With a little less than 2 weeks left in the filing for school and municipal elections, all reports thus far are of uncontested races in Hopkins County.
Sulphur Springs
In Sulphur Springs, the incumbents are the only candidates who had filed candidacy in both the City Council and school board elections.
School Board
On the first day of the filing period, Kerry Wright and Jason Dietze filed candidate applications seeking a place on the May 1 Sulphur Springs ISD Board of Trustees Election. Incumbents Wright and Dietze are seeking another 3-year term on the school board.
Dietze was first elected to the school board in 2009. He was re-elected secretary in 2020. He previously served as vice president and president. Wright was appointed to the board in August of 2017 to fill the unexpired term of Don Sapaugh. Wright was previously on the board for seven years, which included serving as secretary, vice president and president of the school board, but resigned in 2016.
Candidates may obtain and return an application for a place on the May 1, 2021 Election ballot for two full 3-year seats on SSISD Board of Trustees from 8 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday-Thursday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays Jan. 13-Feb. 12 in the Tax Office of the SSISD Administration Building, located at 631 Connally St. All applications filed are public records and open to inspection upon request.
For additional information, contact Sandra Gibby, SSISD Tax Assessor/Collector, at 903-885-2153, extension 1111.
City Council
Also on Jan. 13, the first day of filing, all four incumbents filed candidacy in the May 1, 2021 Sulphur Springs City Council Election. Places 1, 2 and 3 are for a full 3-year term on the City Council each. Place 5 is for a 1-year term.
All four seats were on the 2020 ballot due to the resignations of four council members in the same week in December of 2019. The City Council Election was to be held in spring 2020, but due to COVID-19 was postponed until November 2020.
Incumbents Harold Nash Sr. and Gary Spraggins filed Wednesday morning, Jan. 13, for a place on the May 1 Sulphur Springs City Council ballot.
Nash was appointed in December 2019 by the City Council to fill the Place 2 seat until the 2020 election. He then ran and was unopposed in the Nov. 3, 2020 election for the 1-year unexpired Place 2 seat. Nash is now seeking a full 3-year term on the City Council for Place 2.
Spraggins won the Nov. 3, 2020 election, receiving 71.24 percent of the votes for the Place 5 seat for one year, and is now seeking election to serve the final year of the unexpired term for Place 5.
Jay W. Julian filed later in the day Jan. 13 for a place on the May 1, 2021 City Council Election ballot for Place 1. He was one of four candidates on the November 2020 ballot for the Place 1 seat on the council. A run-off election was called between Julian and Mark Bradley after no one candidate received 50 percent or more of the votes in the Nov. 3, 2020 election for Place 1. Julian won the December 2020 runoff for the remaining months of the unexpired Place 1 term with 55.45 percent of the votes cast. Julian is now seeking a full 3-year term on the City Council.
Oscar Aguilar signed up Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 13, to run for Place 3 on Sulphur Springs City Council. He ran for and drew no opponents in 2020 for Place 3 on the City Council. Aguilar is now seeking a full 3-year term on the City Council.
Candidate filing for the May 2021 Sulphur Springs City Council Elections will continue during regular business hours, 8-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, Feb. 12, at Sulphur Springs Municipal Building, 201 North Davis St. Applications may be mailed to 125 South Davis St.
Yantis
School Board
Only two candidates had filed as of Friday, Jan. 29, for the May 1 Yantis ISD Board of Trustees Election to fill for three seats on the school board, and neither was an incumbent. Stacey Batchelor, a therapy coordinator, and Ashly Vivion, an office/accounting clerk have filed candidacy for the a place on the May 1 election ballot.
Currently serving in those seats are Stacey Wetzel, Michael Burnett and Tyra Kenemore. Wetzel has served two full terms on the school board. Burnett and Kenemore are completing a full term on the school board.
Candidate filing will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, Jan. 13 to Feb. 12, 2021, at 111 South Main Street in Yantis. Applications for a place on the ballot may be mailed to 105 West Oak Street in Yantis 754597.
Additional information is available on the school website (http://www.yantisisd.net/) or by clicking here, or contacting Kristy Beech at [email protected]t or 903-383-2462.
Como
The City of Como partners with Como-Pickton Consolidated ISD every 2 years to hold elections, each sharing costs for equipment and hosting an election.
City Council
The City of Como is scheduled to hold an election on May 1 for all three places on the City Council.
The City of Como had received no candidate applications as of Friday, Jan. 29, for City Council.
Currently, Jerry Radney serves as mayor. As mayor pro temp, he stepped up to mayor when Darla Henry resigned the position in August 2020, due to a move out of the city. Austin Baxley, a teacher at Como-Pickton school, was then appointed to the council as commissioner. Steve Smith was serving in the other commissioner seat on Como City Council until his recent resignation. Instead of appointing someone to serve in the second commission seat for a few months, the Council has opted to leave that seat empty until the election.
Filing for the two commissioner seats and mayor continues Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Feb. 12, 2021, at City Hall, 104 Mill Street in Como. For additional information about the May 1 Como City Council Election, call 903-488-3434.
School Board
Como-Pickton CISD will also be holding trustees elections on May 1, a regular election for three four-year term seats on the board and a special election to fill a two-year unexpired term seat on the CPCISD Board of Trustees. As of Monday morning, incumbents DJ Carr and Shiloh Childress were the only candidates who had filed.
Currently, Mark Humphrey, Shiloh Childress and Jessica Pegues currently serve in the full term seats. A special election has also been called to fill the remaining two years of DJ Carr’s seat, according to the C-P CISD Elections Officer.
Candidates may pick up applications in the CPCISD Administration Office, 13017 Highway 11 east of Como, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 12. Additional information, including requirements and eligibility are available on the school website, https://www.cpcisd.net/, under District and School Board menu options or by clicking here.
