McAllen Mayor Jim Darling gives his final State of the City address

McALLEN, Texas - McAllen Mayor Jim Darling recently held his final State of the City Address.After 43 years in government, including three four-year terms as mayor, Darling will step down as soon as the result of the runoff election for mayor is known. The runoff is between outgoing city commissioners Veronica Vela Whitacre and Javier Villalobos.In his speech, Darling noted how the past year had brought challenges such as the coronavirus pandemic and the sever winter freeze. He thanked all the first responders for their efforts.Darling also noted some of the city’s achievements, such as introducing citywide wifi, expanding Bicentennial Boulevard, improving parks, the focus on drainage and boosting trade through the refurbishment of Anzalduas International Bridge. The mayor had entered the McAllen Convention Center with a dance routine. He concluded it with these remarks: “I have tried in my many years to work with everyone, everyone of every race, nationality, creed, political persuasion, everyone who could help our great city. I have also tried to always return the favor when I could. God Bless You and God Bless McAllen. Bye."Asked by the Rio Grande Guardian what the key things were that he wanted to get across, Darling said:“I wanted to be funny. I wanted to be entertaining. I wanted to be informative. I think we did most of that. I wanted to do two things. I am leaving so I wanted to leave a message for the people that are taking my place. And, number two, it has been a tough year. I wanted to thank a lot of people for getting it done. We accomplished most of that. I want everybody to walk our of here feeling good about their city and proud of it.”Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.