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EDINBURG — It’s never too early to ask the community for its support at the ballot box. That’s what spurred Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. to announce his bid for reelection a year-and-a-half ahead of the city’s next municipal election.
“First of all, I’m very grateful for all the support that the community has provided me and I wanted to make sure that I made my intentions clear to all the residents and community — there’s a lot happening in our community,” Garza said.
“I wanted to make sure that our community knew that I am fully committed to run for reelection, even though it’s not until next year,” he said.
The mayor and former Edinburg city manager made the announcement during a dinner with campaign supporters late last week.
There, he told residents he’s proud of the work he and the rest of the Edinburg City Council have been able to accomplish thus far in his tenure as mayor, but that there’s still more work to be done.
“Our economy has never been stronger. All our economic indicators — from our sales tax to construction activity — it’s just been historic increases,” Garza said Thursday evening, shortly after wrapping up an event celebrating the city’s fourth recognition as an “All-America City.”
And that, too, is something Garza is proud of.
“It’s really a testament to all the work that a lot of residents are doing,” Garza said.
“It’s a designation for our whole city, for all our residents — each and every one of them — all our city employees, for all the work that they’re doing. I’m just very, very proud of that,” he said.
The mayor also pointed to several other ongoing city initiatives, including the Edinburg 2040 program, which calls for city leaders to work in conjunction with residents on a series of committees to guide Edinburg’s future growth.
Through Edinburg 2040, city leaders have sought — and continue to work on — input regarding public safety, art and culture, parks and other public spaces, economic development, and more.
“This Edinburg 2040 program, I think, has been really, really effective. It’s brought our residents together to help us plan alongside for the future,” Garza said.
But it’s not just planning for tomorrow. The mayor also touted massive strides Edinburg has taken toward addressing the city’s needs today.
“We have over $90 million worth of improvements happening throughout our city with over 45 projects,” Garza said.
The city is also on tap to begin carrying out a massive overhaul of its water and wastewater systems — one that will take several years and cost an estimated $260 million via some 87 different projects.
“The work just continues. There’s so much to do to make sure that we’re keeping our city up-to-date and I’m looking forward to continuing to serve with the community’s support,” Garza said.
Garza was first elected mayor in 2021, defeating incumbent Richard Molina by 467 votes in a runoff that December.
At the time, the Molina campaign was under a cloud as the then-mayor fought off criminal allegations of election fraud and ballot harvesting.
Molina was acquitted on all charges in 2022.
Since then, other city officials have come under scrutiny for potentially unethical behavior.
Last July, then-Place 3 Councilman Johnny Garcia faced an ethics probe after he intervened in the late-night arrest of a young man he referred to as a “family friend.”
Four months later, Garcia lost his own reelection bid.
More recently, a judge overturned the election win of Place 4 Councilman David White, who initially defeated challenger Gerardo “Gerry” Lozano by just 10 votes.
The judge disqualified 26 votes in the tight race. He further found that more than a dozen voters had illegally received assistance and/or were unlawfully told who to vote for.
As a result, the judge declared Lozano the true winner; however, the election contest is on its way toward an appeal.
Asked how such incidents could prompt concerns from Edinburg residents about the integrity of their public officials, Garza responded that the city has taken steps to ensure better public accountability — and that that’s precisely what prompted his initial run for mayor in 2021.
“I appreciate that question because it allows me to expand on something that I ran on, and that was to bring back trust to our city,” Garza said.
The mayor pointed to a code of ethics for public officials that the council approved and implemented shortly after he took office.
It was under that code that Garcia was internally investigated.
Garza also pointed to other changes, including how the council takes a moment at the start of each meeting to publicly declare any potential conflicts of interest they may have with the matters that will be deliberated upon.
Further, Garza re-implemented a practice that occurs behind closed doors — recording the council’s executive session discussions.
“That previously had been discontinued. There was no recordings of the executive closed session and one of the first actions I took was to make sure that we started recording those again,” he said.
State law dictates that such discussions are almost never subject to public disclosure, unless court ordered under a very narrow set of exceptions.
“We’re continuing to make sure that we have in place the things to have that trust back,” Garza said of the accountability measures he has spearheaded.
Ultimately, the mayor wants one more opportunity to continue serving the city that has been his home for more than two decades.
“I can only run for one more term because we’re term limited and so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support, but to then again ask them for their support once again so that I can represent our city for four more years,” Garza said.
But those term limits may soon change. Edinburg is currently in the process of considering a charter amendment election. One of the 13 propositions put forth thus far would extend term limits from two four-year terms, to three.
Garza is on record opposing extending the term limits; however, if the voters approve the change, it’s something he said he would consider.
“I am obviously not in favor of that … I’d like to stand by that, but should it go to the voters and it pass, it’s something to think about,” he said.
