Early voting in the McAllen special election for city commissioner District 4 wrapped up Tuesday with limited turnout ahead of Election Day on Saturday.
A total of 439 McAllen citizens voted during the early voting period which began on Jan. 5 and ended Tuesday.
The special election is being held to replace current City Commissioner Tania Ramirez who resigned to run for county judge, though she is serving as a holdover until a new commissioner is elected.
Three candidates are running to represent District 4 on the city commission — Rodolfo “Rudy” Castillo, Pablo D. Garcia and Javier Salazar.
As part of their campaign efforts, they have voiced their concerns and priorities for the district which lies on the south side of McAllen.
For Salazar, a realtor, the two main concerns are security in the area and drainage.
“In our district, we have so many speeding cars endangering the lives of the people,” Salazar said Thursday regarding his concerns over security. “We have cars that are just driving with loud mufflers at all hours of the night, 3-4 in the morning, just disturbing the peace.”
To curb criminal activity, he favors establishing a police substation in District 4, installing cameras and speed bumps, and hiring more police officers.
“I really believe we need 24-hour police presence,” Salazar said. “If they know it’s such a high crime area, why don’t we have 24-hour police presence? Why aren’t we hiring more police officers? Why isn’t there a police station in south McAllen?”
While the district has had plenty of commercial development with the mall and the convention center located there, Salazar said the city hasn’t invested enough toward the community there.
“We need to start allocating and paying more attention towards the community structure that directly affects the community,” he said. “We’ve done enough for the business community … but we have to start concentrating on the people.”
Castillo, a business owner, also lists security and drainage as his main priorities for the district as well as improvements to street lighting, and the creation of more parks.
He also mentioned vehicles often speeding in the area which he wants to stop.
“I want people to feel comfortable, their kids can’t even be on the bicycle on the street,” Castillo said Thursday, noting that he doesn’t see many children playing outside.
“Maybe the new technology, sometimes you see more (kids) on the phone but we, as parents, we have to encourage our kids to go outside and play and be healthier,” he said.
Garcia, board treasurer for the Camara de Comercio Internacional or the International Chamber of Commerce, also said during a candidate forum that he wanted to invest in parks and other recreational facilities for families in the district. Like the other two candidates, he also wanted to investment in improvements to the drainage system.
He’s also expressed support for greater police and fire prevention presence in the area as well as promoting economic activity.
“We are one of the districts that contributes the most to the municipal budget and it is time for those resources to be returned to our residents in better infrastructure and services,” he said in campaign materials.
During that candidate forum, Salazar, Castillo and Garcia also agreed on their opposition to raising property taxes for their residents.
Voters will have the opportunity to elect one of the three candidates Election Day which is on Saturday. Only one polling location will be available that day which will be at the Palmview Community Center at 3401 Jordan Ave.
The polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
