(Marion) — There’s a new mayor in the city of Marion.
Daniel Loyola won a small but close race against Abbie Maberry.
Loyola grew up in Marion, moved away and returned after retiring after 20 plus years with the U.S Marines Corp. During Tuesday’s election, Loyola received 67 votes. Maberry, who currently serves as mayor pro tem on the Marion City Council, received 65.
Maberry had a slim lead after the votes were released for the early voting period, but Loyola was able to close the gap and take the lead for good as the election ballots were counted. Loyola replaces former Marion Mayor Victor Contreras, who in September, resigned due to health and personal reasons.
Loyola, a 1997 graduate of Marion High School, says he still can’t believe this victory.
“I still can’t believe it happened especially growing up here and graduating here and then leaving and coming back. Again, I never thought growing up that I’d be the mayor of Marion,” said Loyola.
Having lived all over the world serving the country, Loyola says his focus is now on serving the Marion community.
“A lot of times I get asked, why did you run for mayor and you try to come up with this elaborate answer and at the end of the day, the answer was always because I just love this city. I really love this small town. It made me the person who I am growing up, playing football, playing baseball, running track and all of that stuff. I love this city of Marion,” said Loyola.
Loyola says he applauds Maberry for running a clean campaign and looks forward to working with her in the future.
He is expected to be administered the oath of office during the Marion City Council meeting scheduled for Nov. 20.
There were also several other area elections in the city of Schertz, the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, and the Green Valley Special Utility District during Tuesday’s Constitutional Amendment Election. Those election results are available at seguintoday.com.