campaigns.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Lauren Zimmerman has been Veronica Escobar’s campaign manager since June 2019. The profile adds that she also became the campaign manager for Johnson in January 2024. Campaign finance reports show that Zimmerman was paid from the campaign funds from Escobar and Johnson throughout 2024.
Between January 1, 2024 and October 15, Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that the Veronica Escobar Campaign paid Zimmerman $48,203.19.
The campaign finance reports through December 31 filed by the Renard Johnson Campaign show that Zimmerman was paid another $41,000 by Johnson’s campaign.
The Renard Johnson Campaign also reimbursed Zimmerman $811.81 for campaign out-oh-pocket expenses she paid for the campaign.
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While Zimmerman was drawing a salary from the Veronica Escobar campaign, she was also being paid by the Renard Johnson campaign. The payments to Zimmerman from both campaigns came from campaign contributions.
Prior to working for Escobar, Zimmerman worked at Townsquare Media, which owns several radio stations in El Paso, including KLAQ. She also worked at KVIA. She earned her BBA in Marketing and Communications from the University of Mississippi in 2008 and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree.
For her Master of Arts, Zimmerman published a thesis in 2010 arguing for the Meek School of Journalism to adopt Web 2.0 technologies as a recruitment tool for the university. Her thesis included a how-to guide for using WordPress as the platform for school’s website.
Zimmerman owns Setforth Strategies, a consulting firm she established last year.
According to New Mexico business records, Setforth Strategies LLC was registered on August 7, 2024. The registered agent is Lauren Zimmerman. The company is based in Las Cruces.