Several incumbents sent packing, TISD Bond fails
Few voters in Liberty County headed to the polls Saturday, May 4, in local city and school elections, and they rejected several incumbents, while Tarkington voters were split on a $59 million bond.
Of the 34,216 voters eligible to cast a ballot, 2,696 or 7.9% made their way to the polling locations across the county; of course, some of those locations were impossible to reach because of heavy flooding in the area.
Officials were forced to extend voting hours until 8 p.m. at the locations where voters could get to the polls and vote in any race.
Plum Grove and Colony Ridge, impacted by the San Jacinto River’s East Fork, were most affected by the closures. A closure also impacted voters in Tarkington ISD.
CITY ELECTIONS
Incumbents in Dayton, Daisetta, and Plum Grove did not fare well when the results were announced Saturday night, as every contested race saw the current officeholder lose at the ballot box.
In Liberty, a new mayor, John Hebert Jr., overwhelmingly outperformed Rudy Cole. The win will open another spot on council, as Hebert Jr was serving an unexpired term.
In the race for city council, the incumbents celebrated wins, with Tommy Brents and Ed Seymour reclaiming two of the three at-large seats on the ballot, while Ross Ward scored the third spot.
Brents led all vote-getters, while Ward and Seymour secured the final two spots, where Bill Griffin and Matt Harris followed right behind. Sattler came in sixth.
On the other side of the river, the one you used to be able to drive across, voters showed their frustrations and sent them packing.
Position 1 Councilwoman Sherial Lawson found herself unseated by Harry Barnes Jr.
In the race for Position 2, Janett e Goulder- Frick placed third out of four candidates, with former councilman Alvin Burress and Sarah Vickery securing enough votes for a runoff election in June. Troy Barrett trailed just a few votes behind Frick.
In Daisetta, there will be a new mayor at the dais, as current councilwoman Chancie Bailey secured a victory over incumbent Eric Thaxton.
Plum Grove voters, who had to find alternative voting locations on election day, dismissed incumbents Rodney Walker and his wife, LeeAnn Penton Walker, from their respective positions. Former council members Diana Chunn and Froy Ortiz will again represent the community.
There will be a new council member in Cleveland, as Rachel Hall defeated Sophia Johnson in the race for Position 5.
Ames voters, like Liberty, opted to keep the incumbents on board, as Elizabeth “Liz” Hardy and Alfred Lee Freeman Jr retained their seats.
SCHOOL ELECTIONS
The big-ticket item on the ballot was a $59 million bond referendum in Tarkington ISD that would have funded the construction of a second elementary campus and provided for significant infrastructure improvements across the district, which appeared completely split on this issue.
Ultimately, the proposal failed by a slim margin of only 11 votes, 452-441.
In Liberty ISD, voters gave the nod to incumbent Lance Lawrence in the race for Position 3 on the Board of Trustees over challenger Manuel Martinez IV. In the race for Position 6, Trustee voters favored Bruce George over Jeffrey Ryan.
Cleveland ISD voters elected Bethany Porter over former board member Aaron Montesnieto for Position 1, and Jennifer Pena was victorious over Chris Wood in the Position 3 contest.
Devers ISD decided to give another term to Gradee Davis as she soundly defeated challenger Frankie Moeller.
Results will still need to be canvassed before they become official, and more information on the runoff in Dayton will be provided in the future.
The following is a list of the final tally of contested and uncontested races on the ballot from the Liberty County Elections Office:
City of Liberty Mayor
Rudy Cole - 94 John Hebert, Jr. - 591
At-Large (3 Positions Available) Bill Griffin - 262 Greg Sattler - 149 Matt Harris - 260 Ross Ward - 285 Tommy Brents - 393 Ed Seymour - 277
City of Dayton Position 1
Sherial L. Lawson - 193 Harry L. Barnes, Jr. - 238
Position 2
Alvin Burress - 169** RUNOFF Janette Goulder-Frick - 58 Troy Barrett – 54 Sarah Vickery - 150** RUNOFF
Position 3
John Headrick - 353
City of Cleveland Position 3 Brent McWaters – 215
Position 4
Desiree David – 224
Position 5
Sophia Johnson - 111 Rachel Hall - 157
City of Daisetta Mayor Eric Thaxton - 43 Chancie Bailey – 85
Position 1
Cindy Burchfield – 102
Position 3
Lori Tidwell – 89 Position 5
Andrew McClusky - 96
City of Ames Position 1
Michael J. Trahan II – 59
Position 2
Elizabeth ‘Liz’ Hardy - 40 Cornelius Gilmore – 24
Position 4
Eric ‘Tebo’ Morris - 4 Alfred Lee Freeman, Jr. - 58
Plum Grove Mayor
Mary Arrendell – 32
Position 2
Froy Ortiz - 34 Rodney Walker – 11
Position 4
Diana Chun - 31 Lee A. Penton Walker - 13
Liberty ISD Trustee Position 3
Lance Lawrence - 550 Manuel Martinez IV – 112
Trustee Position 6 Jeffery Ryan - 139 Bruce George - 443
Cleveland ISD Trustee Position 1 Aaron Montesnieto - 141 Bethany Porter – 261
Trustee Position 2
Shaquille ‘Shaq’ Sampson – 313
Trustee Position 3 Chris Wood - 186 Jennifer Peña - 222
Devers ISD Trustee Position 6 Gradee Davis - 75 Frankie Moeller – 22
Trustee Position 7 Matt Horelica - 78
Tarkington ISD Bond Election FOR - 441 Against - 452
Hull Fresh Water Supply District Director DeeAnn Ard - 50 Marvin Fregia - 34 Bill Long - 47 Jim Parker - 27