In June 2005, Richard Cortez was elected the 19th Mayor of the City of McAllen.
He was re-elected for a second four-year term in May 2009, garnering 82 percent of the popular vote.
Richard was elected McAllen City Commissioner-District 1 in 2015 and continued to serve until he gave up his seat to run for Hidalgo County Judge.
[2] In 2018, after three terms as Hidalgo County Judge, Ramon Garcia did not seek re-election.
On January 1, 2019, Richard Cortez took office as Hidalgo County Judge.