Mission’s elections will likely move to November

A bill filed by State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen), which would move the election date for the Mission city council, made progress this week in the Texas Legislature.

 

Senate Bill 447 was approved unanimously by the State Affairs Committee and as of press time, was on the local and uncontested calendar, which is used to contemplate legislation considered non-controversial or applicable to a small geographic area.

 

“Issues that are local or uncontested, and this is a local bill, this is where it goes,” Hinojosa said. “I got it out of the senate at the request of the mayor and Mission voters.”

 

The bill companion is House Bill 4792, which is carried by Sergio Muñoz, Jr. (D-Mission) and R.D. “Bobby” Guerra (D-Edinburg), and has been referred to the house elections committee.

 

If approved, SB 447 takes effect on September 1, 2025, which means the Mission city council elections slated for May 2026 might be scheduled instead for November 2026, to coincide with the general election, historically held on the first Tuesday of that month.

 

While SB 447 does not include the Mission Consolidated Independent School District (MCISD) school board elections, attention is now on a separate bill that addresses all elections in Texas, Hinojosa said.

 

 

“There was another bill filed, Senate Bill 1209, which would put every single election in Texas in November,” Hinojosa said. Hinojosa said Senator Bryan Hughes (R-Tyler) filed the bill to alleviate voter fatigue.

 

MCISD director of public relations and marketing Dimitra Trejo told the Progress Times that district leadership is also monitoring the Hughes bill.

 

“The district’s election date is currently established by policy,” Trejo said.  “However, district leadership actively monitors proposed legislation and is aware of SB1209. Should this bill become law, we would follow the updated statute, which may require changes to board policy to reflect a November election date.”

 

Trejo said the school district did not receive formal communication from the city regarding a potential election date change through Hinojosa’s bill.

 

Mission city manager Mike Perez said the city requested Hinojosa file the legislation following the city charter amendment election held in May of 2024, in which nearly 78 percent of voters approved the election date change.

 

“The voters said change it, and the city has a moral and legal obligation to do so,” said Perez.

 

A change in the city’s election date means current mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza and councilwomen Jessica Ortega and Marissa Gerlach might see a six-month extension of their current terms. Should any of them seek re-election, that contest would be set for November of 2026, instead of May.

 

On the education side of the ballot, school board members Danny Martinez, Betty Mendoza, and Petra Ramirez, might see their terms extended as well if the Hughes bill passes, with their positions open to challengers in November of 2026.

 

Perez said he attended all neighborhood meetings last year in which residents could ask questions about the proposed amendments to the city charter, and he did not hear objections.

 

“The city didn’t campaign either way,” Perez said, adding that there is no practical work around for the current office holders if either bill is passed.

 

“To hold a special election for a term of six-months, nobody does that,” Perez said, noting that he was the McAllen city manager when it moved from city wide to single member districts for its council.

 

“A special election costs about $100,000. Everyone just extends it (the term),” Perez said.

 

In the past, the city and school district have shared the cost of administering their May elections, and in prior budgets, the city earmarked about $78,000 for this purpose.  Trejo said the district paid the Hidalgo County Elections Department about $30,000 to conduct its May 2024 school board election.