Monday marked the beginning of the final stretch of the Edinburg city elections which will determine whether Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina will serve another four years or whether former City Manager Ramiro Garza will take the helm.
Early voting in the city’s elections began Monday morning and will run through Dec. 10.
Molina and Garza are facing off in the mayoral race after they were the top two vote-getters in the Nov. 2 general election. However, neither of the mayoral candidates or those running for the other council positions, received more than 50% of the votes, necessitating a runoff election for all the city’s races.
Garza came in first with 3,499 votes in the general election while Molina received 3,462 votes.
Running in the runoff election for Place 1 councilmember are Dan Diaz, the owner of an emergency medical services company and a registered nurse with South Texas Health Systems, and Ismael “Smiley” Martinez, the owner of an insurance company.
In the general election, Diaz received the most votes with 2,327 votes while Martinez came in second with 2,236 votes.
Seeking the Place 2 councilmember post are Ruben “Bubba” Palacios, owner of First Choice Insurance in Edinburg, and Jason De Leon, a loan officer at Willow Bend Mortgage and funeral director of Memorial Funeral Home.
Palacios received 3,109 votes while De Leon received 2,376 votes in the general election.
Edinburg citizens who wish to cast their vote in the runoff can stop by one of two polling locations during early voting:
- Election Annex Building, Warehouse Room, at 317 N. Closner Blvd., Edinburg
- UTRGV, STAC Lounge, at 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg
During the early voting period, polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. except on Dec. 5 when they are open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Election Day is on Dec. 14. The same two voting locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as well as an additional polling location:
- Edinburg Parks and Recreation Wellness Center, Game Room, at 315 E. Palm Dr., Edinburg
More information can be found at the Hidalgo County elections website at www.hidalgocounty.us/elections.
