Del Rio council welcomes new members after election canvass, farewells two veterans
Del Rio’s canvass locked in three new council members and pushed the mayor’s race to a runoff, putting immediate pressure on city priorities.
Del Rio City Council used its post-election canvass to install a new political lineup and send off two veterans, turning a routine special meeting into a clear handoff of local power. Mayor Alvaro “Al” Arreola, Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez and the rest of council publicly recognized Ernestina “Tina” Martinez and Jesus Lopez Jr. as they left the dais, while LeRoy Briones and Elsa Reyes took their places after winning the May 2 municipal election.
The council made the transition official by canvassing the vote before the farewell. The certified results gave Briones the At-Large Place C seat with 1,454 votes, Reyes the District 1 seat with 474, and Leno Hernandez Jr. the District 2 seat with 832. Hernandez’s swearing-in was pushed to May 26 because he must first give two weeks’ notice before leaving his city job in good standing. The official canvass also recorded 2,728 ballots in the mayor’s race, where Arreola led with 831 votes and former mayor and former county judge Efrain V. Valdez followed with 793, sending that contest to a runoff.
The election reshaped the council with immediate consequences for city hall. Briones and Reyes are listed on the city’s council roster for four-year terms that run through 2030, giving them a long window to influence budgeting, capital projects, public safety and neighborhood concerns. Until Hernandez is sworn in, James “Jim” DeReus remains in place for District 2 after running for mayor. The rest of the council includes Carmen Gutierrez, JP Sanchez and Randy Quiñones, leaving the city with a mix of continuing members and new voices as the runoff campaign begins.
The meeting also underscored how much institutional memory is changing hands. Chavez noted that Martinez had already served eight prior years on council before finishing her latest four-year term, giving her 12 years of elected service to Del Rio. Arreola’s own city biography says he previously served on the council from 2010 to 2014, adding to the sense that Tuesday’s turnover was not just ceremonial but a reset in experience at City Hall. The city called the election by ordinance in December, filed candidates in January and February, and now heads into a mayoral runoff with a council that has already begun to change shape.
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