2017 El Paso, Texas, city elections

El Paso, Texas, held a first round of general elections on May 6, 2017, to elect the mayor and city council. The run-off election was June 10, 2017. Incumbent Mayor Oscar Leeser was eligible for another term, but announced in July 2016 he would not seek another term. Leeser had a cancer-related surgery in 2016, but stated that his decision was not because of his health. Instead, it was because he "ran to do things I thought were really important for our community and I did that."

The election was non-partisan; therefore there was no primary election. However, if no candidate won a majority there will be a run-off election.

The mayor and council members elected in 2017 will serve through December 2020. The term is shortened because of a charter amendment to move city elections from May in odd-numbered years to November in even-numbered years.

Dee Margo took first place in the mayoral race but did not win a majority of votes, so he and David Saucedo competed in a runoff election. Margo defeated Saucedo in the run-off election. 8.57% of registered voters voted in the run-off election, one of the lowest turnouts in the city's history.

Districts 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 had elections in 2017. District 2 incumbent, Jim Tolbert, and District 7 incumbent, Lilia Limon, were eligible for re-election, but were defeated by Alexansandra Annello and Henry Rivera, respectively. Emma Acosta, District 3 incumbent, and Carl Robinson, District 4 incumbent, were term limited and could not run again; they were succeeded by Cassandra Hernandez and Sam Morgan, respectively. District 8 representative Cortney Niland, whose term was supposed to end in December 2018, resigned in April 2017. The city scheduled a June special election and July runoff election to fill the remainder of her term. The runoff election was won by Cissy Lizarraga.

Candidates

 * Emma Acosta (2008–present), city council representative
 * Jorge Artalejo, perennial candidate
 * Willie Cager, YISD basketball coach, director of the Willy Cager Foundation, and member of the 1966 UTEP Basketball team
 * Dee Margo, former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives
 * Elisa Morales, health science researcher, medical device salesperson, Health Graduate Fellow for Congressman Beto O'Rourke and Senator Lamar Alexander, and legislative aide to Senator Tom Udall
 * Jaime Perez, perennial candidate
 * David Saucedo, owner of Saucedo Lock Company and former president of the board of direct of the Boys & Girls Club of El Paso
 * Charles Stapler, member of the El Paso County Historical Commission board

Declined candidates

 * Estela Casas, KVIA news anchor
 * Oscar Leeser, incumbent mayor
 * Cortney Niland, city council representative (2011–2017)
 * Emma Schwartz, president and CEO of the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation
 * Joe Wardy, former mayor of El Paso (2003-2005)

Candidates

 * Alexsandra Annello, student
 * Dolores Baca, writer and housewife
 * Jud Burgess, artist and activist
 * Alexander Burnside, veteran and Bernie Sanders activist
 * Jim Tolbert, city council representative (2016–2017)
 * Raul Valdez, UTEP teaching assistant

Candidates

 * Jaime Barceleau, charitable executive director for the Paso del Norte Children's Development Center
 * Elias Camacho, Vietnam War veteran, retired El Paso Police Department detective, private investigator, and substitute teacher
 * Cassandra Hernandez-Brown, deputy director of Dynamic Workforce Solutions
 * Louis Pellicano, retired person
 * Antonio Williams, private practice immigration attorney, and State Democratic Executive Committeeman for Texas Senate District 29

Candidates

 * Shane Haggerty, retired firefighter and Ysleta Independent School District Board of Trustees president
 * Sam Morgan, owner of El Paso Concealed Carry
 * Jose Plasencia, Green Party activist, chess teacher
 * Diana Ramos, Socorro Independent School District instructional aide and former employee of Congressman Beto O'Rourke

Candidates

 * Lily Limon, city council representative (2013–2017)
 * Henry Rivera, police officer

Candidates

 * Trini Acevedo, health unit coordinator at University Medical Center
 * Robert Cormell, businessman
 * Gilbert Guillen, retired businessman and anti-arena activist
 * Cissy Lizarraga, retired teacher
 * Adolfo Lopez, attorney