Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado has taken the first step towards seeking reelection for a second term, appearing Friday, January 19 at the Chapala headquarters of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), to formalize his bid to head the party’s 2018 election ticket.
The mayor, however, faces two other well-known PRI heayweights who are also competing for the nomination.
Principal rival Juan de Dios (Bebo) García Velasco is an accomplished businessman who has taken a leave of absence from his current post as a city councilor to take a stab at the mayor’s job.
Representing the distaff side is María de la Luz Mendoza Huerta, who served as regidora (councilwoman) in the 2010-2015 administration and was hired by the state government last year to act as director of the Centro Cultural González Gallo.
All three contenders presented documentation that will be reviewed by PRI’s local internal processes commission for admittance to a training course and written exam on public service, as required by the party’s state Candidate Nomination Commission (CPC). Each must also submit proof of sufficient support from local PRI affiliates, its internal organizations and leaders in 19 municipal electoral divisions.
The CPC is responsible for naming candidates to run for office in Chapala and 65 other Jalisco municipalities currently governed by PRI, with names of those chosen to be announced no later than February 5.
Under new reforms, 2018 will be the first year since the 1910-1920 Mexican Revolution that incumbent mayors and legislators are allowed to run for a second consecutive term of office. Jalisco voters will go to the polls on July 1 to cast ballots for federal, state and municipal offices.