Juarez, Brooks elected to school board

Four candidates to run off for seats
By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

Despite heightened interest in the activities of the Lockhart Independent School District Board of Trustees over the last several months, voter turnout showed a marked decrease during Saturday’s election.
A total of 1,286 voters decided the outcome of Saturday’s election, wh

ich will ultimately create a 43-percent turnover in the leadership of the LISD Board of Trustees. Overall, the change denotes an 18.4 percent decrease in voting from the last single-member district election.
District One incumbent Timoteo “Tim” Juarez, Jr., emerged from the election victorious, earning 148 votes (53.8 percent) to C.M. Cisneros’ 95 (34.6 percent) and Johnny Miranda’s 32 (11.6 percent).
In District Three, Rosemary C. Wells, Susan K. Brooks and Mike McCain entered the race to occupy the seat at the table that will be vacated by Clint Mohle. Brooks narrowly escaped a runoff and won the seat with 225 votes (51.3 percent). McCain earned 145 votes (33.0 percent) and Wells got 69 (15.7 percent).
Under LISD rules, a candidate must win 50 percent of the votes, plus one, to secure a victory. A mere nine votes separated Brooks from the combined total of her opponents.
Juarez and Brooks are expected to swear their oaths of office and join the board on Tuesday, May 20.
Two districts, District Two and District Four, garnered enough candidate support for opposing candidates that runoff elections will be necessary.
In District Two, former board member Andy Govea earned 97 votes (44.5 percent), winning the popular vote by eight votes. Brenda Spillman came in a close second with 89 (39.0 percent). The third candidate in the race, Terri Tedford, earned a total of 32 votes (14.7 percent), removing her from the runoff.
District Two has been without a single-member district representative since then-board-president Gary Allen resigned his position in February.
In District four, a wider margin but a higher turnout determined the need for a runoff election. Allen McKee earned the largest portion of the voter pie, finishing the election with 159 votes (44.9 percent). Derek Benavides earned 98 (27.7 percent) and Dennis Placke earned 97 (27.4 percent).
Though Placke has a timeframe of three days after election day to request a recount, no such request had been presented to the district’s election officials as of Wednesday morning.
The runoff election is scheduled for June 14, 2008. The Board will review the election order and officially call the election during their scheduled meeting on May 20, 2008.