By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Seven Del Rioans have filed applications for places on the May 4 city election ballot.
Del Rio voters will elect three of the seven candidates to serve on the Del Rio City Council.
The three seats up for election include Councilperson-At-Large, Place A; Councilperson-At-Large, Place B; and Councilperson, District III.
Filing for the open seats on the city council began Jan. 17 and ended Friday.
All of the three incumbents currently holding the seats have announced they will seek re-election.
Councilman J.P. Sanchez, currently serving in the Councilperson-At-Large, Place B, seat on the council, is the only one of the three incumbents who did not draw an opponent in the May 4 city election. Sanchez is a general contractor who owns and operates JP Sanchez Construction in Del Rio.
Councilman Steven T. Webb, who is also mayor pro-tem of the council, is currently serving in the Councilperson-At-Large, Place A, seat on the council.
Webb, a retired Del Rio Police Department officer, has drawn three challengers for his seat.
The challengers are Elsa Reyes, Carmen Gutierrez and Arturo Rodriguez.
Reyes, who worked for the city as a department director for many years, lists her current occupation on her ballot application as senior operations director.
Gutierrez, who lists her occupation as retired, formerly worked as district representative for U.S. Rep. Will Hurd and was employed as a transportation programs administrator with the Texas Department of Transportation for 30 years.
Rodriguez also lists his occupation as retired. He formerly worked as a U.S. Customs officer and as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Rodriguez earlier this year filed a notice of his intent to seek a place on the ballot as an independent candidate for the office of Val Verde County Commissioner, Precinct 1.
Councilwoman Alexandra Falcon Calderon is the incumbent District III Councilperson. She has owned and operated a small business, Classic Cuts Hair Salon, since 1999. She is also a founding member of the Del Rio Downtown Association.
Calderon has drawn one challenger for her District III seat on the council.
The challenger is Randy Quiñones, whose occupation is listed as security consultant on his application for the city election ballot.
Early voting by personal appearance in the city election begins April 22 and goes through April 30.
The writer can be reached at DelRioMagnoliafan@gmail.com .
