MERCEDES, Texas(ValleyCentra) — Election Day is Saturday, and 737 voters cast their early vote in this race. Now, the focus shifts to the turnout on Election Day.
The candidates running for Commissioner Place 3 are Joe Martinez and Leonel Benavidez.
Martinez is the incumbent and currently serves as Mayor Pro-Tem.
“I want to work hard these next three years because I know we’re going to be victorious, and we’re going to continue to work hard to make Mercedes the best city in the Valley,” Martinez said. “I know that’s, that’s mostly overstated, but we believe in Mercedes.”
Commissioner Martinez said he is proud of the work he and the other commissioners were able to accomplish in the past three years. He added that there is still a lot he would like to accomplish.
“I want to continue to listen to our constituents. That’s key,” Martinez said. “I want to listen to anybody that wants to help change proceedings for the better. The second thing is to continue to work on projects infrastructural projects, bringing new businesses. We have a lot of people that have submitted permits. You know, we got things that are in the works. And I want to see that through.”
Benavidez previously served as commissioner in Mercedes. He stated that his goals for the city include honesty and transparency, providing public service and increasing public safety.
“My track record, as a public servant, was for exactly that public service, but advocating for drainage advocating for streets, reporting unlawful activity to authorities, making sure that our public safety department is handling things truthfully, right, accordingly,” Benavidez said. “And that’s what my heart is to serve the public.”
Candidate Benavidez also said there are other issues that need to be addressed within the city’s government.
“The main thing here, Mercedes, is your public safety and our streets,” Benavidez said. “You know, again, I go back to this, businesses are being used to distract the public from the real issues that we’re facing. There’s a lot of mismanagement of tax dollars, and we have to address the issues to fix our community.”
Both candidates expressed their gratitude to the voters who have already voted and those who plan to do so on Saturday. The polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.