Raul Reyes was elected mayor November 2, 2004 in a historic win for El Cenizo having been elected the youngest mayor in the City's and State’s history.

Raul L. Reyes was born in Corpus Christi, Texas June 3, 1983.  In 1992 his mother along with his four younger brothers moved to El Cenizo to begin what would be a life changing experience.  At the age of 15, Raul demonstrated his love for the children and people of El Cenizo and began volunteering in the local Boys and Girls Club.  Some of his volunteering successes include: forming an award winning community respected youth choir, giving ESL and Citizenship classes to adults, instructing basic computer skills courses and advocating and being park of the movement for a municipal park and a public library.

Upon graduation from the Academy of Global Business and Advance Technology Magnet School in United South High School Raul was intrigued with politics and decided to venture into them by running in the City of El Cenizo's November 5, 2002 General Election.  Unsuccessful, Raul was determined to continue his community involvement and serving the people of El Cenizo by advocating for better city services and better city infrastructure.

In November of 2004, Raul Reyes was elected Mayor.  During his first term he worked extremely hard to improve the city’s image and address public safety, health and infrastructure concerns.   In November 2006, the mayor ran for re-election and made another historic win, by garnishing 81% of the votes and becoming the first re-elected Mayor in the City's history. Some of the mayor’s most noticeable improvement projects include: Working with Webb County to pave all city streets and install lighting on Espejo Molina Rd., the construction of the El Cenizo Fire Station, the creation of the El Cenizo Police Department and the El Cenizo Municipal Court, the construction of the first municipal park, construction of sidewalks and securing more than 3.3 million dollars of federal funding.  

Mayor Reyes is currently serving his fourth term after being re-elected in November 2010 and is a graduate student at Texas A&M International University with a Bachelor’s of Businesses Administration with a Concentration in Management and International Business.  Mayor Reyes is currently pursuing his master’s degree in the same field and a second Bachelors Degree in Nursing.  Mayor Reyes serves on numerous board and committees within Webb County and one day aspires to become Governor of the State.