Among the crowded field of candidates running for mayor of McAllen, District 1 City Commissioner Javier Villalobos outraised his four opponents with a total haul of more than $130,000 since last July.
Over the span of two reporting periods, Villalobos brought in approximately $131,400 and spent about $163,917 on political expenditures, according to candidate and officeholder campaign finance reports filed with the city.
From the period of July 1 through Dec. 31, 2020, Villalobos raised $104,350 and spent $94,050. This year, from Jan. 1 through March 31, Villalobos reported $27,050 in total political contributions and $69,867 in total political expenditures. He reported that as of the last day of the reporting period, he retained $44,732 from contributions.
Behind Villalobos was another current commissioner, District 6 Commissioner Veronica Whitacre, who raised more than $85,000 and reported spending about $79,800 since last July.
From July 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, Whitacre received $17,000 in contributions and spent $23,338.93 in political expenditures from July 1, according to the campaign finance reports. During that period, she also loaned her campaign $25,000.
Contributions to her campaign increased significantly after she officially announced her mayoral bid in January, bringing in about $68,069 in political contributions and spending $56,469 from Jan. 4 through March 31. On the last day of the reporting period, Whitacre reported maintaining $47,014 from contributions.
During that same time period, Othal Brand Jr. reported $24,481 in total political contributions and a loan to himself of $25,900. He also reported $42,094 in total political expenditures.
From Jan. 1 through March 31, Michael Fallek raised $62,925 in monetary political contributions and another $26,691 in in-kind contributions. Additionally, he loaned his campaign $50,000. He also reported $95,690 in political expenditures. On the last day of the reporting period, March 31, he reported having $16,604 left of the contributions.
As for Dr. Shahid Rashid, he reported raising $52,220 in political contributions and spending $109,938 from Feb. 3 to March 24. The majority of those expenditures, $79,893, were paid from personal funds while $27,091 of expenditures were made from political contributions.
Early voting begins Monday and runs through April 27. Election Day is Saturday, May 1.
