An apparent razor-thin upset in Schertz.
Decisive victories for Converse and Windcrest incumbents.
That was the outcome of mayoral elections in three Northeast side municipalities on Tuesday.
In the tightest race of the night, Ralph Rodriguez upset Schertz mayor Ralph Gutierrez by 99 votes, with a raw vote total of 3,036 to 2,937. The result, however, is still unofficial.
An unknown number of mail-in and provisional ballots have yet to arrive and be counted, a Schertz elections official said Wednesday. A final count will not be made official until Nov. 17.
Early returns showed Gutierrez with a narrow lead. At one point, he clung to a three-vote lead, 553-550, in his quest for a fourth mayoral term. But Rodriguez, the fire chef of Bexar County ESD 2, pulled ahead and appeared to prevail in a race with 5,973 ballots cast.
In Converse, Al Suarez secured his 10th term as mayor with a resounding victory over three challengers, Emilio Silvas, Marc Gilbert and John Shadron.
Suarez captured 51.99% of the vote to 17.95% for Silvas, 15.31% for Shadron and 14.75% for Gilbert.
In Windcrest, Dan Reese won his fifth mayoral term, defeating former mayor Alan E. Baxter and financial consultant Robert Maloy with 54% of the vote. Baxter garnered 38.2%, and Maloy 7.8%
A former Windcrest city councilman, fire chief and volunteer firefighter, Reese first defeated Baxter for mayor in 2017, winning his first term to lead the city.