Early voting is coming up for the November 2025 elections, and Edinburg voters will decide who the new mayor will be.

Current Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza announced in Jan. 2025 that he would not seek re-election.

Now, Edinburg voters will choose between three familiar faces and a newcomer.

JOHNNY GARCIA

Former Edinburg City Council member Johnny Garcia decided to throw his name in the race after losing his re-election bid for city council in 2023.

Garcia said he wants to tackle drainage issues, and create a plan for growth.

“I've seen it — the growth and how its impacted our city in all directions,” Garcia said. “I don't believe we have a full plan the way we should because the growth is just so rapidly… we have to adjust to the new growth that's coming in and also listen to new ideas."

Garcia served as a council member for the city from 2019 to 2023. He’s been on several boards with city, and his full-time job has been managing the Ceballos Funeral Home in Edinburg.

Flooding, Garcia said, is one of his priorities.

RICHARD MOLINA

Former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina is also on the ballot. He led the city for four years as mayor, and also served as a city council member prior to that.

In 2021, Molina lost a runoff race against Garza. The following year, he was found not guilty on election fraud and illegal voting charges.

Molina owns a local home health and provider service company, and owns and manages properties in Edinburg.

If elected, Molina said he plans to focus on growth.  

“We're in a great position to surpass McAllen  — both in population and business,” Molina said.

Molina said he also wants to be more transparent with the community about delays in ongoing projects.

“If there's a delay, let's just say that materials are running behind or there's issues with the contractor,” Molina said. “That way we explain to the citizens why those delays are taking place and not just radio silence."

OMAR OCHOA

Former Edinburg City Attorney Omar Ochoa will be running for public office for the first time as a mayoral candidate.

 In 2017, Ochoa was appointed and served as city attorney for six years. The Edinburg native currently runs his own practice as a civil lawyer.

Ochoa said he believes the city needs a guided plan forward.

“We're no longer the small city of the past, where we can just wait for problems to happen and then try to address them,” Ochoa said. “We need to be able to anticipate where we're going to grow so we can start making those smart infrastructure investments that is going to bring those high paying jobs."

Ochoa said if elected as mayor, he wants to attract companies to Edinburg that will create higher earning jobs in the healthcare and tech industry.

“The city is poised to attract tech jobs — we have Zoho coming in to the Echo Hotel,” Ochoa said. “And as mayor, I would love to see a trade school placed here on the north side of Edinburg."

JONATHAN SALINAS

Political newcomer Jonathan Salinas said he'd bring the voice of the working class to the city council chambers if elected as mayor.

Salinas said he believes not everyone in Edinburg is treated equally.

“If you take the last flood in March for example, something that I was trying to convey to as many people as I could was that you can notice the flood damage just based on the socioeconomic class of a neighborhood,” Salinas said.

Salinas graduated from UTPA in 2015 and worked briefly at the Brownsville Herald. 

Salinas also spent time as a member of several advocacy groups, and said he believes he can add volume to those he feels aren't being heard.

“My goal would be to bring my neighbors along and say, 'hey, I'm the mayor now, let's organize together, let's rise up, let's start going to city council meetings.'"

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Early voting starts on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, and runs through Friday Oct. 31.

Watch the video above for the full story.