Garcia will challenge Herring for Kerrville mayor’s seat

In a risky move, Kerrville City Councilmember Roman Garcia filed to run for mayor on Wednesday, setting up a clash against fellow Councilmember Joe Herring Jr.

It could be a longshot bid against Herring, who has considerable name recognition from past service and his years as a columnist with the Kerrville Daily Times. However, Garcia has won his last two elections — although narrowly.

The move comes a day after Garcia initiated a contentious City Council meeting, which caused Herring to rebuke him and call Garcia disrespectful. Garcia is an isolated figure on the City Council, on the losing end of dozens of failed motions. He has repeatedly infuriated other City Council members, including mayors Bill Blackburn and Judy Eychner.

This is also a risk for the politically ambitious Garcia, who must leave the City Council should he lose the mayoral race. Garcia’s second term expires in 2025. However, should he win, he would have a say in appointing his successor.

The mayoral race is currently the only contested one among the three races. Place 4 Councilmember Brenda Hughes is running for re-election. Barbara Dewell Ferguson is running for Place 3, which is expected to be contested by Kent McKinney.

However, Garcia’s electoral performance would put him well behind Herring when comparing comparable election results. In the last election, Garcia garnered 1,926 votes to win re-election. He also had plenty of help in last year’s election, with intervention by the Kerr County Republican Party and the Impact Fellowship Church.

Herring began rolling out signs on Wednesday to support his bid to replace Eychner, who is leaving office in May due to term limits. In Herring’s 2022 campaign, he earned 2,200 votes. If elected, Garcia would supplant Herring as the city’s youngest mayor. Herring previously served in the early 1990s and was 30 when elected.