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Two Mercedes incumbents lost their reelection bids in what one candidate characterized as a race between good and evil.
Place 2 Commissioner Leonel Benavidez and Place 4 Commissioner Jose Gomez — both one-term officials — lost their races to candidates who had garnered the endorsements of local, county and state elected officials.
According to unofficial Hidalgo County early voting results, Benavidez earned just 607 votes to Armando Garcia’s 734, giving the newcomer just under 55% of the votes with 70% of precincts reporting.
Meanwhile, the race for Place 4 saw two candidates throw their names in the hat against Gomez, whose 441 votes accounted for 32% of early vote totals. Dr. Ruben J. Saldaña won 757 votes for 56% of the tally, while Jovana Treviño-Garcia won just over 11% of the vote with 149.
All election results remain unofficial until canvassed by the Mercedes city commission.
“To me, all those people coming together to win this race against two that are trying to do the best for our city, I mean, it’s a big, big crowd for us to defeat,” Gomez said of his and Benavidez’s election loss.
“I, point blank, I see it as good against evil. Period. … I see it as an evil move. And I’m not going to water it down because, if you look at all the people that were helping, and the way our city has been going, that’s where it’s headed. But, I am not part of it anymore,” Gomez said.
Benavidez shared similar sentiments.
“They want more control. They want people that will agree with them on everything, and I believe that’s what they got,” Benavidez said, referring to the commission majority.
“They had to really come together, a lot of former elected officials. They pulled a fast one, I’ll say, on a lot of folks here,” he added a moment later.
The two commissioners — who over the last three years often found themselves in the minority on issues from taking on public debt, to raising property taxes, to contract hiring decisions — were referring to the bevy of public endorsements earned by the political newcomers who unseated them Saturday.
Both Saldaña and Garcia were endorsed by current and former members of the Mercedes commission, including Mayor Oscar Montoya, former mayor Henry Hinojosa, and former commissioners Leandro “Leo” Villarreal and Ruben “Chano” Guajardo.
The pair also nabbed endorsements from Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner David Fuentes and state Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez.
Three years ago, Benavidez and Gomez ran on platforms pledging to increase fiscal transparency and public accountability. And since their 2019 election wins, the pair have gotten into multiple disagreements with both the previous and current mayor and commissioners.
Meeting discussions have often turned acerbic — including name-calling, raised voices, and threats to have the two commissioners removed from meetings.
Both commissioners have also had to endure formal attempts to remove them from office, though both attempts failed after public outcry.
But for the two men who won Saturday night, those caustic meetings are precisely what helped them unseat the incumbents.
“Oh, absolutely, absolutely it did,” said Saldaña, who defeated Gomez.
“But, what I think probably played an equal role, or probably a greater role.. is that they (the public) see that there’s something, there’s some hope and there’s some investment that can be made in the sort of priorities that we have, as well,” he said.
Saldaña added that the voters made it clear they wanted “something to look forward to.” It was a sentiment Garcia echoed when speaking of his win over Benavidez.
“The people actually came out and their votes spoke for themselves. They were tired, they wanted change and they came out and they voted,” Garcia said.
Both Benavidez and Gomez said they will continue to advocate for Mercedes residents by continuing to attend public meetings. Benavidez, who regularly attended meetings for several years before making his first run for office, said he will likely try to run again in the next election. Meanwhile, Gomez said this race was his last.
Benavidez said he is also considering requesting a recount.
Meanwhile, the incumbents in two other cities fared well in their races.
In Elsa, Mayor Alonzo “Al” Perez and Place 1 Councilman Carlos “Cory” Sanchez both won their races handily.
The race for mayor drew two challengers against the mayor, including Esiquiel “Zeke” Avila and Mingo Rodriguez.
Perez won more than 71% of the vote with 708 votes to Rodriguez’s 173 and Avila’s 108.
The race for Place 1 also drew two challengers to the incumbent — Melissa Salinas and Jose Pepe Martinez. But Sanchez prevailed with his 658 votes, accounting for just over 67% of the ballots cast.
Martinez and Salinas both won 162 votes, or 16.5% of the votes with all precincts reporting, county records show.
And in Progreso Lakes, Mayor Harold Seiver cruised to a reelection victory with more than 80% of the election totals, while two incumbents challenged each other for the position of “alderman.”
In that race, David Martin defeated Wyman Birdwell with nearly 60% of the vote to Birdwell’s 40%.
RESULTS: May 7, 2022 election tallies for RGV cities, schools
