Edinburg elects Omar Ochoa as new mayor

EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The city of Edinburg has elected Omar Ochoa as its newest mayor, unofficial results show.

Ochoa has received 7,074 votes with 90% of precincts reporting, according to unofficial Hidalgo County election results. Candidates Richard Molina, Johnny Garcia, and Jonathan Salinas fell behind, with Molina being the closest runner-up with 3,330 votes.

The Edinburg mayoral race was one of the most anticipated races of the Hidalgo County election, with the four candidates listed on the ballot to succeed Edinburg mayor Ramiro Garza, who withdrew from the election following his cancer diagnosis.

Ochoa, who once served as Edinburg city attorney, announced his mayoral run in March.

Born and raised in Edinburg, Ochoa says his hometown is a city on the rise and intends for it to become a city that residents can be proud of.

"Edinburg is blessed to be the fastest growing city in the RGV, one of the fastest in the state, but with that, we've got to keep up with the infrastructure needs," Ochoa told ValleyCentral.

Ochoa tells ValleyCentral that the first thing he will do as mayor will be to meet with every city department to assess operations and needs.

"I also want to set the tone from day one that this is not about politics," Ochoa said. "We are not making political decisions. We're not doing favors for anybody. We are here to do what's right for the community."

Richard Molina

Molina announced in March that he would make another attempt to run for mayor after falling short of a victory during his re-election against Ramiro Garza in 2021.

Molina was first elected as mayor in 2017 and announced in March that he wants to return to the fundamentals and address public safety issues that matter to Edinburg residents.

If elected, Molina said he would have addressed the downtown Edinburg parking garage, a project he says he set in motion during his first term as mayor.

"That project is something I need to work on. As you can see, there's a parking issue that we have here," Molina told ValleyCentral. "We allocated $10 million, now the project has gone down to $6.2 [million], so I need to find out what happened with the $3.8 million and where these pre-construction costs went."

Molina tells ValleyCentral that he received complaints about incomplete roadwork on Alberta Road and a foul sewer smell throughout the city.

"A lot of people just want to be heard," Molina said. "So one of those things is [to] open up my doors to citizens and letting them know that the city of Edinburg doesn't belong to a few political factions anymore. It belongs to the entire city of Edinburg."

Johnny Garcia

Garcia, a well-known funeral director for Ceballos-Diaz Funeral Home and ordained minister, officially announced his bid to run for mayor in January.

Garcia began his service with the city of Edinburg as Councilmember, Place 3, after winning against Deanna 'Coach' Dominguez in 2019.

He sought a second term as Edinburg Councilmember Place 3 in the 2023 election, but fell short of a victory against David Salazar Jr.

Garcia's 'Born, Raised, and Dedicated' mayoral campaign is centered on his passion for public service and improving his hometown in terms of public safety, education, economic development, and quality of life.

"I've served the city for 30 years as a public servant," Garcia told ValleyCentral. "I tell everybody I'm not a politician, I'm a public servant. So, whatever God has planned for me, I accept what he has for me, and I [will] continue to serve the community."

Jonathan Salinas

Jonathan Salinas launched his bid to run for Edinburg mayor in July.

Salinas' campaign emphasizes his experience as a member of the working class, attributing his run for mayor to "global events" and "class struggles" in his own life, according to his social media.

He has voiced his intention to build a working-class movement in the Rio Grande Valley and has titled his campaign slogan 'Working people need to become the new ruling class.'