Joe Molinar of El Paso: Council Votes, Harassment, Hit-and-Run

Joe Molinar of El Paso is a retired police lieutenant who served one term on the El Paso City Council representing District 4 from 2021 to 2025. His single term included the firing of the city manager, a formal sexual harassment finding against him, and a reelection defeat. Six months after leaving office, he was charged in a hit-and-run that was later dismissed.¹

From Police Lieutenant to City Council

Molinar spent 22 years with the El Paso Police Department from 1985 to 2007, retiring as a lieutenant.¹ He ran for the District 4 seat in 2020 on public safety funding, fiscal oversight, and opposition to what he described as a lack of transparency at City Hall. He opposed any reallocation of police department funding, criticized the city’s use of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, and called for more accountability on bond spending.²

Incumbent Sam Morgan led the November 2020 general election among five candidates with 32.1% to Molinar’s 28.4%. Molinar won the December runoff with 53.9% to Morgan’s 46.1%.³

Firing the City Manager

On February 28, 2023, Molinar and Representative Brian Kennedy placed City Manager Tommy Gonzalez’s employment contract on the council agenda for possible termination. Neither offered a public explanation, citing personnel confidentiality. Gonzalez said the action was taken “without cause” and pointed to a recent performance evaluation of 3.63 out of 4 stating he “continues to meet and exceed expectations.”⁴

The council split 4-4, with Molinar, Kennedy, Alexsandra Annello, and Art Fierro voting to terminate and Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido, Chris Canales, and Henry Rivera voting against. Mayor Oscar Leeser broke the tie in favor of termination.⁵ Because the firing was without cause, Gonzalez’s severance included 12 months of base salary, unused leave, and a car allowance. Representative Salcido estimated the total cost to taxpayers at roughly $900,000.⁶

The Duranguito Arena Vote

Molinar opposed plans to build a multipurpose performing arts center in the Duranguito neighborhood downtown, a project rooted in a 2012 Quality of Life Bond. He and Representative Annello brought an agenda item on January 3, 2023, to scrap the original arena plan and redirect roughly $155 million in remaining bond funds toward renovating existing city facilities, with an explicit condition that no buildings in Duranguito be condemned or demolished.⁷

At the meeting he voted against a 90-day delay, saying the matter had already dragged on for more than a decade. The motion to reallocate funds passed 4-3, ending the Duranguito arena plan.⁸

Sexual Harassment Finding and Admonition

In November 2022, a female city employee filed a complaint alleging that Molinar behaved inappropriately toward her at a city Thanksgiving luncheon on November 17, 2022. She said Molinar repeatedly asked her to dance, told her she “owed him a dance,” and, after she declined, whispered that he “was going to direct the city manager to make her dance with him.” She also reported that he had called her “babe” at the end of a conversation in spring 2021.⁹ The employee, who worked in the city manager’s office, said she felt “uncomfortable, intimidated and offended.”¹⁰

The city retained outside investigator Clara Burns, an El Paso employment and labor attorney, who interviewed the complainant, Molinar, and six witnesses. All six witnesses corroborated the employee’s account and described her as “visibly upset and uncomfortable.”¹¹ Burns concluded, on a preponderance of the evidence, that Molinar’s conduct violated the city’s sexual harassment prevention policy.⁹

Molinar denied the allegations. He disputed how many times he asked the employee to dance, denied ever mentioning the city manager, and denied calling her “babe,” calling the allegations “absolutely ludicrous.”¹¹

On February 28, 2023, the City Council voted 6-1 to issue Molinar a formal letter of admonition. Signed by Mayor Leeser on March 2, the letter stated that “while the conduct may have been unintentional, you should have known that your conduct made the employee feel uncomfortable.” It required him to complete training on harassment, discrimination, and the city’s code of conduct within 90 days, and warned that future violations could lead to removal from committee assignments and his role as alternate mayor pro tempore.⁹ The city confirmed he completed the required training by mid-May 2023.¹¹

Losing Reelection in 2024

Molinar sought a second term in 2024. He led a multi-candidate field in the November 5 general election with 38%, followed by challenger Cynthia Boyar Trejo, a 58-year-old business owner making her first run for office, at 29%. Because no candidate reached 50%, the race went to a runoff.¹²

Boyar Trejo won the December 14, 2024, runoff with 2,128 votes (54.33%) to Molinar’s 1,789 (45.67%), a 339-vote margin.¹³ She took office in January 2025 and currently holds the District 4 seat.¹⁴

2025 Hit-and-Run Charge and Dismissal

On June 29, 2025, roughly six months after leaving office, Molinar was involved in a collision in the parking lot of the Quik Wok restaurant at 1320 Lomaland Drive in east El Paso. Surveillance video showed him reversing his 2007 Ford F-150 into a parked 2012 Nissan Quest minivan, getting out to inspect the damage, looking around, and driving away. The footage circulated on social media after the minivan’s owner returned and asked restaurant staff to check the cameras.¹⁵

Molinar acknowledged the incident in an interview with ABC-7: “Yes, it is Joe Molinar. I regret leaving the scene, and I’m willing to make restitution to the owner of the vehicle.”¹⁵ A warrant was issued, and he was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility on a misdemeanor charge of “duty on striking an unattended vehicle,” with a $5,000 bond. He posted bond and was released, and an arraignment followed in September 2025.¹⁶

The charge was dismissed on October 20, 2025, in County Court at Law 4 after Molinar made insurance restitution to the vehicle’s owner.¹ District Attorney James Montoya said the case was handled consistently with the office’s approach to first-time offenders accused of nonviolent misdemeanors and that Molinar’s “former status or occupation played no role in the outcome of the case.” Molinar was represented by attorney Brian Kennedy, his former council colleague.¹⁷

1
El Paso Times. Former El Paso City Rep. Joe Molinar Has Hit-and-Run Charge Dismissed
2
KVIA. Candidate Profile: Joe Molinar, El Paso City Council District 4
3
El Paso Times. El Paso Runoff Election: Joe Molinar, Alexsandra Annello Leading City Council Races
4
KFOX TV. City Reps Kennedy, Molinar Evade Questions Regarding City Manager Tommy Gonzalez Termination
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El Paso Times. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser Casts Tie-Breaking Vote to Terminate City Manager Tommy Gonzalez Contract
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El Paso Matters. City Manager Tommy Gonzalez Fired, Given 120 Days Notice of Termination
7
El Paso Times. El Paso City Council Duranguito Downtown Arena Project
8
El Paso Matters. El Paso Downtown Arena Plan Nixed by New-Look City Council
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El Paso Matters. El Paso City Rep. Joe Molinar Sexual Harassment Complaint Details
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El Paso Inc. Report Details Sexual Harassment Complaint Against City Rep. Joe Molinar
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El Paso Times. Joe Molinar Completes Training Following Sexual Harassment Violation
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El Paso Matters. El Paso Runoff Election: City Council District 4
13
KTSM. Trejo Leads District 4 vs. Incumbent Molinar
14
El Paso County Votes. Elected Officials: City Representative District 4
15
KVIA. Former El Paso City Rep. Joe Molinar Admits to Hit-and-Run at East El Paso Chinese Restaurant
16
KTSM. Case Against Former City Rep. Joe Molinar Dismissed
17
KVIA. Charges Dropped Against Former Rep. Joe Molinar for Hitting Parked Car