Briones touts business experience, community ties in Del Rio council bid

LeRoy Briones is pitching Del Rio voters on budgets, water bills and city services in the At-Large Place C race, where utility costs have become a top issue for households across the city.

Briones is one of three candidates for the seat on the May 2 ballot, alongside Alexandra Falcon Calderon and Ernestina Martinez. The Del Rio City Council ordered the 2026 regular municipal election by Ordinance 2025-108 on Dec. 16, 2025, and filing for mayor, District 1, District 2 and At-Large Place C was set to run from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13, 2026.

His campaign rests heavily on business management. Briones said he owned and operated Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home for 10 years, where he managed 10 employees, handled budgets and operations, and focused on customer service. He also has training from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, a background he presents as proof that he can manage people, money and day-to-day responsibilities in a public setting.

Briones has also built a long civic résumé in Del Rio and beyond. He served as past president of the El Paso Funeral Directors Association, belongs to Rotary, founded Latinos for a Better Del Rio, led the Del Rio Babe Ruth Baseball League as president and is a member of the Del Rio Baseball Boosters. In his pitch to voters, those roles add up to experience with community partnerships, volunteer leadership and local advocacy, the same skills he says City Hall needs when decisions affect family budgets and neighborhood services.

That message lands in a city where the cost of water and sewer service has already climbed sharply. New rates took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, under Ordinance No. 2025-105. For inside-city customers, the combined water-and-wastewater charge rose from $48.09 in fiscal 2025 to $68.50 in fiscal 2026, an increase of $20.41. Del Rio held a public hearing on the rate increases on Dec. 12, 2025, at the Civic Center on Veterans Boulevard.

Water reliability and infrastructure remain front-burner issues. On Feb. 4, 2026, the city announced it had secured $17 million in state funding for critical water projects, including rehabilitation of the San Felipe East Springs containment wall and expansion of the water treatment plant. The Texas Water Development Board also approved $16.15 million in financial assistance in July 2025 for water-system and treatment-plant expansion work.

Briones is also tying his pitch to the city budget itself. Del Rio’s budget page describes the annual budget as the foundation for financial planning and control, prepared to balance council priorities under the city charter. For voters facing higher utility bills and lingering infrastructure needs, that framing puts Briones squarely in the debate over how Del Rio pays for the basics that touch daily life.