(Seguin) — Voters will welcome a pair of new faces to the Seguin City Council. The first new council member approved by voters is Sonia Mendez. Mendez on Tuesday defeated challenger Pete Silvius for the District Two position. Both candidates were looking to replace Councilwoman Jet Crabb who was ineligible for re-election.
In the race, Mendez received 504 of the votes cast while Silvius received 251 votes.
Mendez says she is incredibly grateful to those in her district that showed up and made their voices heard.
Family and friends of Sonia Mendez gather to help celebrate her win during Tuesday’s Seguin City Council District Two race.
“I want to thank my district. Thank you for going out. Your voice, it counts. It matters to me. I want to thank the Father up above. Thank you Lord. My mother who has been the driving force since day one. My children, they were my coordinator, my photographer, they were campaign treasurer. They were my transportation. I would also like to thank my grandchildren who walked the streets with me, passing out the fliers, the yard signs and again, District Two for voting. My family and friends thank you for the support — the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for nominating me. This is something new to me but I will learn. I will need your help from District Two and we are going to make Seguin better and safer,” said Mendez.
Silvius says he thanks Mendez for a hard fought race and will continue serving the city in anyway that he can.
“I want to congratulate Sonia on really a huge win. Congratulations on that and she will do a great job for our city. I want to thank all of the voters that came out to support me and all the kind words and talks that people have shared with me during this election season so I’m thankful for all of it and of course will continue to support Seguin. It’s my home and I look forward to being a part of it for years to come,” said Silvius.
Residents in District Six will also have new representation on the Seguin City Council. Monica Carter, one of three candidates in that race, was the top vote getter with 657 of the votes cast. Following behind were Wanda Rosales with 260 votes and Ricardo Sanchez Jr. with 143 votes.
Carter says she was blown away with the amount of support shown at the polls and is eager to get to work.
“I am honored. I am excited. I am grateful above all that the residents of District 6 came out with such a phenomenal amount of support. I am just beyond words at this moment, still in a state of shock, of course but I just so grateful to so many people. I’ve had such an amazing amount of support from my family, from friends, from strangers, from various people in the community. I plan to thank them all personally and it’s way too many people to name. I’m just grateful for everyone and I’m excited to learn everything that I need to so that I can help represent Seguin to the best of my ability and just help move everything in a positive direction,” said Carter.
Rosales says she congratulates Carter on her win and is appreciative for the experience of the campaign.
“I am very thankful for all my supporters. I really appreciate everything they did for me. I still feel like a winner because I have made new friends and moving forward, I want to wish Mrs. Monica Carter the best with her new position and I will be there for her if she needs anything, I will support her. I am glad I got to meet her and all the other candidates” said Rosales.
Sanchez says he too is grateful to have been a part of the process and thanks those who came out to support him.
“Thank you for voting. It’s awesome seeing everybody show up and vote and participating in the process and I’m just glad to be a part of it,” said Sanchez.
Carter will replace Councilwoman Fonda Mathis, who like Crabb, was unable to campaign for another term.
Now, although their races were uncontested, Tuesday’s election solidified a seat on the council for City Council District One and Council District Four.
In District One, Joe Rea will replace Councilman Ernest Leal while Chris Rangel will return to his seat for another term in District Four. All new council members are expected to officially take their seat later on this month.