San Marcos held its Runoff Election Day Dec. 8, unofficially reelecting incumbent Mayor Jane Hughson and voting former Councilmember Mark Gleason into the vacant City Council Place 5 seat.
According to the unofficial results, Hughson won the mayoral race, beating challenger Juan Miguel Arredondo with 65.95% of the vote, and Gleason unofficially won the City Council Place 5 race, beating Omar Baca with 56.01% of the vote. Additionally, in Kyle, incumbent mayor Travis Mitchell won with 55.40% of the vote.
As of the Dec. 8 unofficial results, 5,940 people voted in the San Marcos runoff race and the City of Kyle mayoral race. 322 ballots were cast on campus at the Texas State Performing Arts Center. For comparison, the San Marcos City Council runoff election in 2018 saw 3,067 voters.
Hughson says voter turnout was improved this year due to a week of early voting with nine polling locations open, saying the period gave ample opportunity for people to vote. She says she is looking forward to continuing her work with the City Council, indicating it will hold a vision workshop for 2021 in January.
“I have spent over 30 years trying to make San Marcos better. I never forget that we have a high percentage of our population that’s low to moderate-income; I’m concerned for everyone, and I really do have a heart for those that need help. We will continue doing what we can to ensure life is good in San Marcos for everyone,” Hughson said.
Gleason says his time on the San Marcos Planning and Zoning Committee has prepared him to lead in the City Council Place 5 position.
“I can’t wait to serve with honor; I will try to represent all citizens of San Marcos, any organizations, any citizens and try to do my best to be a real listener to the community. I think It’s important that we sit down as a community and try to find compromising practices to fix some of the problems that we have,” Gleason said.
The race for City Council Place 5 was a special election to fill a vacancy after former Councilmember Jocabed “Joca” Marquez resigned in March. If Gleason is sworn into the position, he will serve a one-year term before facing reelection.
Runoff elections are held when no candidates in a race receive over 50% of the vote. The original Nov. 3 election day results can be viewed here.