Victor Calzada

El Paso Times

El Paso will host its first candidate for the U.S. presidency on Friday when Jill Stein, the Green Party's nominee, visits.

Stein, who also ran for president in 2012, will speak from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Cafe Mayapan, 2000 Texas Ave.

El Paso County Green Party member Jose Manuel Escobedo and five other Green Party members gathered Wednesday at San Jacinto Plaza to talk about Stein's platform and to announce her visit. Escobedo said Friday's visit will give El Pasoans a chance to learn about an alternative choice for president.

"So many people are not comfortable with the two traditional choices," he said of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. "This is the main alternative. People are going to decide what is best for their future and their family's future. People are not apathetic, many are cynical. ... They don't believe what the Democrats and Republicans are proposing."

Escobedo said the Green Party's platform includes environmental responsibility, equal rights and inclusion for everyone, as well as stopping mass deportations and a rehabilitative approach to replace a punitive approach when it comes to drug policy.

Locally, the Green Party supports the end to the Comanche pipeline and the Trans-Pecos pipeline being built in the Borderland.

Mary Gourdoux, who is the Green Party's candidate for U.S. representative District 16, also spoke at Wednesday's event. She is running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-El Paso.

Gourdoux said she is on the ballot to protest O'Rourke's support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying he gave the president fast-track authority on the issue. O'Rourke did vote in favor of the fast-track authority, but he has not reached a position on the TPP.

In the 2012 presidential election, 460 straight Green Party ballots were cast in El Paso. Stein received a total of 645 votes.

Victor Calzada may be reached at vcalzada@elpasotimes.com.