Putting Renard Johnson In Perspective

When Renard Johnson announced he was running for mayor of El Paso in late January 2024, he lacked name recognition among El Paso’s voters. The lack of name recognition is likely the reason for his early entrance into the campaign trail. However early missteps on his positions on key local issues reveal that his campaign advisors are not in tune to El Paso’s politics. The missteps reveal a candidate ill prepared for the mayoral race. Among the missteps include three of Johnson’s priorities falling outside the scope of mayoral authority and duties and the reliance on his business experience as proof of his suitability to be El Paso’s next mayor may not resonate as well among the voters as campaign advisors hope for.

In addition to the introduction mistakes, Renard Johnson’s business activities outside of El Paso, his use of a city tax incentive for an apartment complex and his business reliance on federal tax dollars for revenue channels and land leased from the City of El Paso give opponents an opportunity to contrast their campaigns against a candidate that seems to be aloof to El Paso’s political scene.