By Jay Ermis
Early voting starts today in five different May 9 elections in Huntsville, New Waverly and Riverside.
The last day of early voting is May 5.
Early voting in the Huntsville City Council and Huntsville Independent School District trustees elections will be held today through May 1 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at City Hall; May 2, 8 a.m. to noon; May 3, 1 to 5 p.m.; and May 4-5, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The last day to apply for ballot by mail (received, not postmarked) is Friday.
Early voting in the Riverside City Council election will be held today through May 5 at City Hall from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 5.
Early voting in the New Waverly school trustees election will be held from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today through May 5 at the administration building at 355 Front St.
Early voting in the New Waverly City Council election will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. today through May 5 at the school district administration building.
The voting deadline in the city election will be extended to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday and May 5.
Huntsville City Council
Four contested races headline the Huntsville City Council’s May 9 election.
Mayor J. Turner seeks re-election to a third term in office. He is challenged by Bill Gulley.
Dr. Tom Cole is opposed by Jacob Spradlin in his bid for re-election as representative of Ward 1, while incumbent Mac Woodward is opposed by Wade Dixon and Michelle Nelson in his bid for a fourth two-year term as the Ward 2 representative.
Council members can serve four consecutive terms.
Incumbent Clarence Griffin is challenged by Jack Wagamon in his bid for a third term on the council as the Ward 3 representative.
Wayne Barrett is unopposed in a seeking a second two-year term as the Ward 4 representative.
Dee Brimer, deputy elections administrator for Walker County, said there are 14,631 registered voters in the city of Huntsville.
Polling places in the City Council election on May 9 will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
They are:
• Precinct 101, Ward 3 — Justice Center Building, 717 FM 2821 West.
• Precinct 102, Ward 1 — Walker County Annex, 1301 Sam Houston Avenue, Suite 101.
• Precinct 201, Ward 2 — First Presbyterian Church, 1801 19th St.
• Precinct 205, Ward 4 — Elkins Lake Recreation Corp., 634 Cherry Hills.
• Precinct 206, Ward 2 — Region VI Education Building, 3332 Montgomery Road (FM 1374).
• Precinct 301, Ward 3 — Martin Luther King Center, 300 Avenue F.
• Precinct 401, Ward 4 — University Heights Baptist Church, 2400 Sycamore Avenue.
Huntsville ISD Trustees
The Huntsville Independent School District board of trustees election on May 9 has one contested race, while two candidates are unopposed.
Incumbent Jimmy Langley, who is seeking his second three-year term in Position 7, is opposed by Larry Thornton.
Langley is the plant manager of the Huntsville Textile Mill with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He has been employed with TDCJ-ID for 22 years.
Thornton served as a HISD teacher for 30 1/2 years and is currently a part-time instructor for Region VI Education Service Center.
Patrick Antwi, who currently holds Position 6, is unopposed.
Antwi will be completing his 12th-year or fourth term on the board. He was elected May 1997.
Rissie Owens is unopposed in seeking election to Position 2 in a special election.
HISD trustees appointed Owens on June 24, 2008, to fill Position 2 after they accepted David Baker’s resignation.
Owens was appointed to fill Position 2 until the next election, which is May 9.
Position 2 also would be up for election in 2010.
Baker was first elected to the board in May 2004 and was re-elected in May 2007.
Owens currently serves as the chair of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, where she has been a member since 1997. She was originally appointed to the board by then Gov. George W. Bush. She was appointed as chair in 2003 and reappointed in 2004 to a six-year term by Gov. Rick Perry.
Dee Brimer, deputy elections administrator for Walker County, said there are 25,778 registered voters for the school election.
Polling places in the May 9 HISD election will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
They are:
• Precincts 101-103-104 — Justice Center Building, 717 FM 2821 West.
• Precincts 203-204 — Walker County Fairgrounds, west of Huntsville off state Highway 30.
• Precincts 302-303-402-403 — Calvary Baptist Church, U.S. Highway 190.
• Precinct 404, HISD — Calvary Baptist Church, U.S. Highway 190.
• Precinct 304 — Riverside City Hall.
Riverside City Council
Four candidates, including one newcomer, are seeking three positions on the Riverside City Council in the May 9 election.
Incumbents Billy Philio and Clint McGowan seek re-election to the six-member council, while Sonya Holley is running for her first two-year term.
Rick Staples, a restaurant owner, is seeking election to office.
Philio has served on the council for 14 years while McGowan has served six years.
Holley was appointed a year ago to fill the unexpired term of her husband Bill Shelby.
The three top vote-getters win seats on the council.
Dee Brimer, deputy elections administrator for Walker County, said there are 280 registered voters in Riverside.
Other members of the Riverside council are Mayor Frank Rich and Connie Habern and John Montgomery.
Voting on Election Day will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall where Precinct 304 in the Huntsville school district trustees election will also cast ballots.
New Waverly City Council, school board
The New Waverly school district and City Council elections both have contested races on the May 9 ballots.
In the board of trustees election, three positions are on the ballot, including a special election.
Board president John Malak is unopposed for Position 4, while Craig Smith is opposed by Jurrell Gilliam for Position 5.
Malak is in his seventh year on the board. He was appointed in 2002 to fill the unexpired term of Alton Adams, who died.
Malak was elected to his first three-year term in 2003 and re-elected in May 2006.
Smith is completing his first term. He was elected in 2006.
Jackie Peters is unopposed in seeking election to Position 7 in a special election.
New Waverly trustees appointed Peters on May 19, 2008, to fill the position until the next election, which is May 9.
The position was left vacant when her husband, David Peters, died in a car accident April 4, 2008.
He was elected to the three-year term in May 2007.
Jackie Peters will fill the unexpired term — one year — and the position will be on the 2010 ballot.
In the New Waverly City Council election, both incumbents are opposed.
Mayor Dan Underwood is opposed by Jurrell A. Vance in the mayoral race and Gerald Slott is opposed by Cynthia Vance in the only at large position on the ballot.
Underwood has served as mayor since 1995 while Slott has served on the council since 2001.
On Election Day, voting in the New Waverly city and schools elections will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the school district administration building.
Dee Brimer, deputy elections administrator for Walker County, said there are 640 registered voters in the city of New Waverly and 2,931 registered voters in the school district.
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