(Ed.'s Note: Get ready for another round. Against all odds, only incumbent City of Brownsville District 2 commissioner Jessica Tetreau won her reelection outright, and mayor Tony Martinez was handed his walking papers by the voters. Tetreau's 1,311 votes were 46 more than the combined total of 1,265 of her two competitors (1,265).
District 1 commissioner Ricardo Longoria will face newcomer Nurith Galonsky who beat him by 92 votes (690 to 598) . A surprise showing of 486 votes by Michael Rodriguez gave him the third place in that race and threw it into a runoff.
Trey Mendez will face off former city manager Charlie Cabler for mayor after he drew 1,436 more votes than incumbent Martinez. Mendez beat Cabler by 933.
John Cowen came up 44 votes short of getting the required 50 percent plus 1 vote to avoid a runoff even though he swamped his three competitors. The nearest one was Jessica Puente Bradshaw who must make up 2,353 votes against him in the runoff there.
So it will be Mendez vs. Cabler, Cowen vs. Puene-Bradshaw and Galonsky vs. Longoria. Until then, the commission will be under the holdover provision with Longoria and Martinez staying in office until the final results from the runoff election come in.
And despite criticism from certain quarters, it is worth noting that the three candidates with the most votes in the runoffs -Mendez, Cowen and Galonsky - were all clients of political consultant Rodrigo Moreno, owner of the Pink Ape ad agency. Campaign cost money and this city election will probably set records in that category.
Even Martinez's expensive hired guns from Austin Message, Audience, Presentation, Inc., could not overcome the voters' rejection.
Even Martinez's expensive hired guns from Austin Message, Audience, Presentation, Inc., could not overcome the voters' rejection.
Other candidates to the various boards such as that of the Brownsville Independent School District, the Port of Brownsville, Texas Southmost College, and districts all spend good money to run for election and serve without pay. But their votes guide the direction of our economic, educational and social development, which makes them critically important to our region's development.
