Edinburg council vacancy pits relatives in race

EDINBURG — The city council called a special election for May to replace former Mayor Pro Tem Noe Garza, setting up a race between two relatives from the city’s premier political family.

Edinburg will host the special election on May 12 to replace Garza, the three-term councilman who died in early January after battling cancer. The winner of May’s election will serve the year left on Garza’s term — which was extended an extra year, along with other city offices, by voters in November — before the Place 2 seat is on the ballot again for a full four-year term.

And although filing for the seat couldn’t open until the special election was called, two members of Edinburg’s Palacios clan have already indicated they intend to seek the vacant seat.

Rene Palacios, 37, an Edinburg elementary school teacher, said his campaign will advocate education as a key to continued economic development and as one of the city’s largest employers. His only known opponent will be J.R. Betancourt, 33, a certified public accountant related to Palacios by marriage who will emphasize fiscal responsibility and pro-business policies.

The race is an apparent first between a family that traditionally self-selects its own before they file for office, but both men running their first political campaign said they felt ready for the possibility of two quick elections.

“We agreed that we’re going to run a clean race and told each other at the end, ‘We’ll come out and shake hands,'” said Palacios, who would consider running again in 2013 regardless of whether he wins the one-year term. “The family has no idea what’s going to happen but, between me and him, that’s exactly where we left this.”

No other Edinburg residents are known candidates for the election that will be held on May 12, the uniform election date for many municipalities and school districts. Garza’s term was originally set to end in May before voters lengthened the city’s elected terms, giving him and other office holders a fourth year.

Palacios and Betancourt both praised the work of Garza, a well-known civil engineer whom Betancourt said “leaves big shoes to fill.”

Betancourt, a product of Edinburg schools and the University of Texas-Pan American, is co-owner of an Edinburg CPA firm. He said working as a self-employed public accountant gives him perspective into the issues facing local businesses, and he wants to continue the city’s efforts to attract downtown development through its revitalization plan.

Betancourt said the city must attract new businesses that generate sales and property tax revenues if it wants to stay competitive.

“Edinburg understands that if we get more business here, it generates more dollars for the city,” he said. “If we can get people and business to move to Edinburg, there are more tax dollars to provide a better quality of life for our residents by using that money for parks and cultural items we don’t have.”

Palacios, who teaches first grade at Cano-Gonzalez Elementary, said the city must have a strong relationship with the school district, its largest single employer and a key reason why people move to Edinburg. He said emphasizing education ensures its students are prepared for college or high-skill jobs, helping attract employers like Santana Textiles, the Brazilian denim manufacturer that is opening its first North American plant in the city.

“Edinburg’s business is top-rated schools that people move her for. We should maintain the excellence of those schools,” Palacios said. “In turn, they’ll hold the key to higher property values and quality of life here in Edinburg.”

With several hundred family members in Edinburg alone, the family is a strong factor in local campaigns, coalescing to help lift several family members into elected office.

Family members include Precinct 4 Commissioner Joseph Palacios, Edinburg Municipal Judge Terry Palacios, school board vice president Sonny Palacios and former Justice of the Peace Mary Alice Palacios.

Rene Palacios and Betancourt are related through state District Court Judge Ricardo Rodriguez, another member of the Palacios family whose sister is married to Betancourt.

Two candidates who lost elections for council seats in May also mulled runs for Garza’s seat.

Gene Espinoza, who served nine years before losing his re-election bid to Homer Jasso Jr., said he briefly considered running to replace Garza but opted against another campaign. J. Chris Treviño, a Precinct 4 administrator who garnered 49 percent of the vote against Councilman Elias Longoria Jr., said he also considered running before deciding to focus on his father’s re-election campaign.

“Both of the two gentlemen who are running are good candidates,” said Treviño, the son of Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño. “Either one will do a good job and serve out the remainder of Noe’s term the way he would want it.”

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Jared Janes covers Hidalgo County government, Edinburg and legislative issues for The Monitor. He can be reached at jjanes@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4424.

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