By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
The six-man race for mayor of Del Rio was whittled down to three candidates following Saturday’s election, and Del Rio voters will send three new members to the city council.
Al Arreola, the incumbent, was the top vote-getter in the race for Del Rio mayor, posting an unofficial total of 829 votes, as announced by Val Verde County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy outside the county courthouse following Saturday’s voting.
Former Val Verde County Judge and Del Rio Mayor Efrain V. Valdez had the second-highest number of votes, with an unofficial total of 792 votes, and Mayor Pro-tem James “Jim” DeReus, who currently serves as the District 2 city council representative, came in third with an unofficial total of 775 votes.
Cynthia Reyes, a member of the county clerk’s staff, explained Arreola will be one of two candidates in the runoff for mayor. She said there are still some 65 city absentee ballots outstanding, and those ballots will decide whether Valdez or DeReus will face Arreola in the runoff election.
Unofficial totals for the other three candidates for mayor were announced as follows: Lazaro “Laz” Castro, 178; Ryan Horning, 97; and Arturo Rodriguez, 54.
The remaining three races for city council seats were decided Saturday.
Business owner LeRoy Briones defeated Alexandra Falcon Calderon and Ernestina “Tina” Martinez for the Councilperson At-Large, Place C, seat on the city council.
Briones had an unofficial total of 1,453 votes, with Calderon receiving an unofficial total of 665 votes, and Martinez, the incumbent, receiving an unofficial total of 563 votes.
In the race for Councilperson District 1, former city administrator Elsa Reyes received an unofficial total of 473 votes, with Jorge “George” Vargas receiving an unofficial total of 317 votes.
In the race for Councilperson District 2, city facilities director Leno Hernandez Jr. received an unofficial total of 832 votes, with David Scarbo receiving an unofficial total of 416 votes.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
