March 29, 2023 524 PM
TRI-COUNTY — In order to be eligible to vote in the upcoming May 6 General Election, citizens must be registered by next Thursday, April 6.
Early voting starts Monday, April 24, and ends Tuesday, May 2, for the May 6 General Election, which will see primarily school board and city council races on the ballot in the tri-county area. In Presidio and Alpine, the school districts will hold joint elections with the cities. There are no contested elections in Jeff Davis County.
In order to find out if your voter registration is current, visit the secretary of state’s website, votetexas.gov. You must be registered in the county in which you reside.
In order to be eligible to vote, individuals must be 18 years or older on election day, must be a U.S. citizen, must not be convicted of a felony for which a sentence is still being served and must not have been declared mentally incapacitated by a court of law.
PRESIDIO COUNTY
City of Marfa
The role of mayor will be a race between incumbent Manny Baeza and Stephen Salgado Boelter. There are two available council member seats, for which voters will choose between three candidates: incumbent Raul Lara, Christa Marquez and Travis Acreman. Mark Morrison is running unopposed for an unexpired term so will simply be appointed by council.
Marfa ISD School Board
Of the two positions up for election on the Marfa ISD School Board, only one saw an applicant, Place 2, for which incumbent Lori Flores applied. As there were no other candidates opposing Flores, and no candidates for the other available position, Place 1, the school board will likely cancel the election. Flores will be appointed, and the board may seek letters of interest from the community for the Place 1 seat.
City of Presidio
The role of mayor will be a race between incumbent John Ferguson and Angel Miguel Campos. Two council member seats will be up for election, and voters will choose between three candidates: incumbent Arian Velazquez-Ornelas, incumbent Nancy Arevalo, and Todd Beckett.
Presidio ISD School Board
Presidio ISD School Board candidates are Brenda Witty, Jaime Sanchez, Steve “Nicky” Alvarez, Carlos Reyna, Jessica Acevedo Nunez, Marco Lujan, Jeremy Velasquez and Perla Natividad.
None of the outgoing board members — Yvonne Spencer, Ethel Barriga, Hugo Ramos and Fidel Baeza — are running for re-election.
Because Presidio ISD board members are at-large and do not represent specific districts, voters will choose four out of the eight candidates that appear on the ballot. After the new board is elected and sworn in, trustees will select a president, vice president and secretary.
Each week ahead of early voting, The Presidio International will run school board candidate profiles.
Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District
There will be an item on the ballot regarding whether to allow the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District to become a taxing entity. The district has operated from a budget from the county commissioners since its inception in 1999, and has entered into an agreement with the county to offset a potential new tax by lowering their tax rate so that citizens would not be impacted.
The district may levy a property tax not to exceed $0.05 per $100 of assessed property valuation and will work with the county tax assessor-collector to determine what the tax rate would need to be in order to get their required budget — currently around $51,000.
BREWSTER COUNTY
City of Alpine
The City of Alpine will only have one race on the May 6 General Election ballot for the Ward 5 council member seat, for which incumbent Jerry Johnson, who passed away last week, and Rick Stephens both filed. The City of Alpine has stated that Johnson will remain on the ballot despite his passing, per state law — the Texas Election Code dictates that a candidate’s name will appear on the ballot if they pass away on or after the second day before the filing deadline (in this case, February 17). If a deceased candidate is elected, a vacancy is created, and the council will appoint a successor.
Incumbent councilmembers Judy Stokes, Ward 1, and Darin Nance, Ward 3, were unopposed candidates. They have already been declared elected and will not appear on the ballot.
Alpine ISD School Board
The Alpine ISD School Board will have two seats up for election in May. Incumbent Joe Portillo, who represents District 2, filed for re-election and is unopposed, meaning he will be declared elected and will not appear on the ballot. The District 6 seat, currently held by Dr. Adrian Billings, will be a race between Billings, who filed for re-election, and new candidate Richard Portillo.
