During the final stretch before election day, mayoral candidate Dr. Shahid Rashid outraised and outspent his opponents, spending more than $67,000 from March 25 through April 22.
In campaign finance reports filed eight days before the election, Rashid, a doctor specializing in pain management, reported $46,531 in political contributions, $39,931 of which he contributed to himself. He also reported $67,542 in political expenditures, with $38,492 going toward advertising. Rashid also spent $26,018 on consulting and $2,480 on labor.
In District 6, City Commissioner Veronica Whitacre’s campaign finance report, which covered activity from April 1 to April 23, showed the mayoral candidate and current commissioner received $10,050 in political contributions and had $16,013 in political expenditures. She reported $27,766 in contributions as of the last day of the reporting period.
More than half of her expenditures, or $8,147, went toward advertising or advertising related expenses and $7,165 went toward polling expenses.
Michael Fallek, an attorney and businessman who sits on the city’s planning and zoning commission, reported $29,430 in political contributions and $33,356 in political expenditures from April 1 to April 23. As of the last day of the reporting period, he had maintained $17,370 in political contributions.
The largest contributions included $5,000 from his father, Larry D. Fallek, and $2,000 from Aladar Deutsch, owner of Deutsch & Deutsch Jewelry. He also received $2,000 from Burns Brothers Ltd. and another $2,000 came from the Greater McAllen Association of Realtors’ political action committee.
Of his total expenses, $20,196 went toward advertising, $3,769 was spent on event expenses, and $2,222 was spent on contract labor.
Additionally, he reported $22,340 in unpaid incurred obligations for advertising.
Attorney and current District 1 City Commissioner Javier Villalobos reported raising $3,250 in political contributions and reported $37,342 in expenditures. As of the last day of the reporting period, Villalobos maintained $7,391 in contributions. He spent $15,681 on labor and $12,096 on advertising.
Othal E. Brand Jr., general manager and board president of Hidalgo County Water Improvement District No. 3, reported $8,450 in political contributions and $25,408 in political expenditures from April 1-22.
Brand received $2,000 from William D. Moschel, $1,200 from Vega Roofing, $1,000 from James M. Moffitt of Moffitt Real Estate, $1,000 from Oscar Cuellar Jr. and $1,000 from Lone Star BBQ.
In addition to the contributions, Brand also loaned $13,700 to his campaign.
From his contributions, Brand spent $15,501 on advertising and $7,772 on payroll expenses.
He spent an additional $11,186 for expenses that were paid by credit card. The majority of those funds, $7,611, were spent on advertising, while approximately $1,900 was used for campaign events.
Early voting ended Tuesday, but McAllen citizens will have one final opportunity to vote for their next mayor and commissioners on Election Day Saturday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voters must cast a ballot in their designated district which can be found on the MAllen website by scrolling down to the “Popular Links” tab and clicking on the “City Maps (GIS)” link. Once there, scrolling down to the maps gallery, a link to the “Election Poll Places” link can be found on the first set of maps.
It can also be found directly at this link: https://mcallen.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=ce32434058184916b583ffa5066b9a9d.
