McAllen voters will have one last opportunity Saturday to vote for who will represent them on the city commission and serve as their next mayor.
District 1 City Commissioner Javier Villalobos and District 6 City Commissioner Veronica Vela Whitacre are facing off in a mayoral runoff election after receiving the most votes during the May general election.
Whoever is elected mayor will succeed current Mayor Jim Darling who announced in December that he would not seek reelection after 43 years of public service, including two terms as mayor.
Three city commissioner races are also set to be decided in today’s runoff elections.
In the race for District 1 commissioner, Lucia “Lucy” Thompson, an attorney and mediator, is running against Tony Aguirre Jr., a business owner and former member of the McAllen Public Utility Board.
Running for District 3 are incumbent Commissioner Omar Quintanilla, senior vice president of Frost Bank, who is running against Thelma Tamez, an entrepreneur and president of La Encantada Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion.
In the special election for District 6 commissioner, Larry Esparza, a former board trustee for the McAllen Independent School District, is running against Pepe Cabeza de Vaca, assistant chief of staff for Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes.
Polls for the runoff election will be open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
>> District 1) Gonzalez Elementary, 201 E. Martin Ave.
>> District 2) Lark Community Center, 2601 Lark Ave.
>> District 3) Achieve Early College High School at Lincoln, 1601 N. 27th St.
>> District 4) Palm View Community Center, 3401 Jordan Ave.
>> District 5) McAllen High School, 2021 La Vista Ave.
>> District 6) Fields Elementary School, 500 Dallas Ave.
