Wise wins Weslaco mayoral runoff

WESLACO — The blazing heat radiating off the asphalt didn’t keep Weslaco’s mayoral candidates Buddy de la Rosa and Miguel Wise from campaigning outside City Hall on Saturday.

Wise handily won the runoff election, nabbing 68.49 percent of the vote and making de la Rosa the city’s first incumbent mayor since 1987 to lose a bid for re-election. Terms are three years.
The mayor-elect said the first and most pressing issue for the city is to get its financial house in order.

“We need a fund balance for at least three months to be stable,” he said, referring to the amount of rainy-day reserves needed to keep the city government operating for that duration.
However, Wise wasn’t focused Saturday on planning out city finances or the need to improve municipal water output — two issues that were key to his campaign platform. As he passed out refreshments to voters and campaign volunteers, he grinned and expressed his satisfaction with the steady line of people at the polls.

“I feel very excited about the voter turnout,” he said. “Regardless of which person they voted for, I’m glad people have come out to the polls. It just shows that the people of Weslaco care for their community.”

Even though de la Rosa will be leaving office, he said he will remain busy working on two statewide pharmaceutical boards.

“I will return to my business and my life,” he said.