Former Navy dental technician enters San Luis mayor’s race

Former U.S. Navy dental technician James Allen Jr. has entered San Luis’s five-candidate mayoral race, putting him in line for a seat that will help decide how City Hall handles border traffic, public safety and basic city services in a fast-growing city of more than 35,000 people. The race opens as San Luis heads toward a July 21 primary that will choose a mayor and three council members.

The city made candidate packets available on Jan. 5 and set the filing period from Feb. 23 through March 23. A separate city notice allowed nomination and petition forms to be filed beginning March 7, with an April 6 deadline at 6 p.m. If no candidate clears the field in the primary, San Luis will hold a general election on Nov. 3.

San Luis sits in Yuma County at the southwest corner of Arizona, directly across from San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, Mexico. City officials say cross-border movement shapes daily life, culture, language, heritage, the environment and much of the local economy, which makes the mayor’s office especially consequential in a city where traffic flow and service delivery are felt quickly by residents on both sides of the border.

Population numbers show the scale of the job. The 2020 Census counted 35,257 residents in San Luis, while ACS-based estimates put the city at 37,337. That growth has put pressure on roads, neighborhood services and the city’s ability to keep pace with demand.

The mayor and council say their agenda centers on public safety, transportation and traffic flow, long-term financial stability, community involvement, and attracting retail and commercial investment. That gives Allen a clear set of benchmarks as he faces other names already in the field, including Matias Rosales, Jarmy Rodriguez and Tadeo Azael De La Hoya.

The contest also carries the weight of San Luis’s recent political turbulence. Former mayor Guillermina Fuentes pleaded guilty in 2022 in a Yuma County ballot-harvesting case tied to the 2020 primary election and received probation and jail time, a case that drew statewide attention to municipal politics in San Luis.

Allen’s entry adds another layer to an already competitive race in a city where election results can quickly shape how residents experience traffic at the border, police and public services, and the pace of commercial growth. The primary on July 21 will begin narrowing that field, and any offices still unresolved will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.