Former Edinburg City Manager Ramiro Garza Jr. emerged this week as another candidate for mayor in the city’s upcoming November elections.
“Having served the City in many different capacities previously plus my business experience, I believe I have the ability to lead Edinburg in a new and prosperous direction,” Garza said in a statement issued Friday.
“I am committed to building the community-wide support necessary to unify Edinburg and build public trust,” he continued. “This office belongs to the residents of Edinburg and the residents deserve to have a leader with experience that will listen and work tirelessly to help improve the quality of life in Edinburg.”
Garza, who also previously served as the executive director of the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation, listed transparency and accountability; jobs for economic prosperity; infrastructure and drainage; affordable housing; and collaboration and partnerships as his priorities.
He also added that he wished to see more engagement from residents when it came to planning for the city’s future.
“We need to work on a 2040 vision with a framework that aims to identify goals that positions Edinburg for success, now and through 2040,” Garza said.
“With the growing demands of the community, it is important to maximize resources available to improve the quality of life for our residents,” he added, expressing an intent to collaborate with governments at every level to leverage resources for the community.
Garza reiterated his privatization of transparency and accountability, pledging not to accept campaign contributions from vendors who provide “a direct service” to the city.
“I am focused on transparency and accountability in everything we do,” he said. “This begins with holding our office holders accountable.”
Garza is at least the second declared candidate for mayor, joining city Councilman Gilbert Enriquez who announced his bid for the office in early February.
“What our city needs is a mayor who is going to continuously do what is best for Edinburg residents,” Enriquez said in the statement announcing his candidacy. “I am deliberate in my decisions and I evaluate all sides of a situation in order to make an educated choice. There is no place for personal interest in city politics.”
Current Mayor Richard Molina, who is still under indictment on felony voter fraud charges, has remained quiet about his political future, having yet to publicly state whether or not he would be seeking reelection in November.
He did not return a call seeking comment on Saturday.
While the city elections are still months away, it remains unclear when Molina will have his day in court on those allegations.
A previous trial date set for June 2020 was canceled over safety concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a new date has currently not been set.
One person who will not be appearing on the ballot is former Edinburg Mayor Richard Garcia who lost his reelection bid to Molina in 2017.
In a video posted to social media on Feb. 14, Garcia announced he had decided against another run at leading the city.
“After having prayed hard about my decision as to whether to run or not for the upcoming mayor’s race in November, I am very happy with the extra time that I have for my family, for my close friends, for my law practice,” Garcia said.
“Having considered all of those things and what is happening in our world today, I have made a decision in all fairness to everyone concerned, and that decision is that I will not be a part of the mayor’s race, upcoming, as a candidate,” he said.
Election Day is November 2.
