West/Southside El Paso City Council Seat Decided In Saturday Election

The El Paso City Council seat left vacant when Cortney Niland stepped down due to family issues was filled yesterday. The election between Cissy Lizarraga and Robert Cormell was pretty quiet for the most part, but it got a little heated when Cormell was called out for his stance on same-sex marriage.

When Cormell was running for mayor in 2013 he promised to repeal a city ordinance that gave benefits to domestic partners of city employees including same-sex couples. He told NewsChannel 9 that’s because, initially, voters did not support that measure. Cormell said he could not support same-sex marriage and represent his district the same as someone who was an athiest. Lizarraga would not give her personal opinion on the issue but said she would follow the law in that respect.

Lizarraga ended up getting 55 percent of the votes cast. She will now represent District 8 that stretches from South El Paso to Downtown to the West Side.