By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Seferino Gomez III and Javier Calderon were the top vote-getters for two seats on the Val Verde County Hospital District’s elected board of directors.
Unofficial vote totals announced Saturday show Gomez gained the
most votes for the Precinct 3 seat on the board, and Calderon had the most votes for the Precinct 4 seat.
Gomez, a health care administrator, had the most votes in a three-way race for the Precinct 3 seat. He bested Linda Arranaga Freitas, a career nurse and nurse educator, and Ryan Horning, a federal law enforcement agent.
According to unofficial election totals announced outside the county courthouse Saturday night after the polls closed, Gomez garnered a total of 364 votes. Arranaga Freitas had an unofficial total of 183 votes, and Horning had an unofficial total of 142 votes.
Calderon received the most votes in a four-way race for the Precinct 4 seat. He bested Ruben Martinez, a U.S. Army veteran and career nurse; Diego Taylor, a health care administrator; and David Goodson, a property manager who formerly served as a paramedic and firefighter.
According to unofficial vote totals, Calderon received a total of 84 votes. Martinez had an unofficial total of 76 votes; Taylor had an unofficial total of 73 votes; and Goodson had an unofficial total of 55 votes.
After County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy announced the results of the Precinct 3 race, she also noted there are a number of mail-in ballots still outstanding that will be counted after they are received.
After Chapoy announced the unofficial vote totals, cheers and applause erupted from Gomez’s family members, friends and supporters.
Gomez told The 830 Times after the announcement, “I’m happy that I get to continue to serve, and I’m happy that even though we had a low turnout, the voters who did come out, spoke, and so I’m excited to get in there and start looking at, dissecting, the different problems that are going on at our hospital.”
Gomez said he had the blessing of the director who had been serving in the Precinct 3 position, Raul Alatorre, who resigned from the seat to run for a position on Val Verde County Commissioners Court.
“It wasn’t about choosing sides; it was about what was best for the community, and I’m very honored that he supported me in the race. I’m very excited to serve the community,” Gomez added.
Calderon said he briefly visited the courthouse grounds after the polls closed, but left before final results were announced.
The 830 Times reached him by phone Sunday.
A political newcomer, Calderon said he learned he had the top number of votes in the race when friends began calling and texting him.
“I was pretty excited when I found out. I was a little sad because I will have to vacate my position on the EDC (Del Rio Economic Development Corporation board) because we’ve just picked up some momentum there and are starting to do some good things, but for me, personally, being on the hospital board is very important because I am a cancer survivor, and my father passed away from cancer last year, and it was, to me, a little embarrassing that our community cannot offer cancer care for our citizens.
“The fact that you have to travel two-and-a-half hours to San Antonio, get your treatment and come back, all in one day, all while being poisoned, essentially, is just not okay. I would like to see the day where our hospital can at least administer treatments locally so you don’t have to drive back and forth,” Calderon said.
He added he would also like to see the establishment of some type of mental health support for cancer patients and would like to work to improve wait times at the hospital emergency room.
“I was really excited. I put a lot of thought into this. . . I’m hoping to be someone who helps move the hospital in the right direction,” Calderon said.
Unlike members of the Del Rio City Council and the Val Verde County Commissioners Court, members of the hospital district’s board of directors are elected by a plurality vote, meaning that the candidate with the most votes wins.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
