Grapeland City Election Postponed
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland City Council met in an unusual fashion on Tuesday, April 14. While the council members and Mayor Balis Dailey were present, the meeting was conducted via Facebook Live in an effort to keep with social distancing guidelines.
The meeting was highlighted by a discussion about the postponement of the May 2 election.
The agenda item pertaining to this matter stated, “Approve Resolution 041420 of the City Council of the City of Grapeland, Texas, postponing the general election to be held on the 2nd day of May for the purpose of electing a mayor and two city council members at-large to the November 3, 2020uniform election date.”
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.
As of April 14, the Grapeland election was still on despite what the Texas Municipal League recommended
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 2nd 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.”
Following several minutes of discussion, the resolution to move the May 2 election to November was approved by a 4-1 margin, with Councilman George Pierson voting in opposition.
In other matters brought before the City Council:
- Consent agenda items were approved.
- Departmental reports were received as information by the council.
- Police Sgt. Carly Foster was promoted to Lieutenant.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
