San Juan certifies Gilbert Garza as commissioner and administers oath

The City of San Juan on a special-call meeting certified the results of the June 7, 2025 runoff and issued a certificate of election to Gilbert Garza, who was sworn in as Commissioner, Place 3.

The certification was presented by an elections staff member and approved by the commission by voice vote; Commissioner Jesse Ramirez seconded the motion. Justice of the Peace Terry Menoe administered the official oath of office to Garza at the ceremony.

The elections official reported the canvass totals as presented at the meeting: early voting ballots cast, 1,458; election-day ballots, 395; total ballots cast in the election, 1,938 with one undervote. The official gave vote totals for the two runoff candidates as presented at the meeting: the challenger (reported in the meeting as “Dina Santean”) received 62 absentee votes, 515 early votes and 146 election-day votes for a reported total of 723 votes (37.31 percent). Gilbert Garza was reported to have received 23 absentee votes and 943 early votes, with a reported overall total of 1,215 votes (62.69 percent), and was declared to have received a majority of the votes cast.

After the commission approved the canvass by voice vote, the commission issued Garza a certificate of election and Justice of the Peace Terry Menoe administered the oath. Menoe led Garza through the oath, saying, “Do solemnly swear that I effectively execute the duties of the office of City of San Juan, Commissioner, Place 3, of the state of Texas, to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States and of the state. So help me God.”

Mayor (presiding) thanked attendees and noted the commission’s stated goal to improve quality of life for San Juan residents and that Garza’s first regular commission meeting will be next Tuesday. No roll-call vote with named tallies was recorded in the meeting transcript; the motion was passed by a voice vote recorded as “motion carries.”