BROWNSVILLE, RGV – As expected, the Brownsville mayoral race is headed to a runoff between Mayor Tony Martinez and former Mayor Pat Ahumada.
In a six-way race, none of the candidates could secure a majority of the vote on election night. Martinez came in at 43 percent.
Martinez defeated incumbent Ahumada in the mayor’s race in 2011. Ahumada also served as mayor for four years in the 1990s.
Here are the unofficial vote totals in the mayor’s race:
Tony Martinez – 3,538
Pat Ahumada – 1,467
Brenda Joyas – 439
Erasmo Castro – 1,211
Robert Sanchez – 812
William Garza – 760
Martinez told reporters going into the race that he fully expected he would have to face a challenger in the runoff. Asked what separates him from his closest challenger in the race, Martinez said: “Our records.” Martinez told the Rio Grande Guardian’s media partners, Action 4 News:
“We are going to continue to the best that we can. God willing, in about 40 days we will become mayor of Brownsville again. We are going to continue to go forward. We are not going to go backward.”
Asked what major projects he is working on, Martinez said: “We have a lot of duties we have to attend to. We have the East Loop, the West Rail, the airport, the downtown, we’ve got a couple of companies coming in and we ought to break ground shortly, in a couple of weeks. We have got our hands full and so we will continue to do our mayor’s duties as well as campaign and be successful.”
We will bring reaction from the Ahumada campaign as soon as it becomes available. Throughout the campaign, Ahumada has said he is running on a platform of “transparency, fiscal responsibility and accountability.”
In the other hot Brownsville races, incumbent District 1 Commissioner Ricardo Longoria, Jr., will face Roman Perez in a runoff. Incumbent District 2 Commissioner Jessica Tetreau will continue representing District 2 after receiving 1,048 votes or 50.46 percent of the ballots cast. Cesar de Leon is the newest At-Large “A” commissioner, receiving 4,335 votes or 54.47 percent of the votes cast.
The remaining city commission results are:
At-Large A
Cesar de Leon – 4,335
David Belleperche – 394
Gerardo Martinez – 2,002
Robert Uresti – 1,228
District 1
Roman Perez – 375
Ricardo Longoria Jr. – 739
Michael Gonzalez – 372
District 2
Jessica Tetreau – 1,048
Sergio Zarate – 1,029
The date of the runoff election will be determined by the Cameron County elections administrator, Remi Garza.
Editor’s Note: In the main picture accompanying this story are the two candidates heading to a runoff in the Brownsville mayoral race, Tony Martinez and Pat Ahumada.
