Local filings for City and School positions finalized

With local elections just around the corner filing deadline was 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 8. Candidates were signing up right up to the “closing bell” on Monday. Here is how the ballots will shape up on Election Day, May 8th.

Buffalo

When the deadline closed for the filing for a spot on the Buffalo City Council, five residents had signed up to vy for three at-large positions on the Council. Three incumbents whose terms are expiring are Dorothy Farmer and Jerry Salazar, and incumbent appointee Bob Winn who was fulfilling the unexpired term held by Steve Oliver. Also running are new candidates John Maneval and Brent Reeder. In an at-large election, the three candidates with the most votes will win a spot on the council.

Buffalo ISD

Monday at 5:00 also marked the deadline for filing for a position on the Buffalo ISD School Board. All three incumbents will face challengers. Position 1 will see incumbent trustee Dr. Russell Jonas facing challenger Jerrod Jones. BISD Board President Jim Scott is also seeking another term and former board member Scott Glick will run against the incumbent for Position 2. In the race for Position 3, incumbent appointee Gene Pruitt, Jr. will run against Jeff Jones.

The BISD school board election will be held on Saturday, May 8th at the Buffalo Civic Center, concurrent with the city election. Early voting will begin April 26th and run through May 4th, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the BISD Administration Building on Davis Street.

Jewett

The City of Jewett will have no need to hold a City election on May 8, 2010 since there are three positions open and three candidates to fill them. Councilmen Jimmy Mills and Tammy Coulter will be returning to their cur rent seats. John Sitton will not return to the Council but Becky Hughes has filed for his seat.

Leon ISD

Leon Independent School District Board of Trustees has three positions open for election: Position 4 Board member Peggy Ivey will not be returning and Paula Williams has filed for that position unopposed.

Position 6 Board member Gilbert Garcia will be challenged by Cherry Salinas.

Position 7 Board member Ryan O’Neal will run against challengers Dianna Wood, Bryan Cravey and Kristy Vandegriff.

Centerville

The Centerville City Council has two open council seats and the mayor position is up for election. Those positions are currently held by Mayor N.R. Goolsby, Councilmen Bobby Walters and Warren Baillio.

Goolsby is running for another term and will run unopposed. Walter and Baillio are both running for reelection and Mike Wilson has thrown his hat into the race. Since there are two spots available and three contenders, the two candidates with the most votes will assume the positions.

Centerville ISD

Two Centerville Independent School District board positions are currently open for election. Danny Lacey, current president of the Board, has filed for reelection and no opposition has filed to run against him. Board member Craig Smith will not be running and Jean Turner and Tommy Neyland have filed to compete for that position.

Oakwood

The Oakwood City Council has three seats up for election this year. Those seats are currently occupied by Dorothy Bell, Mike Heckathorn, and Bobbye Bullock. All three members have said they will run again. Heckathorn is the only one who has officially signed up for re-election as of the printing of this paper. At this time, no other names have been thrown into the election arena. Next year, councilmen David Neel and Barry Olive’s seats will be up for election along with Mayor Vicki Stroud.

The City Council election will be held in conjunction with the Oakwood Independent School District elections on May 8, 2010.

Oakwood ISD

There are also three seats on the Oakwood school board up for election this year. Larry Lipsey will be running again for a second term on the O.I.S.D. board. Winnie Hodges says she too will be running again this year. Kim Hardin has chosen not to run again. Derek Lancaster left the school board earlier in the school year and his seat was filled by Terry Johnson. Lancaster has now thrown his name in the hat to come back to the board. So far, Leon Moore and Arthur Koym are the only new people seeking a seat on the board. Mack Botard, Terry Johnson, Chris Agapiou, and Nathan Smith’s seats are not up for election this year.