LAREDO, Texas — Laredo City Council Member Alyssa Cigarroa has officially announced her campaign for Mayor, saying six years on the City Council convinced her that many of the city’s biggest challenges are rooted in reactive government rather than long-term planning.
A lifelong Laredoan, Cigarroa said she entered public service believing local government should be guided by thoughtful planning, collaboration, and a commitment to serving residents.
“I’ve always believed the greatest strength of Laredo is its people,” Cigarroa said. “Our residents work hard, care deeply about this community, and deserve a government that listens, follows through, and plans for the future.”
Cigarroa said there wasn’t one defining moment that led her to seek the mayor’s office.
“It was a pattern that became impossible to ignore,” she said. “I came into office expecting decisions to be guided by data, long-term planning, and measurable priorities. Instead, I witnessed too many decisions driven by the crisis of the moment rather than a consistent plan for the future.”
Over time, she said she saw departments relying on discretionary funding instead of long-term planning, while recommendations from residents and advisory committees were left unimplemented despite months of work and public participation.
“That’s when I realized the City’s biggest challenge wasn’t any single issue,” Cigarroa said. “It was the absence of a system that consistently plans ahead and follows through. Crisis management is no way to run a city.”
Since making history with a successful write-in campaign in 2020 and earning re-election to the City Council by over 75% of the vote, Cigarroa has questioned spending, challenged delayed projects, advocated for neighbor-hood improvements, expanded access to healthcare, and called for greater transparency and accountability in how taxpayer dollars are spent. She has also opposed salary increases for elected officials and raised concerns about major financial decisions she believed lacked sufficient public input, including the $417 million bond package, helping lead the effort to ensure voters had a voice in the decision – a proposal that 84% of voters ultimately rejected.
She said one experience continues to remind her why local government matters.
Cigarroa recalled meeting a mother whose home had deteriorated so severely that she and her son were forced to live in a single room because the rest of the house had become unsafe. Despite doing everything she was supposed to do and seeking assistance through available programs, she continued falling through the cracks.
Cigarroa, alongside community organizations, helped raise funds and connected the family with the resources needed to finally make the repairs possible.
“What stayed with me wasn’t just the condition of the home,” Cigarroa said. “It was realizing how many people work hard, follow the rules, ask for help the right way, and still get lost in a system that isn’t coordinated well enough to serve them.”
As mayor, Cigarroa said her priorities would reflect the lessons she has learned on the City Council: planning ahead instead of reacting to emergencies, investing in reliable infrastructure, protecting taxpayers, strengthening neighborhood services, and supporting local businesses.
Among her priorities is making City Hall more transparent by giving residents a clearer understanding of major city projects, expanding opportunities for meaningful public participation, and ensuring departments remain accountable for delivering results.
“I’ve learned that helping with one problem at a time isn’t enough when the same system keeps allowing those problems to happen,” she said. “I’m proud of the work we’ve accomplished on the council. But too often, we respond to the crisis in front of us while its ripple effects spread across the community, and then we return to business as usual without fixing what allowed the problems to happen in the first place.”
She said that’s why she’s seeking the mayor’s office— because she believes this moment calls for more than incremental change. It requires vision and conviction to act with the urgency that our community needs.
Cigarroa said her campaign will focus on building a city government that earns back the public’s trust through strengthening our charter, reimagining what is possible for Laredo, and turning those possibilities into opportunities that shape a stronger future for everyone.
“I’ve spent six years learning what works, what doesn’t,” Cigarroa said. “I’m running for Mayor to build a City Hall that plans ahead, follows through, and works as hard for the people as the people work for Laredo.”
Porque Laredo merece más.
