Attorney and former Hidalgo County Republican Party chair Javier Villalobos won the special runoff election to fill McAllen City Council’s open District 1 seat.
Last year, former McAllen District 1 councilman Richard Cortez resigned his seat as he filed his candidacy for Hidalgo County Judge, who won the democratic primary last week. The city held a special election that resulted in a runoff between Villalobos and tax consultant Tim Wilkins.
The contest ultimately boiled down to experience versus new ideas. Experience won.
Villalobos is confident about the results. “We ran a good clean campaign,” he said. Wilkins, however, is dissatisfied with the low voter turnout.
McAllen District 1 has 13,911 registered voters, yet only 1,691 cast ballots in the race. Villalobos received 940 votes (56 percent) whereas Wilkins received 751 votes (44 percent). Results will be made official at the next City Council meeting on March 12, as Villalobos will be sworn in.
“I knew losing was a possibility when I entered the race,” Wilkins stated. Looking forward he said, “It’s over, and I’m totally fine with it. I’m relaxed now that I have all the extra free time.”
Villalobos will serve for the remainder of the term, which runs until 2021.

Miriam Cepeda

Miriam Cepeda is the Rio Grande Valley Bureau Chief for Texas Scorecard. A second-generation Mexican American, she is both fluent in English and Spanish and has been influential in grassroots organizing and conservative engagement within Hispanic communities. If you don’t find her “Trumping”, you can find her saving animals, running her dog, hiking the Andes, or volunteering with the U.S. National Park Service.

RELATED POSTS