Dee Margo

{{short description|Mayor of El Paso, Texas, 2017-2021 (born 1952)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Dee Margo

| image = Dee Margo by Shealah Craighead.jpg

| office = 51st Mayor of El Paso

| term_start = June 26, 2017

| term_end = January 5, 2021

| predecessor = Oscar Leeser

| successor = Oscar Leeser

| state_house1 = Texas

| district1 = 78th

| term_start1 = January 11, 2011

| term_end1 = January 8, 2013

| party = Republican

| predecessor1 = Joe Moody

| successor1 = Joe Moody

| birth_name = Donald Margo

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|2|4}}

| birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = {{marriage|Adair Margo|August 21, 1976}}

| education = Vanderbilt University (BA)

| residence = El Paso, Texas, U.S.

}}

Donald "Dee" Margo (born February 4, 1952) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 51st mayor of El Paso, Texas from 2017 to 2021.

Early life and education

Margo graduated from Huntsville High School in Huntsville, Alabama. He accepted a football scholarship to Vanderbilt University and graduated in 1974 with a degree in history and economics.{{Cite web|url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2019/08/20/border-roots-donald-r-dee-margo-ba74/|title = Border Roots: Donald R. "Dee" Margo, BA'74}}

Career

Margo moved to El Paso in 1977 from Nashville, Tennessee to join his father-in-law's insurance business, John D. Williams Company. In February 1981, six days after Margo’s 29th birthday, his father-in-law suffered a fatal heart attack. Margo purchased JDW from the estate and expanded the company from 6 employees to 70.{{cite web|url=http://www.elpasotexas.gov/mayor/about-the-mayor|title=About The Mayor|website=Elpasotexas.gov|accessdate=11 February 2019|archive-date=12 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212130705/http://www.elpasotexas.gov/mayor/about-the-mayor|url-status=dead}} In 2005, Margo was named chairman of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce and in 2012 sold his company to HUB International.{{Cite web|title=Questionnaire: Dee Margo, candidate for El Paso Mayor|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2020/10/12/el-paso-times-questionnaire-dee-margo-candidate-el-paso-mayor/5937124002/|access-date=2021-01-31|website=El Paso Times|language=en-US}}

From 2011 to 2013, Margo served in the Texas House of Representatives. He represented the 78th district, which covers parts of El Paso County, after defeating Texas state representative Joe Moody. Moody defeated Margo in a rematch in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Margo|title=Donald Margo|last=Ballotpedia|access-date=2017-06-10}} On June 10, 2017, he was elected mayor of El Paso after winning the runoff part of the city's mayoral election of 2017 against another Republican businessman, David Saucedo.{{cite web|url=http://www.kvia.com/news/el-paso/breaking-dee-margo-elected-mayor-of-el-paso-saucedo-concedes-race/535235654|title=BREAKING: Dee Margo elected mayor of El Paso, Saucedo concedes race|last=Villasana|first=Jose|date=2017-06-11|website=KVIA|access-date=2017-06-11|archive-date=2017-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611042359/http://www.kvia.com/news/el-paso/breaking-dee-margo-elected-mayor-of-el-paso-saucedo-concedes-race/535235654|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://rrhelections.com/index.php/2017/06/10/san-antonio-el-paso-mayoral-liveblog/|title=San Antonio & El Paso Mayoral Liveblog / France & Puerto Rico Open Thread – RRH Elections|author=RogueBeaver|date=2017-06-10|website=RRH Elections|access-date=2017-06-11}}

Margo was defeated for re-election running against former mayor Oscar Leeser in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2020/12/12/el-paso-mayor-dee-margo-oscar-leeser/|title = El Paso Mayor Dee Margo loses reelection bid to Oscar Leeser|date = 13 December 2020}}

Personal life

Margo has been a resident of El Paso for over 40 years. He and his wife Adair, an El Paso native, married on August 21, 1976 and moved to El Paso in March 1977, where they raised their sons. Their granddaughters are fifth-generation El Pasoans.

Electoral history

{{Election box begin no change

| title = El Paso, Texas mayoral election, 2017

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| candidate = Dee Margo {{cite web|url=https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/11/early-voting-numbers-show-margo-leads-mayoral-runoff/386930001/|title=Dee Margo elected El Paso mayor|website=El Paso Times|accessdate=11 February 2019}}

| party =Nonpartisan politician

| votes = 17,148

| percentage = 57.00

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| candidate = David Saucedo

| party =Nonpartisan politician

| votes = 12,941

| percentage = 43.0

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = El Paso, Texas mayoral election, 2020