Progreso calls special election but doesn't set a date

PROGRESO, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — The Progreso City Council on Wednesday voted to hold a special election but didn't actually pick a date — leaving the city in limbo.

During a meeting on Wednesday afternoon, the City Council voted 3-0 to hold a special election for two vacant positions: Mayor and City Council Place 3.

Progreso, though, didn't select a date for the special election.

"The date we don't have yet because we're waiting for the Secretary of State," City Attorney Javier Villalobos told the City Council. "But as soon as we get them, we can come back and amend it."

The City Council didn't provide any indication when Progreso would select a date.

Approached by CBS 4 News after the meeting, City Councilman Ruben Abundiz declined to speak with a reporter and walked away.

Progreso called the special election to replace Mayor Gerardo "Jerry" Alanis, who resigned on April 4 after being arrested on federal drug charges; and fill a long-vacant seat on the City Council.

How, exactly, the City Council seat became vacant remains unclear.

In interviews, Villalobos and City Councilman Raul Martinez said they believed the seat became vacant when City Councilman Blas Medrano decided not to run for re-election.

Voters elected Medrano in 2014, according to Hidalgo County Elections Department records. Documents released under the Texas Public Information Act show Progreso stopped listing Medrano on City Council meeting minutes in September 2020.

According to Villalobos and Martinez, nobody ran to replace Medrano. Rather than appointing someone or calling a special election, Progreso just kept the seat vacant.

Medrano couldn’t be reached for comment.

Raul Flores, right, is sworn in as a member of the Progreso City Council on April 10, 2024. (Photo by Dave Hendricks / CBS 4 News.)

Another seat on the City Council became vacant in December, when City Councilman Armando Cavazos died.

On Wednesday, the City Council appointed a Progreso resident named Raul Flores to replace Cavazos.

"I'm here to, hopefully, help you all," Flores told a standing-room-only crowd that showed up for the City Council meeting. "And help them — the city."