Two candidates have opted out of the Nov. 2 Willacy County Navigation District board race, according to county elections administrator Jaime Serna.

In Pct. 2 Ray Solis dropped out of the race and Steve "Bonzai" Banyai has decided not to run for the Fifth position on the board, which is an at- large seat.

In Pct. 1 the candidates are Cesar Garcia, David Solis, and the incumbent, Mark Brown. In Pct. 2 the candidates are Rene De La Garza, Fina Saldana, and Robert Hulen.

In Pct. 3 the candidates are Walt Kittelberger, B.J. Powell, Paul Laird and Danny Reyna.

In Pct. 4 there is only one candidate, Antonio R. Trevino. Running for the At Large/ Chairman position are Virginia Garza Shuey, Raul P. Flores and Thomas "Tommy" Rains, Jr.

Early voting begins on October 18.

The election is the result of Senate Bill 2569 which was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2009. The Bill increases the number of board members from three to five and was designed to give more representation on the board by members elected from across the county.

The Willacy County Navigation District acts as a local government for the district which stretches from Port Mansfield to Lasara across the northern part of the county.

The Navigation District election will be held on the same day as the general election but will be on a seperate ballot, in the same polling places as the general election, at a cost of about $5,000 extra, Serna said.