By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Three incumbents on the Val Verde County Commissioners Court posted decisive victories over their challengers in Tuesday’s Democratic Party Primary Election.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr., County Commissioner Precinct 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez and County Commissioner Precinct 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores defeated challengers for the Democratic Party nominations to their respective offices.
Owens won his contest by 859 votes, drawing 1,998 total votes over the 1,139 votes cast for his challenger, former Del Rio Mayor Bruno J. Lozano.
Minutes after the election results were announced, Owens, who waited outside the county courthouse with his wife, Sylvia Owens, and several members of his election team, told The 830 Times, “It was a hard-fought race, and we are happy with the results. Thank you to everyone who came out to vote. We will now start working for the November election. Love y’all.”
Vazquez won by 162 votes, with 391 total votes to the 229 votes cast for his challenger, hospital staffer Rose Castro.
After the results were announced, Vazquez said, “I’m super excited. I want to thank all of my supporters. I also wanted to thank the people that didn’t support me; they listened, and everyone made a choice. I’m looking forward to keeping Precinct 2, Del Rio and Val Verde County moving forward. I’m here for the people, so I’m really excited.”
Flores posted a victory as well, defeating former Val Verde County Clerk Generosa “Janie” Ramon. Flores won by 180 votes, with a total of 564 votes to Ramon’s 384.
In the fourth contested race in the local Democratic Party Primary, Loida S. Arellano, a funeral director, defeated Juan Roberto Martinez, a sales manager at Harbor Freight Tools, for the Democratic Party nomination for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3.
Arellano received 437 votes to Martinez’s 329.
Each of the four who won Democratic Party nominations for the local offices will face a Republican Party challenger in the November General Election.
Owens will face former Val Verde County Commissioner Precinct 3 Robert Beau Nettleton, and Vazquez will face Rey Robles, who listed his occupation as retired. Flores will face schoolteacher John I. Wardlaw, and Arellano will face Ashly Vicuna, the chief deputy for Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 Pat Cole.
The Democratic Party Primary Election also had a race for the position of Val Verde County Democratic Party chair. The sitting chair, Rose Hernandez, defeated challenger Abril Hernandez. Rose Hernandez had a total of 1,837 votes to the 821 total votes cast for Abril Hernandez.
Many of the contestants waited outside the Val Verde County Courthouse after the polls closed at 7 p.m.
Rose Hernandez, Val Verde County Democratic Party chair; Sharon Pettit, the Val Verde County Republican Party chair; County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy; and Cynthia Reyes, Chapoy’s elections clerk, emerged from the courthouse to announce the results about 9:45 p.m.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
