Alamo mayor wins re-election

Tuesday night¡¦s tallies:

ƒÜ> Mayor ¡V incumbent Rudy Villarreal, 1,519; Robert De La Garza, 947; Cruz Alaniz, 47

ƒÜ> Commissioner Place 2 ¡V incumbent Diana Martinez, 1,447; Rick Cano, 1,005

ƒÜ> Commissioner Place 3 ¡V Roel Landa, 1,178; Trinidad Medina, 975; Arturo Perez, 317

ƒÜ> Municipal judge ¡V incumbent Robert Puente, 727; Celia Garcia, 1,029; Noe Garza, 675

ALAMO ¡X In a race between one-time political allies, Alamo Mayor Rudy Villarreal easily won his re-election effort, defeating City Commissioner Robert De La Garza for the city¡¦s top job.

Villarreal, 73, is now set to serve his sixth four-year term as mayor since 1983.

¡§The people answered,¡¨ Villarreal said after learning he won.

¡§They¡¦re satisfied with what they¡¦ve got, and I will not disappoint them.¡¨

Villarreal¡¦s slate mate, City Commissioner Diana Martinez, won re-election to the Place 2 spot on the commission.

But his other ally, businessman Roel Landa ¡X competing against two other candidates ¡X garnered less than half the vote and is now poised to face pharmacist Trinidad Medina, a De La Garza slate mate, in a runoff election for the Place 4 commission spot. The runoff, set for about a month from now, will determine who fills the seat De La Garza now holds.

Municipal Judge Robert Puente, meanwhile, is slated to face paralegal Celia Garcia in a runoff election for his position.

Villarreal and his slate mates based their campaign on experience and leadership, touting the relatively explosive economic growth in their city over recent years.

Dozens of politically active residents descended upon City Hall on Tuesday night for several hours, anxiously awaiting the results of the contest. After the tallies were posted, members of the crowd, clad in T-shirts with the names of the candidates they supported, enthusiastically cheered, clapped and sounded air horns.

The balance of political power on the five-person City Commission will depend on the outcome of the Landa-Medina race. Villarreal and Martinez are in the commission¡¦s minority, making it impossible for the mayor to pass some of his initiatives.

Villarreal said in his next term he wants to help Alamo land more businesses, create more jobs and make sure the police force works more closely with the city¡¦s schools.

More than a fourth of the city¡¦s 8,510 registered voters cast ballots in the mayoral contest. Alamo was the only city in the Upper Rio Grande Valley that had a mayoral election Tuesday.

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Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.