By Edmond Ortiz
A political newcomer topped Schertz’s incumbent mayor in a close race on Nov. 4.
What you should know
Ralph Rodriguez, chief of Bexar County Emergency Service District No. 2, collected 50.8% of the vote during the city’s elections, ousting two-term Mayor Ralph Gutierrez.
Rodriguez, a Clemens High School graduate and a Buffalo Valley Youth Association coach, won over voters in the Guadalupe County and Comal County portions of Schertz, winning with a 44-vote margin in the former county and 45-vote margin in the latter county.
Gutierrez, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a former Schertz City Council member, won the Bexar County segment of the mayoral election by three votes.
Rodriguez had indicated his top issues include strengthening emergency first responders and bolstering public safety, and ensuring residents in areas eyed for annexation have a voice to use on such delicate matters.
Some local voters did get their say on annexation on Nov. 4 as 95% of property owners living in Bexar County voting precinct 4126 rejected the town’s proposed full annexation of their area, which lies within Scherz’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and five miles of Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
Also of note
Incumbent Place 2 City Council member Michelle Watson won Schertz’s only other contested race Nov. 4. With 64% of the vote, Watson claimed a second term by fending off a challenge from John Carbon, a member of the city’s planning and zoning commission and on the capital improvements advisory committee.
Watson has indicated that two of her top priorities is promoting economic development, and streamlining city regulations to help ensure the growth of local businesses.
Place 1 Council member Mark Davis ran unopposed for a fourth term in office.
