Race heats up for mayor’s seat

By LPR Staff

Editor/POST-REGISTER

Less than halfway through the filing period for the Nov. 8, 2011, city council elections, already four candidates have thrown their hats into the ring in hopes of becoming the City of Lockhart’s next mayor.

Filing opened on Aug. 8, 2011, and has seen council veterans Lew White and Richard Banks pick up and return a

pplication packets for the chair at Lockhart’s helm. Along with them, former school board trustee John Manning and political newcomer Homer Shaw have expressed their desire to step into a leadership role in the community.

Although no candidates have returned packets for the District 3 and District 4 seats – which are currently occupied by White and Banks respectively – several individuals including local entrepreneurs Connie Amaya and Richard Mendez, former councilmember Richard “Dick” Wieland and former mayoral candidate Doug Shomette have obtained application packets from City Hall.

Wieland publicly announced his intention to seek the District 3 office during a recent meeting of the Lockhart City Council, but as yet has not made an official filing.

Because redistricting discussions happened so recently and the Department of Justice has not yet approved the proposed redistricting map, the order for November’s election was written to reflect the currently-existing district lines. While the mayoral race is citywide, the two single-member seats will be governed by the existing, rather than the proposed, district lines. A map of those lines, as well as maps of the proposed changes, can be found on the city’s website at www.lockhart-tx.com.

Candidates are eligible to run in a single-member district, provided they have been a resident of that district for six months prior to election. It is in part because of that requirement that the city’s redistricting counsel advised that this election be held using the currently-approved district map, rather than the newly-proposed version, as a guide.

Filing for the Nov. 8, 2011, election will continue until 5 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2011. Application packets may be obtained at Lockhart City Hall, and must be returned to City Secretary and election official Connie Rodriguez prior to the filing deadline.