Candidates file for May 8 local elections
HIGHLAND LAKES — Dozens of candidates across the Highland Lakes made the 5 p.m. Monday deadline to file for office in scores of municipal, school district and other races.
Election day is May 8, and early voting runs from April 26-May 4.
Most terms are for two years. Several propositions also are on the ballot.
Bertram
In Bertram, Mayor JoAnn Stephens has filed for re-election on City Council. Economic Development Corp. member Clifford Don Atkins and Wynette Morris have filed to run against Stephens.
Also during the May 8 election, incumbents Barbara Duke and Mike Richardson Jr. have each filed for re-election for another term.
Other candidates for at-large positions on the council include former Mayor Pro-tem Marilynn Goode, Cynthia Anderson, Grady Smith III and Amy Strickland.
Burnet
In Burnet, four candidates are vying for three open seats on the City Council.
The at-large seats of Bill Flynn, Pat Riddell and William DeLeon are up for election May 8.
Riddell, 70 and an insurance agent, and DeLeon, 62, a retiree, are running for re-election. Other candidates include insurance agent Gary Wideman, 44, and business owner Gary Vaughan, 53.
Burnet Consolidated Independent School District
The Burnet Consolidated Independent District board will hold two elections May 8.
Incumbent Kay Behrens has filed to run again for her Place 1 slot. The board secretary will face challenger Stephen Shipley for the seat.
Also, board President Andy Feild is running unopposed for re-election to Place 5.
Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District
The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District will hold two elections May 8.
Incumbent Precinct 2 Director Wayne Brown will run against Kevin Herring. Brown is also the board vice president.
Meanwhile, incumbent Precinct 4 Director Jerry Bostick has not filed for re-election.
Jeffrey Koska and Stephen Henderson have filed for the Precinct 4 position.
Cottonwood Shores
Seven residents are vying for four council seats, including one special election to fill an unexpired term.
Place 1 Councilman Frank Chavez, who was appointed in 2009, is running unopposed to keep his seat on the council, while Place 3 Councilman Deavon DeLancey is running against challenger Brad Kline.
Janet K. Taylor, who currently holds the Place 4 council seat, is running against Stephen A. Sherry for the Place 5 seat.
Martha Logan, the appointee to Place 5, is not seeking re-election.
Meanwhile, former Councilman Donald Orr, who stepped down last May, has thrown his hat in the ring to fill his former seat at Place 4. Orr faces Richard Frazier for Place 4, which has been filled by Taylor since he resigned in 2009.
The candidates will meet at City Hall at noon March 12 to draw for positioning on the May 8 ballot, according to City Administrator Karrie Cummings.
Granite Shoals
Granite Shoals residents will decide the outcome of three council races during this year’s election.
Place 2 Councilwoman Merilyn Nations will face challenger Slayton Marks for her seat, while Place 4 Councilman David Dittmar will face off against former councilman Walter Dulin.
Place 6 Councilwoman Bessie Jackson is running unopposed.
Marble Falls
Eight Marble Falls residents have filed to run for the three available at-large council seats currently held by Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Pilley and councilmen Jim Weber and Chris Bridges.
Bridges, 46, is the only current council member seeking re-election, with Weber stepping down due to term limits and Pilley declining to seek another term.
Also running in the race are electronics technician Charles “Chuck” Dear, 52; retail manager Heather Norman, 52; retiree and Burnet County Democratic Party Chairman Richard Maddern, 62; health and safety manager Richard Lewis, 38; merchant Patrick Carter, 57; professional server Brady McAlister, 24; retiree Michael Goff, 68; business owner and Economic Development Corp. board member John Packer, 50; and attorney Allen Garrett, 35.
The top three vote-getters will win seats on the council, according to City Secretary Christina Laine.
Marble Falls voters also will decide on a proposed $50,000 property-tax exemption for seniors and disabled residents and several proposed amendments to the city charter.
For more, visit www.ci.marble-falls.tx.us.
Marble Falls Independent School District
With only two seats up for election in May, the Marble Falls Independent School District board race comes down to two incumbents.
Neither drew any opposition
Karl Westerman, the longest current serving board member, has filed for another term at Place 2.
Westerman is the board’s vice president. He is currently on his third term.
He will be joined on the ballot by Place 1 incumbent Mike Savage, who also filed for re-election. Savage is finishing his first term.
Meadowlakes
Don Williams has filed to run for mayor. Incumbent John Aaron said he wasn’t seeking another term.
“I’ve been at this six years, it’s just time to hang it up,” he said. “Things are going well at the city. The city’s growing. We’ve accomplished a lot the past six years.”
Meanwhile Place 1 incumbent Bill Pickard during his run for another term faces challengers Linda Weir and Jim Ryno. And in the Place 3 race, Rusty Crawford is taking on incumbent Joe Summers for the seat.
Voters will also decide whether to switch Meadowlakes to a city-manager form of government. Currently, the city has an administrator, but he and the mayor both perform the duties of a single city manager, officials said.