By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Incumbent Mayor Al Arreola will face one of his predecessors, former Mayor and former Val Verde County Judge Efrain V. Valdez, in the May 26 runoff for the office of Del Rio Mayor.
Val Verde County Clerk Teresa Esther Chapoy, who administered the city election, today confirmed only one additional ballot was received by her office by 5 p.m. Monday.
After the unofficial results of the city election were announced outside the county courthouse Saturday night, Cynthia Reyes, Chapoy’s deputy for elections, said there were still 65 absentee ballots outstanding.
Reyes said all of the outstanding ballots received in the county clerk’s office by 5 p.m. Monday would be counted. If all of those ballots had been received, there was a chance that the third-place vote-getter in the race for mayor, District 2 Councilman Jim DeReus, could have garnered enough of those ballots to make it into the runoff.
Reyes pointed out at the time that there were only 17 votes separating Valdez’s 792 total votes and DeReus’ 775 total votes.
But the single ballot received by the county clerk’s office won’t make up that difference.
Chapoy told The 830 Times this morning, “(The) early voting ballot board will convene May 11. Only one ballot was received. Mr. Arreola and Mr. Valdez go into the City of Del Rio Mayor Runoff!”
Arreola posted an unofficial total of 829 votes in the six-man race for Del Rio Mayor. Valdez had a total of 792 votes, DeReus had a total of 775 votes. The remaining three candidates and the unofficial total of votes they received was as follows: Lazaro “Laz” Castro, 178; Ryan
Horning, 97; and Arturo Rodriguez, 54.
The date of the runoff election is Tuesday, May 26.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
