PEC directors Oakley, Cox up for re-election
Pedernales Electric Cooperative District 4, which includes part of Hays County, is represented on the map by the bright fuchsia color in the lower right-hand quadrangle. Burnet County is in District 5, represented by the tan color on both sides of the map. The white portions of the map are not served by PEC. Within District 5, the city of Burnet is not part of the cooperative. Map courtesy of PEC
Burnet County Judge James Oakley plans to file for his fourth and final term on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative Board of Directors in 2022, he told DailyTrib.com, although filing is still weeks away. He also recently filed in the Republican primary seeking re-election to his position as county judge.
PEC board districts 4 and 5, currently held by Travis Cox and Oakley, respectively, are both up for election in 2022. Dates pertaining to the election were approved by the PEC board at its Nov. 19 meeting in Johnson City. The board has seven members representing seven districts. Cox is also planning to run for re-election, he told DailyTrib.com on Wednesday, Dec. 1.
Filing to run for a position on the board opens on Jan. 17, 2022, and closes March 28. A board candidate orientation is April 4; board candidate video recordings will be made on April 20.
Voting begins May 18 and ends at 5 p.m. June 10. Only cooperative members living in Districts 4 and 5 can vote.
Election results will be released on June 14.
The annual meeting for 2022 is 9 a.m. June 17 followed by the June board meeting, when elected members will be seated.
Cox, who lives in Driftwood in Hays County, was elected to the board in 2020 and is ending his first term. Oakley was elected to the board in 2013 and is completing his third term.
Terms are three years each, and directors are limited to four consecutive full terms or a total of 12 years. A director can run for a fifth term after they have been off of the board for three full years.
To run for the board, a candidate must be at least 21 years old, have earned a high school diploma from an accredited institution or obtained state certification through General Educational Development tests, be a U.S. citizen, and be a co-op member of good standing. Candidates also cannot have been employed by PEC during the five years previous to the election and must have been receiving continuous electric service from the cooperative for at least a year before the election and in the district sought.
Other details can be found in the PEC bylaws, pages 6-8.
Once elected, a director is paid a fixed monthly fee of $3,000, according to the “Board of Directors Compensation Policy” effective Sept. 17, 2021. Officers receive an additional $100 a month. They are paid $100 for attendance and participation in committee meetings with a cap set at $400 a year for each committee.