Ector County Democratic Precinct 4 Commissioners challenger Savannah Castellon Morales upset longtime incumbent Commissioner Armando S. Rodriguez Tuesday, denying him a fifth four-year term and setting up a November showdown with Republican Billy Hall.
Savannah Castellon Morales finished with 461 (60.90%) and Armando Rodriguez garnered 296 (39.10%).
“Me and my husband Daniel knocked on over 5,000 doors and made phone calls every day, getting out in the community and doing the work,” Morales said, adding that her 15 years’ work in her husband’s Melody Bakery on the south side of town was also an asset.
“I got to meet a lot of people there and they saw the compassion I have for the community, said Morales, 36, a native Odessan who joined the county public works department last September. “I want to work hard and bring back a focus on us. That’s why you sit in the seat.”
Rodriguez is a 61-year-old Odessa native who graduated from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio with a bachelor’s degree in political science. “I talked to a lot of people about my work on the roads and the environment,” Rodriguez said.
“We also need to expand the cemetery and do economic development in my area.”
Rodriguez said the early voting turnout was low because the weather was cold during most of the early voting period, where he trailed Morales 176 votes to 257, and he had hoped for a stronger showing in Election Day returns.
Republican leaders cheered Hall for getting into the Precinct 4 contest because the county’s southern and southeastern jurisdiction is heavily Democratic and the Nov. 8 general election will be a good test of the GOP’s county-wide strength, they said.
