Mission mayoral race heads to runoff

Mission Councilmember Norie Gonzalez Garza and current Mayor Armando O’Caña will be heading into a runoff election in the race to be the city’s mayor for the next four years.

With 86% of precincts reporting, Gonzalez Garza outperformed the other three candidates in the race, receiving 37% of the votes, or 2,779 votes, while O’Caña came in second with 33% of the votes, or 2,533 votes, according to unofficial numbers from the Hidalgo County Elections department.

Since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, the top two vote-getters will have to face off in a runoff election.

O’Caña said the need for the runoff was unexpected, but said his team would regroup on Sunday.

While he expects to do things a little bit differently in the lead up to the runoff, O’Caña said he would not be throwing out his strategy entirely to start from scratch.

“We’re just going to move forward in faith and under the vision of God and God’s will,” he said.

Former Mayor Nortberto “Beto” Salinas, who previously served as mayor for 20 years until he was unseated by O’Caña in 2018, also ran this year but came in third place with 28% of the votes, or 2,108 votes.

Salinas’ performance was underwhelming considering he vastly outspent the other candidates. He reported spending $158,382 throughout the campaign, while Gonzalez spent $61,971 and O’Caña spent $57,559.

Victor Anzaldua, a political newcomer, came in fourth with 2% of the votes, or 154 votes. He reported spending just $1,584 throughout his campaign.

Mission City Councilmember Jessica Ortega will also likely head into a runoff, earning 43% of the votes with 86% of precincts reporting.

She will be facing off against Moises “Moy” Iglesias who received 38% of the votes.

Noel Salinas, a healthcare administrator, came in third with 19% of the votes in Saturday’s race.

Ortega, a life skills coach at Juarez-Lincoln High School and current mayor pro-tem, previously said that with another four years in office, she hopes to be able to see ongoing projects, such as drainage improvements, to their completion.

Iglesias said his priorities would include drainage improvements, as well as implementing enough parks and workout areas for residents.

In the Place 3 race, former Mission City Attorney Abiel Flores received 64% of the votes, or 4,393 votes, placing him on top of the other two candidates — Javier “Javy” Ramon, a retired Mission police officer, and Joe Vargas, co-owner of TLC Pharmacy and Medical Equipment.

Ramon received 35% of the votes, while Vargas, who ran as a write-in candidate, received less than 1%..

By being elected to the Place 3 seat, Flores will be replacing Gonzalez Garza on the council after she resigned to run for mayor.

Flores previously said his top priorities, if elected, would be to review the city’s spending in an effort to be more fiscally responsible.

All results are unofficial until certified.

RESULTS: May 7, 2022 election tallies for RGV cities, schools