Mayor Omar Ochoa calls on Edinburg leadership at all levels
Newly-elected Edinburg Mayor Omar Ochoa is calling on the city’s leadership at all levels “to swing for the fences in economic growth, working tirelessly to recruit businesses with high-paying jobs in technology, healthcare, and advanced trades.”
Ochoa, a trial lawyer and former Edinburg City Attorney, won 62 percent of the vote during the Tuesday, November 4, 2025 mayoral race which also included former Mayor Richard Molina, former Mayor Pro Tem Johnny García, and writer and community activist Jonathan Salinas. “We must look to problems of the future before they overtake us. This includes securing the lifeblood of our future by championing bold, long-term water solutions for Edinburg. And we can’t do all of this alone. We need partnerships because we cannot grow our city on the backs of taxpayers. We must work directly with the school district, county, state, and federal levels to bring resources to Edinburg.”
Edinburg and the Rio Grande Valley face a severe water shortage primarily due to the Rio Grande River’s critically-low levels, driven by drought and Mexico’s scarce water delivery to deep South Texas as required by a decades-long treaty with the United States. Edinburg is responding by implementing water conservation measures and planning to develop alternative water sources, such as a new treatment facility to extract and treat underground aquifers and reuse treated wastewater.
As Edinburg City Attorney, he served from November 2018 until April 2024 as the chief legal advisor to the mayor and city councilmembers, city officials, and all city departments, offices, and advisory boards.
In addition, as Edinburg City Attorney, appointed by the Edinburg City Council, he helped lead the city’s lobbying efforts before the Texas Legislature in 2023, 2021, and 2019, helping the mayor, city councilmembers, and state lobby teams secure millions of dollars in state funds for state and city projects in Edinburg.
“Edinburg, you voted to ‘Move Our City Forward’ to launch our community into the future, to ensure that the best days of our city are always ahead of us. I’m proud, humbled, honored to stand here today and announce that a new era in Edinburg starts now,” he pledged as part of his inauguration speech on Wednesday evening, November 12, 2025 at the Edinburg Arts, Culture & Events Center (ACE), located at 315 W McIntyre Street.
“This new day calls for a new vision and a new way of doing things. We must act with energy, responsibility, and deliberate speed,” he said. “Our action must be deliberate in that we carefully consider and plan city action to safeguard our tax dollars and the resources that make our city incredible.
“But we must also move with speed because we realize our time is limited. Although progress is often measured in decades, the commitment to act must be measured in days. And we cannot delay,” Ochoa continued.
Edinburg is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, according to the most recent 2024 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Edinburg’s population rose from 105,956 in 2023 to 108,733 in 2024, an increase of 2.62 percent, according to the Edinburg Economic Development Corporation. This population increase rate places Edinburg 25th in the nation, 10th in Texas, and first in the four-county Rio Grande Valley for fastest rate of growth among cities with populations of 100,000 or more.
Ochoa, at age 41 not yet considered in the U.S. to be middle age (45 years to 65 years), said economic development and good jobs must benefit the younger generations, as well as working-age adults in Edinburg.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the largest percentage of the city’s population is under 20 years of age, while a significant portion of the population also falls within the 25-64 working-age bracket.
“We are a town where field laborers and dreamers became CPAs, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. That enduring belief — that our children should have opportunities we never had — is our founding creed,” he proclaimed. “We must stop the brain drain of our best and brightest and create a genuine brain gain for our youth.
“I’m filled with immense humility at the public’s trust given to me, and I know that my duties are best fulfilled with guidance from God. I will be asking for his help every day,” he reflected. “But mostly I am excited, eager, restless, chomping at the bit to roll up sleeves, dive into the details, and tackle the issues that our community has so loudly said they want addressed.”