Tuesday is the last day to vote early in the runoff elections for the cities of Mission and Palmview, which will each decide who will be their next mayor.
A total of 5,068 people voted during the first five days of the early voting period as part of the runoff elections.
In the Mission election, Mayor Armando O’Cana is running for a second term in office in large part to see the city’s ongoing projects to completion.
“We’re having continuous progress and I want to continue the progress through the next four years so I’ll be able to finish the projects, as many as I can,” O’Cana previously said in an interview.
If given another term, he said his three priorities would be public safety, drainage, and economic development.
He is facing off against former Mission City Councilmember Norie Gonzalez Garza who resigned from the council to run for mayor. She previously said she believes the city needs a new perspective and to be taken in a different direction.
“I feel that we’re not doing enough for our residents,” she previously said in an interview. “I think that there’s a lot of room for improvement in, basically, your quality of life situations.”
Mission voters are also deciding who will be their place 1 councilmember.
Current Place 1 Councilmember Jessica Ortega is running for reelection in the runoff against Moises “Moy” Iglesias.
Ortega, a life skills coach at Juarez-Lincoln High School and the current mayor pro-tem, has said that with another four years in office, she hopes to be able to oversee the continuation of projects that are currently underway, including drainage projects.
Iglesias, a retired military veteran, said that if elected, he would prioritize drainage improvements and implement enough parks and recreational areas for residents.
In the runoff for the city of Palmview, former City Councilmember Linda Sarabia is challenging Mayor Rick Villarreal, who is running for a second term.
Throughout his campaign, Villarreal has said he would seek more funding for law enforcement and would aim to expand the city’s budget to increase growth.
Upon filing to run for reelection, he said that, if elected, he would dedicate his time to serve with “fiscal responsibility and transparency.”
Sarabia has campaigned on fixing the city’s streets, eliminating “compadrismo” and stopping unnecessary spending, completing the city library project and the Main Street development project, and re-establishing town hall meetings.
She’s also listed providing adequate lighting to annexed areas, minimizing meetings held in executive session — or behind closed doors — as permitted by law, restoring financial transparency, and increasing the pay and benefits of staff to improve retention as her goals.
On Tuesday, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the last day of early voting.
Election day is Saturday.
