For those NOT related to politiqueras and had no clue there were city and school board elections going on because we were all too busy preparing to watch Canelo’s 3-hour commercial to September’s REAL fight, The Bench Wire has you covered.
Here are some highlights:
- McAllen votes to keep Mayor Jim Darling in his seat for another term as mayoral candidate Othal Brand Jr. took a beating in the polls, losing by over 1,300 votes. Brand is an outward conservative who had publicly denounced the current administration’s lack of transparency over the 2015 Christmas parade, even going as far as saying he’d shut the parade down if he were elected mayor in an interview with the Rio Grande Guardian. Although Darling won every district, an analysis of the results show that Darling ran away with Districts 1, 2, 5, and 6 (which represents North and East McAllen) while Brand was able to make Districts 3 and 4 much more competitive (which represents South and West McAllen just before Sharyland). In this race, Darling ran through a gauntlet of controversy with lingering questions about the Enrique Iglesias concert, his apparent flip-flop on the devastatingly unpopular Health Care District as well as that odd video circling social media where The Monitor denied providing Darling the questions before an interview. The total votes casted in McAllen’s mayoral election was 7,720, which makes up to only about 12% of McAllen’s eligible voting population. Honestly, now I’m just looking forward to more of those late night rants by Terry Palacios over this administration for the next few years.
- The City of Pharr is now completely in the hands of the “Pharr Forward” slate as they have taken a 6-1 majority on the city commission (including Mayor Dr. Amos Hernandez) over “Pharr First,” with the lone minority being City Commissioner Mario Bracamontes.
- I guess San Juan residents realized it takes more than just “San Juan” to be in your name to be their mayor.
- The City of Elsa gave no shits and just hit “Yes” on every single city amendment in the 18-page long ballot.
- The mom from Everybody Loves Raymond is out as San Benito’s Mayor.
- This man STILL looks like he can’t believe that he’s been voted Mayor of Mercedes again:
Here were the results:
BROWNSVILLE Commissioner, At Large B
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Rose Z. Gowen 2,967 57%
Erasmo Castro 2,226 43%
BROWNSVILLE Commissioner, District 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Joel Munguia 1,202 62%
William Garza 748 38%
BROWNSVILLE Commissioner, District 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Ben Neece 863 52%
John Villarreal 806 48%
LA FERIA Commissioner, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Donato Garcia (I) 561 61%
Alma Martinez 362 39%
LA FERIA Commissioner, PL 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Julian Guevara, Jr. (I) 559 60%
Ignacio A. Garcia 367 40%
LA FERIA Commissioner, PL 5
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Esmeralda Lozano (I) 565 61%
Jessie Garcia, Jr. 362 39%
LA GRULLA Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Pedro A. Flores (I) 454 58%
Glenda Castillo 173 22%
Oscar V. Gonzalez 140 18%
Jose Lopez, Jr. 17 2%
LA GRULLA Commissioner (Vote for 2)
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Patricia Solis 401 29%
> Merardo Banda, Jr. (I) 400 29%
Sergio Contreras 211 15%
Andy Hernandez 144 10%
Joel Zarate 143 10%
Juan Villarreal, Jr. 89 6%
LYFORD Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Jose G. Solis 83 47%
> Tony Chavez (I) 48 27%
Albert Cavazos 47 26%
MCALLEN Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Jim Darling (I) 4,265 58%
Othal Brand 2,891 39%
J. Carranza 241 3%
MCALLEN Commissioner, District 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Joaquin Zamora 747 64%
Trey Pebley (I) 422 36%
MERCEDES Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Henry Hinojosa (I) 930 59%
Jose M. Gomez 653 41%
MERCEDES Commissioner, Place 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Leo Villarreal 657 41%
> Leonel Benavidez 315 20%
Velda Garcia 290 18%
Justin Cadena 262 16%
Ramon Mejia 64 4%
MERCEDES Commissioner, Place 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Armando Lopez (I) 725 46%
> Cris De Leon Hernandez 592 38%
Julian Valdez 259 16%
PALM VALLEY Council Member (Vote for 2)
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Julie C. Martin (I) 120 43%
Paul Powers 81 29%
Charlie Ramsey 78 28%
PALM VALLEY SPECIAL ELECTION Prop: New Sales and Use Tax
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 117 67%
AGAINST 58 33%
PHARR Commissioner, PL 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Roberto Carrillo (I) 2,777 65%
Raul Gonzalez 1,486 35%
PHARR Commissioner, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Ramiro Caballero 2,829 66%
Michael Pruneda 1,439 34%
PHARR Commissioner, PL 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Daniel Chavez 2,743 65%
San Juanita Elizondo Crum 1,508 35%
