Filing for city, ISD elections starts today

by Cristin Parker cristin@thecherokeean.com

Cherokee County residents interested in running for a seat on their respective city councils or school boards have until 5 p.m., Friday, Feb. 14, to file for those local elections, starting today.

All area municipalities and school districts have seats coming up for election in the regular May general election, set for Saturday, May 2.

“As a general rule, a candidate for local office may appear on the ballot only as an independent,” according to the Texas Secretary of State’s website, which means no candidate will be representing any political party during May’s election.

In Alto, the at-large council seats currently occupied by E.L. Thacker, Randy Selman and Carey Palmer will be up for grabs in May.

Anyone living inside the city limits of Alto may run for a position on the Council. Filing applications are available at Alto City Hall, 404 W. San Antonio Road, Alto.

AISD’s May election will re-up the at-large seats currently held by Lionel Whitaker and Stancy Skinner. Filing applications are available at the AISD Administration office, 244 CR 2429, Alto, to any resident within the Alto school district.

Bullard’s at large city council election sees the seats held by Bryan Willis, David Rhodes and Shirley Coe up for election.

Applications to file for Bullard’s municipal election are available at Bullard City Hall, 114 S. Phillips St., Bullard.

Places 1, 2 and 3 of Bullard’s school board will be included on May’s ballot. Those positions are currently held by Tony Johnson in Place 1, Brian Vestal in Place 2 and Brent Bishop in Place 3. Candidacy packets may be picked up at the Bullard ISD Administrative Office, 1426B Houston St., Bullard.

In Cuney, the mayor’s seat and the two at-large council seats held by Elizabeth Jenkins and Dianne Reed will be featured on May’s municipal ballots. The mayor’s seat has been vacant since August 2019 when former Mayor Jessie Johnson resigned in protest of the termination of the then-police chief.

Cuney residents can get filing applications for these positions at Cuney City Hall, on State Highway 175 in Cuney.

Cuney has no school district.

Two seats on the Gallatin City Council are up for election in May. Those positions are currently held by Carolann Folkes and

Mary Nell Zehren – both of whom were previously appointed to fulfil unexpired terms. Gallatin council members serve two-year terms.

Any Gallatin citizen, age 18 or older, is eligible to file to run for office. Request application forms by contacting Mayor Juanita Cotton, (903) 721-7952 or City Secretary Donna Morris, (903) 810-0204.

Gallatin has no school district.

Jacksonville City Council’s Districts 2 and 4 seats, currently occupied by Jeff Smith and Rob Gowin, are also up for election in May. Only residents of those districts are eligible to run for the seats. Applications are available at Jacksonville City Hall, 315 S. Ragsdale, Jacksonville.

Jacksonville ISD trustee seats up for re-election in May are Place 3 and Place 4, currently held by Michael Traylor and Dean Dublin, respectively. JISD residents interested in filing for a school board seat can download printable application packets from the JISD website. Jisd.org, or pick up an application at the JISD Central Office, 800 College Ave., in Jacksonville.

The mayor’s seat and two of the city of New Summerfield’s at-large council seats are up for election in May. Those positions are currently held by Mayor Jane Barrow, Donna Cameron and Tammy Byrom. Any New Summerfield resident may file for a seat on the Council. Applications are available at New Summerfield City Hall, 13280 Hwy. 110 N, in New Summerfield.

New Summerfield ISD also has two at-large seats up for election. Those positions are currently held by Michael Davis and J.B. Neely. Anyone residing within the NSISD district can file for the May election by picking up an application at the NSISD Administration office, 13307 Hwy. 110 S., in New Summerfield.

Council seats up for election in the city of Reklaw are the mayor’s seat held by Bob Parrott, as well as council seats representing Places 3 and 5 -- currently occupied by Andra Hassell and Stephanie Harry, respectively. Harry was appointed to fill out the unexpired term of seat 5 in September 2019, when then Councilman Bob Parrott was nominated to complete the unexpired term of the mayor. Former Mayor Harlan Crawford resigned last year due to illness.

Residents of Reklaw can file to run for a council position by picking up an application at Reklaw City Hall, 530 Nacogdoches St., Reklaw.

Reklaw has no school district.

Rusk voters in Districts 3, 4 and 5 will get the chance to cast ballots for their council members in May. Those seats are currently held by Martin Holsome in District 3;

Martha Neely in District 4; and Frances Long in District 5.

Neely and Long were nominated in May 2019 to fulfill the second of their seats’ two-year terms, after Rusk voters approved recalling former Councilmen Jan Pate and Ken Ferrara.

Any Rusk resident interested in filing for a seat on the council or for mayor can acquire filing packets at Rusk City Hall, 205 S. Main St., Rusk.

Three at-large RISD board seats, currently held by Martin Peppin, Teresa Phifer and David Fulton, will be on May’s school board ballot. Fulton was appointed to the board in July 2019 to complete the unexpired term of then-Trustee James Sanchez, who resigned.

Any resident of the Rusk school district is welcome to file for a school board seat. Filing applications are available at the RISD Administration office, 203 E. Seventh St., Rusk.

Wells’ mayoral seat and two at-large city council seats will be on the May ballot. Those seats are currently held by Mayor C.W. Williams, Robert Kalka and Billie Petty.

Any Wells resident interested in serving on the Council may pick up a filing application at Wells City Hall, 293 Rusk Ave., Wells.

Wells ISD has three at-large school board seats up for election in May. Current Trustees Donnie Carver and T.Wayne Montes have competed their three-year terms. The third seat up for election is held by Steven Monday, who was appointed to the seat when former Board member Jason Hopper resigned.

Any WISD resident may run for a seat on the school board and can pick up filing applications at the Wells Administration office, 160 Rusk Ave., Wells.

Deadline to register to vote in May’s municipal and school board elections is Monday, Feb. 3.

Cherokee County residents can register to vote by visiting the county’s Elections Department, 138 W. Fifth St., Rusk; or by visiting www.votetexas.gov.