Mayor Dee Margo Speaks To Mike And Tricia About Texas Governor’s Orders

We spoke with El Paso Mayor Dee Margo on Wednesday morning about Governor Greg Abbott's reopening plans for the state of Texas and El Paso. Because City and County officials feel like we have reached our peak coronavirus outbreak numbers, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and a number of other elected officials wrote a letter to Abbott asking him for more time before we took part in Phase 2 of the reopening of the state. Phase 2 involves letting restaurants go from 25% capacity to 50% capacity of in-restaurant seating, and would allow bars to reopen to 25% capacity among other things. Last week Margo said he spoke with the Governor who offered his strike force and extra testing sites.

Follow the time codes to skip around through the interview.

When we opened the interview, I asked him how he felt about the weeklong delay the Governor offered. Margo said he would not want a longer delay because "we need to start somewhere and the sooner we start the better off we'll be." Mike asked him a follow up question about Margo originally being more 'lives over livlihood'. You can hear his answer by clicking at 1:08.

At the 2:00 mark you can hear the Mayor ask for our help in clarifying confusion about how to keep people around you safe with safe coverings.

At 2:55 he answers my question about whether a store can require you to wear a mask when you go in to shop.

Mike got in the act at 3:51 and asked Margo about the photos that were taken of him and his wife a couple of weeks ago that showed him in a restaurant without a face mask. I have to say, the guy is a good sport and didn't run from talking about the incident or the person who took the photo.

Margo says, at 5:37, that we need to all work together to get past this pandemic.

Mike asks at 5:55 if a week delay is going to help El Paso at all. The mayor says it will give us some extra time to get feedback from Mother's Day.

Margo gives us the rundown on makeup of the majority of the El Paso victims of COVID-19 at 7:55. Underlying health issues are a real problem and that is why social distancing, staying at home, and using masks are so important.

At 8:50, Mike asks if there are numbers what might make Margo ask for an extension to the weeklong delay from the Governor. We also bring up the fact that it sounds like the Governor is just planning on making sure we have enough beds to put people if they are infected but the likelihood of another delay is slim.

At 10:00, the mayor told us the numbers we need to be focusing on even more than the tragic death toll or the daily infection numbers.

I ask the Mayor when he and other officials were last tested at 11:20 and we goof off a bit about the length of the swabs you get tested with. Mike even offers to give the Mayor the test on Facebook live.

Mike asks a final question about which bar the Mayor will hit when the bars reopen at the 12:45 mark. I think his answer is all of us. I ask when I'll be able to get a massage and a tattoo because priorities.

At the end of the interview he does take a bit of grief and gives it right back. He is a good sport and we appreciate his time. I've never been able to stand an elected official who runs from an interview.