La Joya vote scheduled for March 25

The La Joya school district’s new school board election is scheduled for March 25.

The rematch election initially had been scheduled to take place todaybut was delayed by an appeal in the case.

La Joya’s original election in May 2007 was overturned in October by Judge Fred Hinojosa, a substitute judge in the 275th state District Court. The losing candidates alleged malfeasance and mistakes by election judges at a Palmview polling place.

Hinojosa consulted earlier this week with Hidalgo County elections administrator Teresa Navarro in picking an appropriate date for the new vote.

Early voting has been scheduled for March 17-19. The county will oversee polling at E.B. Reyna Elementary in Palmview, the La Joya Performing Arts Center in La Joya and Fordyce Elementary in Sullivan City.

Esperanza “Espie” Ochoa and Arturo Gonzalez, winners in the original May election, have remained on the school board while fighting the election challenge. But both will have to wage a second campaign for their seats against Elma Garza and Domingo “Mingo” Villarreal, who lost in the May election and sued to overturn those results.

Ochoa said Friday that she believed the May election was valid, and that the 13th Court of Appeals did not take the evidence into consideration when it affirmed Hinojosa’s verdict last week.

“It’s just been so disheartening,” she said. “I never knew that politics was going to be so dirty.”

Her attorney, Adam Poncio, said he is planning to file an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court on Monday. Opposing attorney Oscar Longoria has argued that the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction to hear the case because there has been no other case decided on an election challenge that could be used to show that the appeals court did not follow established precedent.

____

Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4472.