Runoff election starts in San Juan

Early voting kicked off Tuesday for the city of San Juan runoff elections.

A total of 482 ballots were cast in three runoff elections, with 441 ballots cast in person at the San Juan Memorial Library, located at 1010 S. Standard St., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and 41 ballots mailed in.

Early voting will continue Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day until Saturday. Early voting will resume again next Monday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and finish on Tuesday with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The runoff elections come after the results in the May 1 city elections yielded no candidates with more than 50% of the vote.

Mayor Mario Garza faces former Place 3 Commissioner Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez. Garza initially received a total of 1,152 votes, while his challenger Jesus “Jesse” Ramirez received 782 votes. Former Commissioner Pete Garcia received a total of 646 votes.

R.C. Flores faces Place 2 incumbent Ernesto “Neto” Guajardo in the runoff election. Flores had a total of 994 votes, while the commissioner had a total of 968 votes. Laura Martinez received 617 votes.

Ramirez’s former seat on the city commission saw Nickie Ybarra, Adina “Dina” Santillan and Eddie Alaniz vying for the Place 3 spot. Ybarra led the race with 992 votes to Santillan’s 858 votes and Alaniz’s 712 votes.

Election Day is Saturday, June 12, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters will be able to vote at two locations on Election Day — San Juan Fire Station No. 2, located at 2301 N. Raul Longoria Road, and the San Juan Memorial Library.