Local Elections Set for May
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
HOUSTON COUNTY – While county election primaries are set for early March, city, school, and hospital elections are non-partisan, with a number of local races set for Saturday, May 2.
The Messenger has always encouraged people to get involved, especially those with new ideas and interest in the local world we live in. While the elections are set for May, potential candidates have until Friday, Feb. 13 to sign up to run for the various open positions. As these are local elections, signup paperwork can be found by visiting the school or local entity where you wish to run. Some areas have certain districts where you must live to run for a seat, while others are “open positions,” open to anyone living in the area at large.
The details matter, and do vary by city and school, so reach out to them directly for any questions you may have. Each entity will provide early voting, from April 20-28, but again, polling places may vary by where you are voting.
In the city of Crockett, there are three open positions for city council:
Precinct Three, currently held by NaTrenia Hicks
Precinct Four, currently held by Elbert “Wayne” Johnson
Precinct Five, currently held by Mike Marsh.
In Crockett Independent School District, there will be two positions on the ballot:
Position Two, currently held by Stephen Tuggle
Position Five, currently held by Zenita Carruthers
In the city of Grapeland, there will be elections for Mayor and two open council seats. Early voting and election day voting will be at City Hall in downtown Grapeland.
For Grapeland ISD, early voting will be at the district administration office, while voting on election day will be at city hall. There are two positions up for votes this year:
Position One, currently held by Travis Brown
Position Two, currently held by T.C. Howard
Latexo Independent School District will also have two open positions on its school board. Early voting will be available at the district administration office, while election day voting will be held at the Wilcox Community Center. The open positions are:
Position One, currently held by Virgie Stewart
Position Two, currently held by Dr. Michael Allen
In Lovelady, the city will have three open positions for city council, while Lovelady Independent School District has two open positions:
Position Six, currently held by Rusty Baker
Position Seven, currently held by Keith Driskell
Position Five would not normally be on the ballot this year, but Will Crawford was appointed last year, so this position will also be on the ballot.
No information was immediately available for the city of Kennard or Kennard ISD.
For the Houston County Hospital District, the even positions will all be up for a vote in May:
Position Two, currently held by Monica Glover Pierre
Position Four, currently held by Roy Langford
Position Six, currently held by Robert Grier
Position Eight, currently held by Jarvis McElhany
You may have noticed you have not received an updated voter card. With the changing Congressional precincts, state authorities have asked for more time to check and make sure the cards are correct. Houston County Elections Administrator Cindy Lum confirmed local officials have checked maps and streets and are ready to have the cards printed once they get the “all clear” from state officials.
She said previous voter cards or current identification will still allow eligible voters to cast their votes, even if the state has not sent new documents before the elections.
The Messenger will update this story once the candidate signup period has ended.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
