Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District elections (2016)
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Two of the seven seats on the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District school board were up for general election on May 7, 2016. Place 3 incumbent Greg Powers ran unopposed. Place 7 incumbent Verna Young did not run for re-election. Newcomers Eladio Jaimez and Rosalinda Mercado-Garza competed for the open Place 7 seat. Powers won his re-election bid while the contested race for Place 7 ended in a tie between Jaimez and Mercado-Garza. The candidates faced each other a second time with Jaimez defeating Mercado-Garza in a tie-breaker election on June 11, 2016.[1][2][3][4]
- For more information on the tie for Place 7 see: What was at stake?
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Harlingen Board of Trustees consists of seven members elected by district to three-year terms. While members are elected to specific places on the ballot, they are voted on by the whole district. They serve without compensation. There was no primary election, and a general election was held on May 7, 2016, for Places 3 and 7.[1]
School board candidates submitted candidacy paperwork with the school district secretary by February 19, 2016. Each candidate had to be at least 18 years old, a registered voter, and a resident of the district for at least six months.[5]
Candidates and results
Place 3
Results
Although he was unopposed, Powers appeared on the ballot and received 2,385 votes.[6]
Candidates
Greg Powers 
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Place 7
Results
| Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, Place 7 General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Eladio Jaimez | 50.00% | 1,422 |
| Rosalinda Mercado-Garza | 50.00% | 1,422 |
| Total Votes | 2,844 | |
| Source: Valley Morning Star," "School Board Place 7 goes to voters again on date still to be set," May 18, 2016 | ||
| Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, Place 7 Special Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Eladio Jaimez |
70.72% | 3,249 |
| Rosalinda Mercado-Garza | 29.28% | 1,345 |
| Total Votes | 4,594 | |
| Source: Valley Central, "Results: Eladio Jaimez wins Harlingen school board runoff election," June 11, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Eladio Jaimez
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Rosalinda Mercado-Garza | ||
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Additional elections
The school board election on May 7, 2016, did not share the ballot with any other local election.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Texas school board elections in 2016:[7][8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| February 19, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| February 23, 2016 | Deadline for write-in candidates |
| April 7, 2016 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline |
| April 19, 2016 | Campaign finance report due |
| May 7, 2016 | Election Day |
| May 18, 2016 | Final day for canvassing of votes |
| July 15, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |
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2015Incumbent Bobby Muniz won re-election without opposition. Incumbent Nolan Perez won re-election without opposition. Incumbent George McShan won re-election without opposition. 2014Incumbents Gerry Fleuriet and Javier De Leon ran unopposed and were re-elected to Places 1 and 2, respectively.[9][10] | |
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the election
The Harlingen ISD Board of Trustees election held on May 7, 2016, featured a contested race for Place 7 after long-time incumbent Verna Young opted not to seek another term. Candidates Eladio Jaimez and Rosalinda Mercado-Garza filed for the seat Young occupied from 2001 to 2016. No clear winner could be determined on election night, as the unofficial results reported 1,422 votes cast for Jaimez and 1,421 votes cast for Mercado-Garza. The election was further complicated after the Cameron County Early Voting Election Board added a provisional ballot to Mercado-Garza's tally, bringing the candidates to an exact tie.[11]
Section 2.002 of Texas Election Code states that in the event of a tie vote, "the tying candidates may agree to cast lots to resolve the tie."[12] Accordingly, the candidates were given the option of tossing a coin to determine the winner. Both Jaimez and Mercado-Garza declined this option, however, citing the duty to honor supporters through a continued campaign.[11][13] This decision triggered a formal recount by Harlingen City Hall, which confirmed the tie and led to the certification of the results on May 17, 2016.[11]
The board of trustees scheduled a second election on June 11, 2016, which was decided during a board meeting held on May 19.[14] The candidates responded favorably to these events. “We will continue to visit all the areas that have polling places in the community,” Mercado-Garza said. “We will continue doing the meet and greets and block walks." Jaimez expressed a similarly optimistic sentiment: "It’s not often you get a second chance to work on things you should have done better."[11] HCISD's chief financial officer, Julio Cavazos, reported that the recount cost the district $2,000 and that the special election cost another $30,000 in general funds. Jaimez defeated Mercado-Garza in the tie-breaker election to win the board seat. The vote margin was much wider than in the previous election, with Jaimez winning almost 59% of the votes cast. Mercado-Garza fell short of Jaimez by 559 votes, according to Valley Central.[11][15]
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the district
Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District is located in Cameron County, Texas. The county seat of Cameron County is Brownsville. The county's population was 422,156 between 2010 and 2015, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.[16] The district was the 65th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 18,568 students.[17]
Demographics
Cameron County underperformed compared to Texas as a whole in terms of higher education attainment, median income, and poverty rate between 2010 and 2015. The U.S. Census Bureau found that 16.1 percent of Cameron County residents over 25 years old held undergraduate degrees compared to a 27.1 percent for the entire state. The county had a median income of $33,390 compared to $52,576 statewide from 2010 through 2015. The poverty rate for Cameron County was 34.5 percent in 2014 compared to a 17.2 percent statewide.[16]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[16] | ||
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| Race | Cameron County (%) | Texas (%) |
| White | 97.2 | 79.7 |
| Black or African American | 0.9 | 12.5 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| Asian | 0.8 | 4.7 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 0.5 | 1.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 88.1 | 37.6 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District' 'Texas'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District | Texas | School Boards |
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tiffany Rouse, "Phone communication with Chief Financial Officer Julio Cavazos," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Valley Morning Star, "School Board Place 7 goes to voters again on date still to be set," May 18, 2016
- ↑ Valley Morning Star, "School tie-breaker election June 11," May 20, 2016
- ↑ Valley Central, "Results: Eladio Jaimez wins Harlingen school board runoff election," accessed June 11, 2016
- ↑ Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, "Board Policy Manual," accessed February 24, 2016
- ↑ Valley Morning Star, "School Board Place 7 goes to voters again on date still to be set," May 18, 2016
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "2016 Filing Schedule for Reports Due in Connection with Elections Held on Uniform Election Dates," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "May 7, 2016 Election Law Calendar," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑ Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District, "School Board Elections," accessed March 20, 2014
- ↑ Travis Whitehead, Valley Star, "HCISD trustees unopposed for re-election," February 28, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Valley Morning Star, "School Board Place 7 goes to voters again on date still to be set," May 19, 2016
- ↑ Texas Constitution and Statutes, “Election Code Title 1, Chapter 2, Subchapter A,” accessed May 19, 2016 (See Sec. 2.002)
- ↑ Valley Morning Star, "School election all tied up," May 14, 2016
- ↑ Valley Morning Star, "School tie-breaker election June 11," May 20, 2016
- ↑ Valley Central, "Results: Eladio Jaimez wins Harlingen school board runoff election," June 11, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 U.S. Census, "QuickFacts," accessed July 3, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
| 2016 Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District Elections | |
| Cameron County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 7, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Place 3:Incumbent, Greg Powers Place 7:Eladio Jaimez • Rosalinda Mercado-Garza |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
