Organizers in Northeast El Paso have filed a formal notice to recall City Representative Cynthia Boyar Trejo. The petition follows a June 9 City Council vote where Boyar Trejo joined a 5-3 majority that refused to reopen El Paso’s tax incentive agreement with Meta for a $10 billion data center campus. The formal recall notice was received by the Office of the City Clerk on June 17.
The filing makes El Paso the first Texas municipality where grassroots pushback against data centers has turned into an effort to remove an elected official. If organizers gather enough signatures, the dispute over groundwater, air quality, and corporate tax breaks will head directly to District 4 voters.
The El Paso City Council voted against starting renegotiation or termination proceedings for the Chapter 380 economic development agreement, which was originally approved in late 2023.
According to local reporting by KFOX14, Representatives Josh Acevedo, Chris Canales, and Lily Limón voted to pursue termination, while Boyar Trejo joined Alejandra Chávez, Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, Art Fierro, and Ivan Niño to keep the deal in place. Nearly 200 residents signed up to speak during a meeting that lasted roughly nine hours, with most urging the council to cancel the incentives.
The agreement grants Meta an 80% property tax break structured over a 35-year maximum term, combining a 10-year tax abatement with a 15-year cash grant program for individual development phases. The city also committed $12.5 million for road improvements near the Northeast site.
Meta has stated it will invest $10 billion and create 50 permanent jobs total across all phases. Public records indicate the facility will use an average of 400,000 gallons of potable water per day, with peak allocations reaching up to 2.5 million gallons daily once fully built out. Opponents have also raised concerns regarding a 366-megawatt on-site natural gas power plant planned to run the campus.
The recall petition states that Boyar Trejo voted to preserve the deal despite documented risks to the regional water supply, air quality, and municipal infrastructure. Organizers argued the vote prioritizes large corporate interests over the needs of local citizens.
Boyar Trejo defended her vote, stating that the city could face catastrophic financial liabilities if it violated a signed contract. Outside legal counsel briefed the city that unilateral termination could expose El Paso to actual damages estimated between $370 million and $760 million.
El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson echoed these concerns, stating that breaking the contract would put taxpayers at risk for expensive litigation and severely damage the city’s economic reputation. Boyar Trejo emphasized that protecting working families from unnecessary legal bills was her primary duty.
Under El Paso’s charter, organizers have exactly 60 days from the June 17 filing to collect valid signatures from registered District 4 voters. The exact signature threshold remains a point of calculation for the city clerk. The target sits at roughly 4,233 signatures if calculated against the last general election turnout, or about 786 signatures if measured against the lower runoff election turnout. Organizers stated that an initial signature gathering event netted close to 100 names.
The recall campaign will focus on whether organizers can gather the required signatures by the mid-August deadline to force a referendum, while the city reviews a new draft policy framework to restrict water usage and add mandatory property buffers for any future hyperscale data center projects.