Cantu, Villalpando, and Sifuentes Win Re-Election in Low Voter Turnout City Election

By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., 2017

The City of Eagle Pass, Texas Mayoral and City Council Election held on May 6, 2017 had a low voter turnout resulting in the re-election of all three incumbents, including Mayor Ramsey English Cantu, City Councilman Place 2 Rudy Villalpando, and City Councilman Place 4 Luis E. Sifuentes.

In the Mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Ramsey English Cantu received a total of 1,622 votes compared to challenger Hector Munoz-Mijares’ total votes of 269.  Mayor Cantu easily won re-election to a new four year term while local community journalist and entrepreneur Munoz-Mijares presented Eagle Pass voters a democratic choice for Mayor.

For City Council Place 2, incumbent Councilman Rudy Villalpando did not even break a sweat as he automatically won re-election with a total of 1,499 votes since he did not have an opponent.  Villalpando earned the right to serve the citizens of Eagle Pass for another four years.

In the City Council Place 4 race, incumbent Councilman Luis E. Sifuentes also easily won re-election to another four year term as he received a total of 1,317 votes while challenger and local real estate broker/developer Romeo Fernandez, Jr. garnered a respectable total of 494 votes in his first ever political race within the community.

Only a total of 1,921 City of Eagle Pass voters out of over 15,000 registered voters participated in the May 6, 2017 Election, a paltry 12.8% of the City registered voters cast their ballots.  Regularly, City Elections draw between 3,500 to 5,000 voters in better years.

Cantu, Villalpando, and Sifuentes re-join fellow City Councilwomen Gloria E. Hernandez and Yolanda P. Ramon on the Eagle Pass City Council upon the acceptance of the May 6th Election and taking of a new Oath of Office in the near future.