The polls are closed, the votes have been tallied and we now know the preference of Northeast Texans for local city council and school board races.
Saturday’s unofficial finals also include results for the Hunt and Hopkins County hospital boards, Paris Junior College Board of Regents and three propositions in Fannin County.
Hunt County
Commerce residents were asked to choose a new mayor and new city council member. Dr. John Ballotti will serve as the new mayor of Commerce, defeating Coby Marcum after receiving 70 percent of the vote. Emma Martin won the race for Council Place 2 over Steven Harrison, 56 – 44 percent. Place 4 Incumbent Sue Davis was unopposed and will return for another 2 years.
A new mayor was also chosen in Greenville, as Steve Reid defeated two other opponents with 1,434 votes or 54 percent. Renee Francey and Bryan D. Herrin faced off for Place 5 on the council, with 69 percent of voters selecting Francey. Sandra Linson-Bell ran away with the race for Place 6, earning 83 percent of the vote over two challengers. The Greenville ISD Board Place 7 race went to incumbent Charles Sivley, who defeated Craig Crabtree 58 to 42 percent.
Caddo Mills elections included an at large position on the city council and for the school board. The top three vote-getters for the Caddo Mills City Council were Matt McMaha, Ben Bentley and Betty Farrow with 33, 19, and 17 percent respectively. And the top two vote-getters for the school board were Keith Hopkins with 39 percent and Jeremy Coddington with 31 percent.
Celeste has chosen three individuals for their city council. Felicia White, Doug Milton and Joel Gibson grabbed the top three votes in the field of seven. Each received 24, 24 and 18 percent, respectively.
There are two new members on the Lone Oak school board after voters chose not to re-elect incumbent Paul Kelley. Scott Mahand received 49 percent of the vote while Charles Prim got 38 percent.
There were several positions up for grabs in Quinlan for city council and school board. In the Council Place 1 race, Carolyn Strickland defeated Darlene Robinson, 47 percent to 53 percent. Place 2 on the council went to Carole Petty, who was unopposed. Richey Whitehead won Place 3 with 55 percent of the vote and Richard Whitehead took Place 5, also beating his challenger with 55 percent of the vote. And for Quinlan ISD Place 2, 58 percent of voters selected Michelle Harrison over Chris Raduechel.
Wolfe City’s Council Places went to the top 3 vote-getters, Sharion Scott with 43 percent, Julia Wensel with 30 percent and Jeff McDaniel with 17 percent. Place 3 on the Wolfe City ISD went to Maxine Haywood, and Place 4 on the school board went to Jill Woodruff, who earned just eight more votes that challenger Clay Henslee for 51 percent of the vote.
Hunt Memorial Hospital District was grabbed by John Cecil Nelson, Jr. who received more than 3,000 votes, or 84 percent, in the win over Frank Janda.
Hopkins County
Place 1, Place 2, and Place 3 on Sulphur Springs’ City Council were up, as was a place on the Sulphur Springs ISD Board. Craig Johnson was unopposed for Place 1. Place 2 went to incumbent Clay Walker with 65 percent to Charles Oxford’s 35 percent. Place 3 was also unopposed for Oscar Aguilar. The two elected to the school board out of three candidates are Jason Dietze and Don Sapaugh.
The Hopkins County Memorial Hospital Board of Directors went to the top two vote-getters out of four. David Black’s 42 percent and Suzanne Thomas Bankston’s 32 percent were the highest.
Delta County
Only the Cooper City Council was up in Delta County, with the top three vote-getters earning positions. Willie “Bear” Wilkins grabbed 28 percent, Jo Ann Preas got 26 percent and David Phillips got 21 percent.
Fannin County
Bonham positions included Council Ward 2, 3, and 4; and Bonham ISD Place 1 and 2. Ward 2 went to Ruth Ann Thomas with 58 percent over Margaret Bradshaw’s 42 percent. H.L. Compton was unopposed in Ward 3, and Glenn Taylor barely grabbed Ward 4 from Nancy Lawrence, 51 to 49 percent. For the Bonham School Board Place 1 went to Sean Floyd with 67 percent over Michael B. Williams’ 33 percent, and Place 2 went to Monica Kissling, 70 percent, over Adam Deas, 30 percent.
After nearly three years, the Bonham ISD finally got its wish from voters, who approved a bond package for renovations to I.W. Evans Intermediate. 60 percent of voters chose “FOR” the proposition calling for the issuance of $7 million of bonds for constructing, renovation and equipping the school.
Ector had Mayor and two positions available on the city council. Mary Dean Norris beat Brett Stone by one vote, 67 votes to 66, to win the mayoral spot; and Donnie Lankford’s 28 and Linda Bohn’s 27 percent earned them a seat on the Ector Council.
Mayor of Honey Grove went to Harold Roberts with 65 percent over Thad Weems’ 35 percent, and the top two vote-earners for Honey Grove City Council are Claude Caffee, 35 percent, and Terry Paul Cunningham, 33 percent. Top two for the Honey Grove School Board are Delores Patt, 29 percent, and Josh Russell, 24.94 percent. Bobby Motley missed the school board by one vote at 24.68 percent, and Brandon Caffee earned 21 percent.
Citizens in Ladonia have re-elected Mayor Jan Cooper, who earned 56 percent of the votes, compared to Leon Hurse’s 44 percent. Top two vote-getters for Ladonia City Council are P.K. Kirkpatrick, 20 percent, and Issac Scoggins, 15 percent. A total of nine candidates ran for the city council.
Willie Johnson is mayor of Leonard, defeating Margy Hall in a landslide, 82-18 percent. Jane Blackberry has earned a spot on the Leonard City Council with 37 percent of votes, but the second winner remains unclear. Justin Perry and Penny Edwards tied, both received 31.65 percent. A decision on the issue is forthcoming.
Savoy mayor is Joe Isom, beating John Hill 61-39 percent. Top two for the Savoy City Council are Kathrine Cornwell at 23 percent and Margaret Ann Frailicks at 39 percent, and Savoy’s ISD positions went to Dana Melugin, 31 percent; Barbara Ricker Malone, 26 percent; and Charles Terry Lewis, 24 percent.
Trenton becomes the latest Northeast Texas entity to approve the sale of all alcoholic beverages. 58 percent of voters were in favor of the issue, which also includes mixed beverages. Citizens also voted in favor, at 71 percent, of a second proposition that called for reducing the economic 4b sales tax to the rate of one-fourth of one percent and adopting a one-fourth of one percent sales tax for economic development under section 4a. This will allow for promotion and development of new and expanded business enterprises. Voters also chose Tommy Green and Jamie Davis to serve on the Trenton ISD Board.
Lamar County
Paris voted for several city council seats, school board vacancies and places on the Paris Junior College Board of Regents. Paris City Council Place 1 went to Aaron Jenkins over Don Shelton, 57-43 percent. Council Place 2 was grabbed by Billie Lancaster with 67 percent over Robert Avila’s 33 percent. John Wright got Place 3 with 64 percent over Marvin Wroten’s 36 percent, and Place 6 went to Cleonne Drake over Edwin Pickle, 62-38 percent.
Ginna Walker Bowman grabbed Place 6 of the Paris Junior College Board of Regents over Barney Bray, 63-37 percent, and Regent Place 9 went to Curtis Fendley, 61 percent, over Paul Gene Roden, 39 percent.
Chisum ISD’s top two vote-getters out of a field of six candidates were Larry Rickman at 28 percent and Lori Collins with 27 percent.
Votes for North Lamar ISD were not reported. We had also not received results for Prairiland ISD, Blossom’s Mayor, Reno City Council, or Roxton School Board as of Saturday evening.
