After speaking with more than 1,000 people during municipal election season, Mauricio Galante said he’s focused on staying in touch with the people who elected him to his Arlington City Council seat.
Galante, who avoided a runoff Saturday after receiving 52% of the vote, said he plans to hold informal monthly meetings and regular town halls with constituents.
“They all unanimously asked me, ‘Please get in touch more often,’” he said as he picked up campaign signs Monday.
Exactly 300 votes separated Galante from his opponent Tim Goss in a race that garnered 2,698 votes. Goss received nearly 41% of the vote. Jacob Franklin received 7.2%.
Galante said his first priority will be getting up to speed on the North Police Substation and Evidence Storage Facility. Voters have approved $21 million in funding in two separate bond cycles for the building at 1715 E. Lamar Blvd., and the city’s bond tracker lists the project as “in progress.”
“Day one, I’m going to go out, find what’s going on, what needs to be done, what is the timeline and what I need to do that will be my power to go ahead to deliver on time, on schedule and on budget,” he said.
Galante said he will also advocate for public safety officials’ needs during budget season this summer, as well as discuss incentives for small business owners with the Arlington Economic Development Corporation.
Additionally, Galante said he’s interested in expanding public transportation in Arlington. He found that the majority of people he spoke with while campaigning were in favor of options like buses, trains or expanded services through the company Via.
“In every economic level, and actually, especially on the high economic level … everybody’s concerned about public transportation,” he said.
Galante will be sworn in May 14, along with three incumbents who were elected to additional terms.
Bowie Hogg, at-large District 7 council member, won his re-election campaign with nearly 69% of the 11,015 votes cast. He ran against Chris “Dobi” Dobson.
Hogg described election season as a “humbling time” when elected officials come up for review by their constituents.
“It reminds you that we do report to voters,” Hogg said. “It’s a nice feeling and a nice confirmation of hopefully the work we’re doing is the right path for Arlington.”
Hogg said his second-term priorities include safer roads, job creation and improving road infrastructure.
“We’ve got over 3,000 miles of roads, and while we’re allocating a lot of money to it, we can always allocate more,” Hogg said.
Incumbents Raul Gonzalez of District 2 and Long Pham of District 6 ran unopposed for re-election; Gonzalez will begin his third and final term, and Pham his second.
Council members will serve for three years instead of two due to extended term lengths voters passed in 2022. The next Arlington City Council race will not be until 2026.
In the meantime, Hogg said officials are eyeing next spring for putting up charter amendments before the voters.
“It’s a perfect time to hold that during every third year, to work on our city charter,” Hogg said.
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