Leon Valley’s longest-serving mayor was reelected in a landslide Saturday evening, while nine other small-town mayors didn’t even draw an opponent.
Mayor Chris Riley defeated two challengers with 74% of the vote, winning her 12th consecutive term leading the Northwest Side municipality of almost 12,000 people.
“I don’t own the spot. I certainly have to earn the trust every election cycle,” said Riley, who campaigned like usual, knocking on doors and talking to residents about police and fire service, code enforcement and what to do about the growing population of deer.
None of the other mayors on the May 2 ballot in Bexar County had to lift a finger.
Balcones Heights Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr., Grey Forest Mayor Paul Garro, Hollywood Park Mayor Chester Drash, Live Oak Mayor Mary Dennis, Olmos Park Mayor Erin Harrison, Selma Mayor Tom Daly, Somerset Mayor Lydia P. Hernandez, Terrell Hills Mayor John B. Low and Universal City Mayor Tom Maxwell were all reelected without opponents in Saturday night’s municipal elections.
But some new city leaders were still elected in the 14 municipalities that held elections on the May 2 ballot, with small numbers of voters weighing in on each.
Six municipalities also had sales tax measures on their ballot, all of which were approved overwhelmingly. The least popular measures, in Castle Hills and Olmos Park, still drew 89% support.
See full results below.
Municipal election results
Leon Valley
First elected mayor in 2004, Riley said she loves the job. While residents asked her to run for reelection, she left the door open for others to run against her.
Two challengers took the opportunity, but neither drew much traction.
Evan Bohl, a member of the council’s Capital Facilities Oversight Committee who ran for mayor in the two previous elections and took 16% of the vote, and Jed Hefner, a former councilman who criticized the city’s new homeless camping ban as too harsh, and took 10%.
On Tuesday evening, Riley plans to be back on the dais for a City Council meeting.
Like other cities, Leon Valley is starting to discuss its budget priorities amid the looming expectation property appraisals will drop.
Against that backdrop, Riley said the city is planning to field a budget survey for the first time.
“My concern is we raised our taxes 6 cents last year and we have a lot of young families moving in,” she said. “With inflation, with gas prices, [we are] just trying to keep it at a manageable level.”
Riley’s not ruling out a 13th term and told her husband not to toss her campaign signs just yet.
“I don’t want to be a lame duck,” she said. “You want to be effective.”
Two Leon Valley council members, Betty Heyl and Rey Orozco, were reelected without opposition in Saturday’s election.
Balcones Heights
Mayor Johnny Rodriguez Jr., who recently sued the city after officials voted to lock him out of City Hall, was also reelected to a second term on Saturday. He’ll return, however, with a new critic on the council.
Rodriguez served as mayor from 2000 to 2002, and in a drama-filled return to office, his past two years have included many disagreements over city management, including the hiring of a new police chief who recently agreed to partner with ICE on immigration enforcement.
Still, Rodriguez didn’t draw an opponent this year. He ran to reclaim the position in 2024, and by a single vote, defeated longtime mayor Suzanne de Leon, who faced criticism over her handling of a deal to redevelop Wonderland of the Americas.
On Saturday, Councilman Jack Burton (Place 1) was also reelected, while former Councilman Juan Lecea, a critic of the mayor, won his bid to return to the council in Place 2.
Castle Hills
Castle Hills has also had a drama-filled stretch at City Hall. Last year a former councilwoman won a six-figure settlement after Mayor JR Treviño accused her of tampering with government records, and the case went all the way up to the Supreme Court.
Treviño wasn’t up for reelection this year, but three aldermen positions were.
In Places 1 and 5, Jason Smith and Beth Daines cruised to reelection without opposition.
In Place 4, incumbent Jack Joyce didn’t seek reelection, and will be replaced by former alderman Frank Paul, who had previously been appointed to fill an opening on the council in 2014.
Grey Forest
Mayor Paul Garro, a longtime educator who has held the job since 2024, was reelected to a second term without opposition. Councilman Michael Phillips (Place 4) was also reelected, and a new Place 2 councilman, Sean Skaggs, was elected to replace Timothy “Tim” Santy.
Helotes
With three council seats on the ballot this year, Planning and Zoning Commissioners Gregg Michel and Anne Carraway each won open races, for Places 1 and 2. Councilwoman Sabrina McGowan won a second term in Place 4, where she didn’t draw an opponent.
Mayor Rich Whitehead, who has held the role since 2021, was just reelected in 2025.
Hollywood Park
Mayor Chester Drash and Councilmembers Todd Kounse (Place 2) and Wendy Gonzalez (Place 4) all cruised to reelection without opposition.
Kirby
Last year Mayor Janeshia A. Grider was reelected by just six votes. This year about half of the city’s council seats were up, but only one incumbent looks poised to return.
Councilmembers Sylvia Apodaca and Mike Grant were among the seven candidates seeking three at-large positions all on the same ballot.
With all votes counted, Apodaca appeared to be hanging on by a single vote, while Grant finished in last place.
Among the top three finishers, Christopher ‘Chris’ Garza, a former council member who ran unsuccessfully for mayor several years ago, was in first with 186 votes.
Dawn McCormick was in second with 162 votes, and Apodaca was in third with 156 votes. The fourth-place finisher, Nathan Fox, was on Apodaca’s heels with 155 votes.
Live Oak
Mayor Mary Dennis, a mortician by trade, has been in the role for 16 years and won another two-year term on Saturday. Two council members, Robert “Bob” Tullgren (Place 2) and Ed Cimics (Place 4), were also reelected without challengers.
Olmos Park
Mayor Erin Harrison, who works in medical device sales, was reelected without opposition, as was Councilman Will Brooks (Place 5).
The council added a new member in Place 4, James Griffin, a land use attorney who chaired the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Selma
Mayor Tom Daly, who has held the role since 2010, was reelected without opposition. Councilman Noah Washington Jr. (Place 2) and Councilwoman Becky Harris (Place 3) also earned another term.
Shavano Park
Five people signed up to run for three at-large aldermen positions, including incumbents T. Lee Powers and Konrad Kuykendall, who are poised for another term. But with all names appearing on the same ballot, first place went to Christian Lyons, an Air Force veteran with conservative backing. He will replace Alderman Maggi Kautz, who did not seek reelection.
Somerset
Mayor Lydia P. Hernandez was reelected without opposition. Two incumbent council members, Jesse Vidales and Jonathan Gutierrez, were reelected to at-large positions.
Terrell Hills
Mayor John Low, who has held the role since 2020, was reelected without opposition, as was Councilman Bill Mitchell (Place 1) and Councilwoman Kate Lanfear (Place 2).
Universal City
Mayor Tom Maxwell was reelected without opposition. Four candidates signed up for three at-large council seats on the ballot, and incumbent Lori Putt was reelected, along with two newcomers.
Mark Dunlop is a retired Air Force veteran, and Andy Garza III owns a solar company and a dog peptide business. Incumbent Bernard Rubal was among the four candidates running, but fell short with the least number of votes.
Six of those municipalities had sales tax measures on their ballot, and all were approved overwhelmingly:
1. Castle Hills voted 89% in support of Proposition A
2. Grey Forest voted 92% in support of Proposition A
3. Hollywood Park voted 99.5% in support of Proposition A
4. Olmos Park voted 89% in favor of Proposition 1
5. Shavano Park voted 90% in favor of Proposition A
5. Terrell Hills voted 93% in favor of Proposition A
Reporter Diego Medel contributed to this report.
