Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A sitting member of the city council and two former city council members have filed for places on the May city election ballot.
Wednesday was the first day to file applications for a place on the city council election ballot. The deadline to file is 5 p.m. on Feb. 18.
The city council election is May 7, and there are four council positions on the ballot, including Mayor, At-Large, Place C; District I and District II.
Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus, who serves as the District II representative on the Del Rio City Council was the first person to file his application for a place on the May 7 ballot. DeReus filed his application with City Secretary Mari Acosta at 8:13 a.m. Wednesday.
A former city council member also filed on Wednesday.
Elizabeth “Liz” Elizalde filed her application for election to the At-Large, Place C, seat on the city council at 4:59 p.m. Wednesday. Elizalde is a licensed nursing home administrator/executive director and formerly served on the council.
The 830 Times joined Acosta for the first hour of the first day of filing, from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Wednesday.
DeReus arrived a few minutes after 8 a.m.
DeReus, a retired Air Force pilot who currently works as a T-6 simulator instructor at Laughlin Air Force Base, has served on the council since 2018.
The third person to file was Alvaro “Al” Arreola, who submitted his application to run for mayor Friday.
Arreola is the manager of Zales jewelry store in the Plaza Del Sol Mall and has formerly served on the city council. He is currently a member of the Val Verde Regional Medical Center’s board of trustees, serving as secretary and the Precinct 3 representative.
Arreola filed his application at 10:28 a.m. Friday.
An informational packet for prospective candidates is available on the city’s web site.
Applications can be dropped off at the city secretary’s office inside City Hall, 106 W. Broadway St.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
