Progreso schedules mayoral election for June

PROGRESO, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — The city of Progreso plans to hold a special election in June to replace Mayor Gerardo “Jerry” Alanis, who resigned after being arrested on federal drug charges.

During a meeting on Tuesday afternoon, the City Council decided to hold the special election on June 15.

“Whoever gets that position for mayor needs to start working for the city,” said City Councilman Raul Martinez.

The Progreso City Council met on April 30 to set the date for a special election. (Photo by Dave Hendricks / CBS 4 News)

Along with a new mayor, voters must select a replacement for City Councilman Armando Cavazos, who died in December.

Candidates for mayor and City Council must submit ballot applications by May 6.

“It’s going to be a fast process,” said City Attorney Javier Villalobos.

Basic questions about the process, however, remained unanswered Tuesday.

The new mayor will serve the remainder of Alanis’ term and the winning City Council candidate will serve the remainder of Cavazos’ term.

Villalobos wasn’t certain how much time remained on Alanis’ term or Cavazos’ term. As a result, it wasn’t clear if the winning candidates would need to run again in November.

“One of them probably has to,” Villalobos said.

Villalobos said he didn’t think the new mayor would be required to run again, but the winning City Council candidate probably would.

The lack of answers left many people frustrated.

After the meeting, the City Council and City Manager Alfredo Espinosa walked away without taking questions from the audience. Villalobos stuck around.

“We stayed there with Mr. Villalobos,” said Melba Rodriguez of Progreso, who frequently attends City Council and school board meetings. “And he had very few answers.”

Progreso plans to contract with the Hidalgo County Elections Department for the special election.

Voters may cast ballots at the Progreso Family Community Center on Farm-to-Market Road 1015, according to information distributed by the city. Early voting is scheduled to start on May 29 and end on June 11.