New School Board Members Elected

New Texas Governor, Lieutenant Governor Elected During November 4th General Elections

November 4, 2014 proved business as usual in Texas politics as a new governor was elected after a lengthy, heated race between former Texas Attorney General Republican Greg Abbott and state senator Democrat Wendy Davis. Davis made headlines in the summer of 2013 when she stood for 11 hours straight on the Texas Senate floor to filibuster a bill on reproductive health care in the state of Texas which lead to her gubernatorial nomination by the Texas Democratic Party. Abbott won the governor’s seat, however, in a crushing victory over Davis. Republican Dan Patrick won the Texas Lieutenant Governor nomination in another highly contested and closely watched race against San Antonio Democrat Leticia Van de Putte.

Republicans prevailed in most of the statewide nomination during this election, lengthening a long running winning streak that dates back to 1994, despite the best efforts of Battleground Texas, a grassroots multimillion-dollar Democratic get-out-the-vote initiative organized by top staffers from President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. It should be noted that although Texas did not “turn blue” as many Democrats in the State had hoped, the Rio Grande Valley showed overwhelming support as a whole for Democratic nominees in the Texas senate, house and gubernatorial races. The best example of this is in the nominations for Congressional Districts 28, 15, and 34 – the three Congressional Districts representing the Rio Grande Valley – which were awarded to Rep. Henry Cuellar (28), Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (15), and Rep. Filemon Vela (34), all Democrats.

Closer to home, three positions in the La Feria Independent School District were “up for grabs” this election day. The Place 4 position went to Lisa Ayala Montalvo, beating out challenger Jose Medeles. The Place 5 seat was won by Javier Loredo, beating out challenger Robert Leal. The Place 6 seat was acquired by Katie Johnson, defeating David Balzaldua with a considerable margin. Place 7 was uncontested and returns to incumbent and school board President Juan Briones, who has been serving on the board since May 2008.

Congratulations to all the delegates and good luck to them as they embark on fulfilling their new appointments.