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Twelve candidates including four incumbents and four former board members have received their ballot positions and are running for the Brownsville Independent School District Board of Trustees in the Nov. 5 general election.
The BISD election will be held alongside the highly anticipated U.S. presidential election, in which Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to repudiate Republican former president Donald J. Trump’s attempt to return to the White House.
Voters will decide four seats on the BISD board. The drawing for ballot positions took place Monday among a mostly familiar group of candidates. BISD trustees serve in at-large positions, and all voters within BISD boundaries are eligible to cast a ballot.
Board President Jessica G. Gonzalez is seeking a second term as the Position 3 trustee. Her challenger is Victor M. Caballero, a former teacher and elementary school principal. Gonzalez is a BISD parent and longtime school volunteer.
Board Vice President Daniella Lopez Valdez, the Position 5 trustee, also is seeking a second term. She has two challengers: Cata Presas, who served on the board starting in 2008, including a term as board president, and Nelda Rocha, a newcomer.
For Position 6, the two candidates are Marisa Franco Leal and Minerva M. Pena. Their 2020 race was decided by one vote and resulted in a recount. Pena won the recount and served until a Texas Supreme Court decision prompted a special election in May, which Leal won, making her the incumbent in the race.
Four candidates are running for Position 7.
By ballot position they are: former trustee and blogger Erasmo Castro, who resigned his BISD seat in early 2020 following his DWI arrest; Tim Ramirez, who served as the interim trustee from February to May while the Leal-Pena dispute was being decided; Farley Trevino, and Augustine (Augie) Anduiza.
Trustee Eddie Garcia is the Position 7 incumbent, but he filed paperwork terminating his designation of a campaign treasurer and stating that he does not intend to accept any campaign contributions or make any campaign expenditures.
In the March primaries, Garcia won the Democratic Party’s nomination for Cameron County Assessor-Collector, edging out Antonio “Tony” Yzaguirre, Jr., the longtime incumbent.
Many BISD campuses are also polling places. In recent elections, the district has closed the campuses on Election Day except for voting.
