Election races set in Bastrop County

Two city council seats and one school board trustee position will be up for a vote in Elgin this May, and more races have been set throughout Bastrop County.

Elgin City Council races will be YaLecia Love and Jennifer Flores for Ward 2 and Forest Lee Dennis and Stephanie Lippke for Ward 4. Cheryl Reese and John Altmiller are the candidates for District 2 at Elgin Independent School District.

The candidacies are official after cities and school districts closed their candidacy application period Feb. 17 at end of business day. Six spots were up for contest for Elgin residents.

Elgin City Council

Love or Flores will fill the Ward 2 seat to be left by Skyler Maldonado, who was elected in 2021 and was on the council for two years. Lippke challenges incumbent Dennis for Ward 4. A ward map can be found at https://www.elgintexas.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5600/2022-07-18-WARDS-24--x-36.

Elgin has four council seats with terms expiring in May, which is the most any Bastrop County entity has up for a vote. Each of the four seats represents one of the city’s four wards.

Incumbents Arthur Gibson III in Ward 1 and Matthew Callahan in Ward 3 filed candidate applications and have found themselves unopposed. The council members are the presumed winners of two-year terms.

Elgin is a council-manager municipality where the council establishes city policy through ordinances and resolutions, while the city manager carries out policies and is responsible for city operations. The Elgin City Council consists of the mayor and eight council members.

The mayor is elected at-large by all registered voters. Each ward is represented by two council seats up for election on alternating years.

Elgin ISD

Elgin ISD is divided into seven districts, each represented by one trustee on the school board.

Pete Bega has been the District 2 trustee since 2000 but also served 16 years on the school board for District 6. With Bega not seeking re-election, Reese or Altmiller will be the next person to represent District 2, which covers mostly northeast Elgin and land to the north. A district map can be found at https://www.elginisd.net/cms/lib6/TX01917830/Centricity/domain/105/elections/voting-map-03022022.pdf.

Board President Byron Mitchell’s term for District 1 is expiring in May. The incumbent filed for re-election and is running unopposed.

Bastrop ISD

Both Bastrop ISD school board seats up for grabs are being contested.

Board President Billy Moore will run as the incumbent for Place 3 against Joseph B. Thompson. Greg Mueller and Priscilla Ruiz are the school board candidates for Place 4, which is currently occupied by Trustee Molly McClure.

There are seven Bastrop ISD trustees, each elected at large to serve staggered three-year terms. Terms for approximately one-third of the board expire each year.

Bastrop City Council

Mayor Connie Schroeder is serving the second of her maximum allowed terms per Bastrop’s city charter, leaving the upcoming mayoral election with no incumbent. Residents seeking the leadership role are Lyle Nelson, Elizabeth Northcutt, Dock Jackson and Deborah Jones.

Councilmember Kevin Plunkett is seeking re-election for Place 3 against challenger Carrie Caylor. A three-year term will be the prize if elected.

The Bastrop City Council consists of the mayor and five council members. All six spots are elected at-large by all registered voters.

Smithville City Council

Three council seats were open for candidacy at Smithville, and only one will have the same face before and after May.

Councilmember Tom Etheredge is the lone incumbent seeking re-election and has no opponent for Place 2 on the City Council. Candidates for the other seats are Mitchell Jameson and Tyrone Washington, for Place 1, and Jimmy Jenkins and Monica Poss, for Place 3. Councilmember Joanna Morgan and Mayor Pro-Tem Bill Gordon will not seek re-election.

Like Elgin and Bastrop, Smithville is a council-manager municipality with the council making policy and the city manager carrying plans out. Smithville's mayor and five council seats are all chosen at large.

Smithville ISD

Terms for Board President Grant Gutierrez and Vice President Chris Hinnant at Smithville ISD will expire in May. The duo fill the top two numbered places on the board. Names for candidates that filed for the seats were unavailable as of Friday.

Smithville ISD’s is elected by popular vote and meant to represent the community in matters of public education. The seven members are elected for three-year terms.