City of Grapeland Election Likely Put on Hold
Mayoral, Council Positions on Ballot
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – Despite the postponement of most area elections, the May 2 election in Grapeland was still a go as of Monday, April 6.
According to an April 3 post on the City of Grapeland’s Facebook page, “The City of Grapeland General Election is still scheduled for May 2, 2020.”
The mayoral position and two city council posts are up for election. The mayoral contest is between Mayor Balis Dailey and City Councilman Mitchell Woody.
With Woody declaring his candidacy for mayor, two council positions are now open. Grapeland has an at-large city council format and three people have filed to run for the two open seats. The three candidates are: Eddie Childress; incumbent Justin Lumbreraz; and Greg Vaden.
In a world now held hostage by the COVID-19, however, by Tuesday, April 7, it appears the day of the election will be postponed.
“I saw an e-mail from the Texas Municipal League (TML) which is causing all cities to push the election to November, no matter what,” Councilman Mitchell Woody said on Tuesday afternoon.
“I just saw that e-mail last night and now I’m waiting on confirmation from the mayor (Balis Dailey). I didn’t see that until about 9 pm last night. Right now, I’m waiting for the dust to settle and see what the mayor comes up with,” Woody indicated.
The TML website – found at www.tml.org – stated, “The Secretary of State’s Elections Division issued guidance yesterday (April 4) that interprets the governor’s most recent executive order as, for all practical purposes, mandating that May elections be postponed.”
The guidance issued by the Texas Secretary of State’s Office stated, “Governor Abbott’s March 31, 2020 executive order (Executive Order GA 14): includes, but is not limited to, the following items. It: (1) extends social distancing guidelines through April 30th, (2) defines essential services, and (3) extends school closures across the state through May 4, 2020.”
“If you haven’t already moved your May 2 election,” the guidance continued, “you must take action to do so immediately! This most recent executive order will prevent you from securing polling places, recruiting election workers, and allowing voters a safe way to exercise their right to vote. If you don’t move your May 2 election, you are subjecting voters to health risks and potential criminal violations. Failure to postpone your election will put your election at severe risk for an election contest.”
Mayor Dailey was also contacted on the matter.
“We have brought this up before the council twice. Both times, they were adamant they were going to have the election,” he said. “According to the Secretary of State’s prior clarification, in order to postpone the election – which they highly recommended – it had to be brought before the governing body, which is the council.”
The mayor added, “You could see this coming down the line.”
Dailey confirmed by the postponement of the election will be on the Tuesday, April 14 agenda.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
