As every El Pasoan who is not in a coma knows, Mayor Renard Johnson promised repeatedly to lower our property tax during his election campaign.
Now that outraged El Pasoans are facing yet another tax increase, “reporter” Diego Mendoza-Moyers of El Paso Matters is rushing to Johnson’s rescue, actively promoting his political talking points.
Mendoza-Moyers writes: “Back in late 2024, when Mayor Renard Johnson was locked in a runoff election for mayor against former City Council representative Brian Kennedy, he said in a debate that he was focused on lowering property taxes.”
(Mendoza-Moyers and his boss Bob Moore know perfectly well that Johnson made the same promise in numerous mailers and social media posts and not just during a single debate.)
Mendoza-Moyers goes on: “Johnson didn’t say he would immediately cut property taxes. Instead, he said bringing in new big businesses that pay taxes was the way to lower homeowners’ tax bills.”
Oh really? Here Mendoza-Moyers crosses the line from journalism into political propaganda. By his perverted logic, Johnson should get a pass because he did not say he would lower our property tax “immediately.”
For the record, only AFTER his election did Johnson begin to say he never meant he would lower our tax immediately. Recently he told Andy Morgan of KTSM that he may not see a tax decrease in his lifetime! Such statements are strategically omitted by Mendoza-Moyers.
Next, Elida Perez, also of El Paso Matters, jumps into the report, which transitions into an opinion piece in the form of a back-and-forth conversation between her and Mendoza-Moyers.
Perez reminds us that the previous City Council, led by Brian Kennedy, did not raise property taxes in FY 2024 and FY 2025. She openly and shamelessly embraces the City’s current position that the proposed tax increase for FY 2027 is somehow a result of the financial restraint of Kennedy and his colleagues.
What makes Perez think the current tax increase is inevitable and that it’s the fault of someone other than the current office holders who will vote to finalize the budget on Tuesday? Never mind…
We suggest that Mendoza-Moyers and Perez resign from journalism and join Johnson’s reelection team.