PRIMERA Alderman/Alderwoman (Vote for 3)
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Rudy Garza, Jr. (I) 30 30%
Diana Ramirez-write in 30 30%
Chuck Navarro 27 27%
George Cordero 14 14%
RAYMONDVILLE Commissioner, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Clifton Smith (I) 574 50%
> George Solis 326 28%
Joel Garcia 246 21%
RAYMONDVILLE Commissioner, PL 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Eziquiel Cavazos (I) 655 57%
Irene Moreno Cavazos 488 43%
RIO HONDO Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Gustavo Olivares (I) 276 65%
John Alamia 150 35%
RIO HONDO Commissioner, PL 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Alonzo Garza 213 51%
Margaret J. Perez 208 49%
SAN BENITO Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Ben Gomez 1,108 55%
Celeste Z. Sanchez (I) 916 45%
SAN BENITO Commissioner, PL 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Tony Gonzales (I) 1,092 56%
Joe F. Rodriguez 873 44%
SAN BENITO Commissioner, PL 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Rene Villafranco (I) 1,037 53%
Fernando Mendez, Jr. 467 24%
Ricardo Robles Rodriguez 467 24%
SAN BENITO SPECIAL ELECTION Commissioner, PL 4 (Unexpired Term)
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Carol Lynn Sanchez 1,332 68%
Pilar Sanchez 628 32%
SAN JUAN Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Mario Garza 1,671 60%
San Juanita Sanchez (I) 1,096 40%
SAN JUAN Commissioner, PL 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Rubio Muniz 1,037 37%
> Neto Guajardo 917 33%
Belinda Cisneros 840 30%
SAN JUAN Commissioner, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Jesus Ramirez (I) 1,664 60%
Cynthia A. Gutierrez 1,104 40%
SAN JUAN Prop: First Responders; Collective Bargaining
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 1,808 67%
AGAINST 883 33%
SULLIVAN CITY Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Leo Garcia 746 66%
Rosendo Benavides (I) 388 34%
SULLIVAN CITY Council Member, PL 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Sylvia Castillo 706 62%
Rene Pena 431 38%
SULLIVAN CITY Council Member, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Gabriel Salinas 751 66%
Joel Flores (I) 380 34%
LAGUNA VISTA Council Member, Place 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Michael Carter (I) 437 83%
Richard Hinojosa 91 17%
LAGUNA VISTA Council Member, Place 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Rolando Gonzalez 436 84%
David L. Smith 83 16%
SANTA ROSA Mayor
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Andres Contreras (I) 367 58%
Ruben Ochoa, Jr. 263 42%
SANTA ROSA Alderman, Place 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Raul Hinojosa 399 63%
Refugio Rickford (I) 230 37%
SANTA ROSA Alderman, Place 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Javier Florencia (I) 333 54%
Jennifer Perez 283 46%
LOS INDIOS Prop: Street Maint/Repair Tax
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 17 59%
AGAINST 12 41%
ELSA Prop: Municipal Dev Dist Creation
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 148 64%
AGAINST 84 36%
ELSA Amed 1: Article I, Rights Reserved
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 148 63%
AGAINST 87 37%
ELSA Amed 2: Article I, Local Self-Govt
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 141 60%
AGAINST 93 40%
ELSA Amed 3: Article I, Other Powers
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 141 60%
AGAINST 94 40%
ELSA Amed 4: Article I, Streets and Property
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 63%
AGAINST 88 37%
ELSA Amed 5: Article I, Altering City Limits
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 63%
AGAINST 87 37%
ELSA Amed 6: Article II, Term of Office
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 148 63%
AGAINST 86 37%
ELSA Amed 7: Article II, Elections and Terms
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 150 64%
AGAINST 84 36%
ELSA Amed 8: Article II, Qualifications
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 153 65%
AGAINST 83 35%
ELSA Amed 9: Article II, Vacancies
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 153 65%
AGAINST 82 35%
ELSA Amed 10: Article II, Compensation
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 155 67%
AGAINST 78 33%
ELSA Amed 11: Article II, Councilmen Qualifications
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 157 67%
AGAINST 78 33%
ELSA Amed 12: Article II, Board Appointments
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 148 64%
AGAINST 84 36%
ELSA Amed 13: Article III, City Clerk
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 154 66%
AGAINST 79 34%
ELSA Amed 14: Article III, Emergency Ordinances
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 156 67%
AGAINST 78 33%
ELSA Amed 15: Article III, City Employee Bonds
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 63%
AGAINST 87 37%
ELSA Amed 16: Article IV, Election by Majority
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 154 66%
AGAINST 79 34%
