Longoria soundly defeats opponent for District 1 seat

On the eve of Saturday’s election, Commissioner Ricardo Longoria Jr. stood under a palapa in his back yard, holding hands with family while his parish priest offered a blessing for the day to come.

The Rev. Mario Castro with Southmost’s Good Shepherd Catholic Church was one of the first to congratulate Longoria Saturday night on his decisive re-election win.

“I am just so grateful that the people gave me the opportunity to serve four more years,” Longoria said. “Thank you all very much for your confidence.”

The District 1 commissioner won his second term to the office in a near landslide victory over challenger Catalina Presas-Garcia.

Longoria received 1,019 votes (71.71 percent) to Presas-Garcia’s 402 votes (28.29 percent). He swept mail-in votes, early votes and the popular vote on Election Day.

Presas-Garcia could not be reached for comment Saturday, but family members expressed disappointment as early returns pointed to a Longoria victory.

Presas-Garcia joined the District 1 race late and was initially disqualified from the ticket. She protested the city’s decision and was allowed to join the ballot after signatures on her candidate application were rejected then verified.

“If I tell you I am going to work for you, you can trust it ...” she said at a candidate forum. “We must be ready to face change, create growth and make Brownsville an appealing and exciting place to live.”

Turnout at Election Day polls was slow. Shortly before 4 p.m., Longoria reported fewer than 500 voters had cast a ballot at the four polling places in District 1, which includes the populous Southmost area.

Longoria admits the possibility of a loss is always present during campaigns, but winning by this wide a margin was a pleasant surprise.

“This is a blessing from my people. My church is my backbone. My family is my backbone,” he said and thanked volunteers.