Mayor-Elect Hernandez speaks, winners rejoice

San Benito Mayor-Elect Joe H. Hernandez is shown outside the San Benito Municipal Building. (File photo by Michael Rodriguez)

 

By SCARLET O’ROURKE
Special to the NEWS

The people have spoken – at least that is what supporters of political candidates called out on Election Day Saturday outside City Hall when it was announced that former San Benito Mayor Joe H. Hernandez won back his post more than a year after the commission recognized his office as being automatically forfeited due to owing back taxes during his term.

Hernandez took back his seat with a majority vote of 1,351 votes against Jack Garcia’s 1,054. Garcia, originally a city commissioner/mayor pro-tem, assumed the office of mayor via commission approval following Hernandez’s forfeiture last year. The two have since had heated exchanges.

When asked to comment on his victory, Hernandez said, “I guess I owe it all to the people. I took it to the state level, I took it to the federal level, and the people did it. I put it in the hands of the people and in the hands of the Lord, and here we are victorious.”

On his defeat, Garcia said, “I congratulate Mr. Hernandez. The people have spoken on the direction they want to go, and I respect that. I don’t think I’ll rule out politics in general. I want to thank all my supporters, the over 1,000 people who did vote for me and believed in me. It’s been a pleasure and an honor serving the citizens of San Benito as their mayor.”

The three-way race for Place 1 City Commissioner was in favor of the incumbent, Antonio “Tony” Gonzales, who overtook both of his opponents with 1,460 votes to Roel Villarreal’s 658 and Joe F. Rodriguez’s 226.

The victory for Pl. 2 Commissioner went to incumbent Rene Villafranco, garnering 1,480 votes to challenger Gavino Sotelo’s 825 votes.

Gonzales said, “The people wanted me back. They knew what I was doing before. I never promised people anything. I’ve always just done what I thought was good for the city, not for me. San Benito is going to rise for the better.”

In regards to his victory, Villafranco said, “It feels great. The hard work of campaigning by me and the volunteers, we did our job, and it feels good. It’s wonderful that the people have spoken and put me back in a position that they elected me to a year ago.”

The results for the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District (SBCISD) Board Trustees were as follows. For Pl. 5, Hector Leal went unchallenged with 2,079 votes. Pl. 4 was won by newcomer June Aguilera with 1,380 votes to incumbent Joe G. Gonzalez’s 1,363.

Gonzalez has yet to announce whether he’ll be seeking a recount.

Oscar Medrano held his position as Pl. 6 SBCISD Board Trustee with 1,472 votes while his opponent, Fatima Huerta, received 1,326. Julian Huerta was victorious in the Pl. 7 race, beating Manuel “Meme” Gonzales, Jr. 1,449 votes to 1,308.

Aguilera was the youngest of the school board candidates at age 19. She expressed her sense of excitement in winning the Pl. 4 seat and her passion behind the new position.

“I’m very, very excited. I did not think I was going to cry, but I cried,” Aguilera said in regards to her victory in the election. “I’m doing this for the community, for the kids. Those kids are my friends, my family, and those are the most important to me – the students and the teachers, most of all because they are the ones who educate and make this town a better place.

“I’m ready to get out there and start making our community and our kids the most important thing. I want to make this town recognized academically,” Aguilera added.

Julian Huerta was surrounded by his family on Saturday night when the news of his victory was announced. He was proud of the work that was done to win him the Pl. 7 trustee post.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “It was a good competition, and it was hard and didn’t come easy. [Meme] was a strong opponent, but we worked it harder and we came out on top.”

Though victory was not hers to claim, Fatima Huerta expressed her thoughts on the election results.

“I would like to congratulate my brother, Julian Huerta, and June. We ran a long and clean race. The votes I did acquire speak volumes for this community, and I would like to thank everyone who went out and supported us in this entire election campaign, all my family and all my friends. Being short by 101 votes is not that bad.”

On his victory, Medrano said, “I was just very happy and relieved that the voters of San Benito gave me another opportunity to serve and be a part of the school board. I think the people of San Benito have gotten to know the passion that I have for the school district, and that I really care, and that I’m out there listening to concerns to represent the teachers and students for what’s best for everyone. I think people saw that. I want to thank my supporters and family for all their support. I’m extremely grateful.”

The Rio Hondo elections were just as interesting in San Benito. Rio Hondo ISD incumbents maintained their seats on the board. Pl. 1 incumbent Noe Alaniz, Jr. received 430 votes to beat challenger Michael “Mike” St. John and his 211 votes. Pl. 5 incumbent Tomas Gomez received 383 votes, beating out Santiago (Jim) Saldaña, Jr., who received 271 votes. Pl. 6 incumbent Manuel Flores, Jr. received a total of 476 votes to beat challenger Thelma Flores, who received 158 votes. Pl. 7 incumbent Tom Wiesman received 489 votes to beat challenger Hoss Lozano who received 170 votes.

Rio Hondo Mayor Alonzo Garza, Sr. will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Garza received 220 votes to beat challenger Joseph “Joe” Lopez, who received 171 votes. Pl. 2 incumbent Gloria L. Barrientos received 124 ballots cast in her favor, but that was not enough to help her maintain her seat on the city commission. Challenger Rick Tello received 157 votes to help him become the new Pl. 2 City Commissioner. Also running in the race was Anita Lozano, who received 107 votes. Pl. 4 incumbent Miguel “Mike” Uresti received 297, but ran unopposed.

For the full story, pick up a copy of the May 18 edition of the San Benito News.