ELSA Amed 17: Article IV, Run-off Elections
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 160 68%
AGAINST 74 32%
ELSA Amed 18: Delete Article IV, Election by Plurality
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 152 66%
AGAINST 80 34%
ELSA Amed 19: Article V, Petitions
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 153 66%
AGAINST 80 34%
ELSA Amed 20: Article V, Recall Elections
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 153 65%
AGAINST 81 35%
ELSA Amed 21: Article V, Recall Ballot
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 160 69%
AGAINST 73 31%
ELSA Amed 22: Article V, Recall Election Results
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 154 66%
AGAINST 79 34%
ELSA Amed 23: Article V, Recall Elections
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 153 66%
AGAINST 80 34%
ELSA Amed 24: Article VI, Municipal Court Judge
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 144 62%
AGAINST 90 38%
ELSA Amed 25: Article VI, Municipal Judge Removal
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 149 64%
AGAINST 84 36%
ELSA Amed 26: Article VII, Boards and Commissions
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 142 61%
AGAINST 91 39%
ELSA Amed 27: Article VII, Qualifications
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 149 64%
AGAINST 84 36%
ELSA Amed 28: Article VII, Planning and Zoning
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 154 66%
AGAINST 79 34%
ELSA Amed 29: Article VII, Board Appointments
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 138 59%
AGAINST 94 41%
ELSA Amed 30: Article VIII, Ctiy Manager
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 145 62%
AGAINST 87 38%
ELSA Amed 31: Delete Art XI, Sec 4, Equalization Brd
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 144 62%
AGAINST 89 38%
ELSA Amed 32: Article XIII, Property Owner Consent
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 143 61%
AGAINST 91 39%
ELSA Amed 33: Article XIII, Extensions
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 63%
AGAINST 87 37%
ELSA Amed 34: Article XIII, Other Conditions
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 63%
AGAINST 85 37%
ELSA Amed 35: Article XIII, Franchise Records
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> FOR 147 64%
AGAINST 83 36%
MCALLEN ISD Trustee, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Debbie Crane Aliseda 3,097 48%
Mark Dougherty 1,884 29%
Raul A. Moreno 1,521 23%
MCALLEN ISD Trustee, PL 6
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Larry Esparza (I) 3,410 54%
Homer Martinez 2,872 46%
MCALLEN ISD Trustee, PL 7
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Sam Saldivar, Jr. (I) 3,407 54%
Lynse Guerra 2,924 46%
LYFORD CISD Trustee, Position 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Arnold Cortez (I) 509 66%
Carlos Ramos 257 34%
LYFORD CISD Trustee, Position 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Eulalio Mendez, IV 467 58%
Velma N. Garcia 338 42%
RAYMONDVILLE ISD Trustee, Place 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Judy Gutierrez 621 48%
Jessica Ramirez-Cantu (I) 534 42%
Johnnie Falcon 126 10%
RAYMONDVILLE ISD Trustee, Place 2
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> John L. Solis 581 74%
Guadalupe Ruiz, Jr. (I) 204 26%
RAYMONDVILLE ISD Trustee, Place 6
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Janie Cruz-Rivas 481 39%
Ramiro Ramirez, Jr. (I) 392 32%
Aron Garcia 361 29%
RAYMONDVILLE ISD Trustee, Place 7
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Javier Longoria (I) 628 53%
Cyndie Cruz 323 28%
Noe Hernandez 223 19%
RIO HONDO ISD Board Member, PL 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Noe Alaniz, Jr. (I) 513 52%
Valerie Flores 390 39%
Mirna Garcia 85 9%
RIO HONDO ISD Board Member, PL 3
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Arnold Martinez, Jr. (I) 638 64%
Brandy Taubert 366 36%
RIO HONDO ISD Board Member, PL 7
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Ernestina Rodriguez 452 45%
Susie Andrews 305 30%
Stephanie Rhyner 253 25%
SAN BENITO CISD Trustee, PL 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Orlando Lopez 1,512 59%
Chon Lopez, Jr. 1,055 41%
SAN BENITO CISD Trustee, PL 5
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> M.L. Garcia 1,284 50%
Mario Silva 1,281 50%
SAN BENITO CISD Trustee, PL 6
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Victor Rosas 1,303 51%
Oscar Medrano (I) 1,260 49%
SAN BENITO CISD Trustee, PL 7
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Angel Mendez (I) 1,289 50%
Joe D. Gonzalez 1,279 50%
SANTA ROSA ISD Trustee, Place 4
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Danny L. Theys (I) 403 51%
Juan Manuel Perez 385 49%
SANTA ROSA ISD Trustee, Place 5
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Raul Garza (I) 460 57%
Rachel Olivarez 340 42%
SHARYLAND ISD Trustee, PL 1
100% OF PRECINCTS REPORTING
> Ricky Longoria (I) 625 63%
Kevin Sparks 369 37%
