Two seats on the Mercedes City Commission are up for election on Saturday. The one-term incumbents seeking reelection say they have unfinished business, meanwhile, their challengers say it’s time for some new perspectives.
Leonel Benavidez is seeking reelection to Place 2 on the commission, while Jose Gomez, 70, is seeking reelection to Place 4. The two men have often sided together on issues, and have served as the minority voice on the commission since their election in 2019.
“The choice to run for reelection is that I see troubling times ahead… and I didn’t see no one to challenge and take the city in the right direction,” Gomez said when asked why he chose to run again.
Gomez added this would be his last race.
“I’ve experienced, in my three years of office, that there is a need for honest work, you know, honest service when it comes to making those big decisions,” Benavidez said in response to the same question.
The two commissioners have positioned themselves as skeptics, saying they want the city to be more transparent in its decision-making and finances.
But their question-asking has often led to contentious public meetings with bitter back-and-forths between themselves and the majority faction on the commission, sparking verbal tiffs with the mayor, city attorney and others.
And it’s those public squabbles that have, in part, prompted at least one of their challengers to run against them.
Dr. Ruben J. Saldaña, 55, who serves as district administrator with the Texas AgriLife Extension program, referred to the current state of the commission as “not a good climate.”
Saldaña is running against Gomez for Place 4 on the commission.
“Our current commission is very popular with the news media when it comes to bad news,” Saldaña said. “I want that to stop. I want the news media to be able to come and cover some good things that are happening.
“We need a little bit more good faith, I think, cooperation, more teamwork, more trust, more respect, more professionalism. I think that’s been lacking. I think the community is tired of it — I know I am,” Saldaña said.
Saldaña has racked up a bevy of endorsements from other public officials, including state Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes, as well as former Mercedes mayors and city commissioners.
But he’s not the only person challenging incumbent Gomez.
Jovana Treviño-Garcia, 40, is also seeking to unseat the commissioner.
“I’ve been in Mercedes all my life. … I haven’t seen a change. Mercedes has been the same and I would like to see Mercedes just blossom,” Treviño-Garcia said.
A clerk with Mercedes ISD with no prior public service experience, Treviño-Garcia said that shouldn’t be something to take her out of consideration.
“I am coming in on a blank slate. I don’t have the experience and I’m not gonna lie that I do… (but) we have had several people with experience and it still seems with the experience, we’re kind of stuck,” she said.
“I think the biggest part is working together. We need that unity. There is a lot of separation. I don’t know where it comes from or who it comes from,” Treviño-Garcia said.
Meanwhile, Benavidez is facing just one challenger for Place 2.
That person is Armando Garcia, 38, a licensed insurance agent.
Garcia has significant involvement with the city through his current service as the chair of Keep Mercedes Beautiful, and as vice president of the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce.
Like the other newcomers, Garcia said the current atmosphere on the commission prompted him to make a run for office. He said he would use his experience as a baseball and softball umpire to help mediate disagreements.
“I would put myself in the middle to kind of work together to bring a solution and not a problem so we can work together as a commission instead of divided,” Garcia said.
All three first-time candidates also said they want to focus on improving the city’s infrastructure, including long-standing issues with Mercedes’ drainage and water and wastewater systems.
Infrastructure improvements are a top priority for Gomez and Benavidez, as well.
But for Gomez, at least, he hopes to be able to do that without passing the cost onto the taxpayer.
Last fall, both he and Benavidez voted against raising the city’s property tax rate, and water and sewer rates. They also voted against taking on $8 million in loans via certificates of obligation.
Gomez said he voted against the measures because the funds were not “project-specific,” but instead put into the city’s general fund at large.
Both men are also concerned about litigation that remains pending against former city attorney Juan Molina.
Mercedes is currently embroiled in three civil suits against Molina accusing him of fraud regarding his handling of two land deals, as well as years’ worth of city records.
The suits have mired Molina, the city’s economic development corporation, and others. But Gomez and Benavidez fear that the majority on the commission want to drop the suits.
“The big one is that the mayor has mentioned that he wants to drop the lawsuit,” Gomez said. “I will not allow him to do that because those properties belong to the taxpayers.”
The uncertain fate of the lawsuits is just part of why Benavidez said public officials need to be honest.
“We need to be honest with the work that we’re doing, with those decisions we’re making. And yes there is a concern because there have been… a few occasions when we hear things that aren’t true in making these decisions,” Benavidez said.
“It’s just unacceptable. It’s very toxic and (they) carry some very serious consequences if we’re not making decisions in an honest fashion,” he said.
Early voting ends Tuesday. Election Day is Saturday.
