LA FERIA — Soon after City Commissioner Eric Hoff stepped down from office, Devin Martinez saw it as a cue to run.
Martinez, 26, said he wanted to get involved with helping the city, and now he has that chance.
“I am very excited with the support system who has been helping me,” Martinez said. “I met a lot of people and shook a lot of hands.”
He defeated Alma Martinez-Botello in the race for Place 2 in Tuesday’s elections. He picked up 950 votes to her 685.
“It’s going to be a lot of work but its going to be very worth it in the end,” Martinez said about joining the commission in an earlier interview.
He is a high school chemistry teacher in the Los Fresnos school district.
“I was raised here in La Feria, and I am very excited for this opportunity,” he said.
He recalled months had passed after he asked his uncle and former mayor Victor Gonzalez if there was any help needed in the city.
And when Hoff left, he knew it was his time, he said.
Hoff left office to focus on family after the recent loss of his son. He also said his family has plans to move out of the city.
“My uncle called me and asked me if I would run for the open city commissioner seat,” Martinez said.
And he didn’t hesitate.
