STAFF R EPORT
Most of DeWitt County’s voters were pro-active in the May 3 Election with the majority (7.63%) getting to the polls earlier than election day. The incumbents for the DeWitt Hospital District, Cuero City Council and the Yorktown School Board carried the day, while Charles Tounley and Sean Douglas received nods in their respective office bids.
The unofficial tally of votes shows a total of 10.4% of the county's 10,784 registered voters turned out, which is more than in larger communities like Victoria, which had 8.6% of its voters show up.
Hospital District The prevailing candidates for the two board of director seats were incumbents Faye Sheppard and Martin Leske III.
At the April 16 Candidate Forum Sheppard and Leske were able to share insight into the challenges and management structure of Cuero Regional Hospital, which may have contributed to their re-election.
Challenger Pedro Gonzalez had brought up the need for better communication with the public about hospital policies.
Sheppard said she appreciates the privilege of serving on the hospital board and the confidence shown in her by voters.
The next hospital board meeting will be at 5:30 on May 22 in the CRH Public Education Room.
The two Cuero City Council at Large positions will be filled by Adam Arroyo and Charles Tounley, starting with a swearing in at the end of the May 12 City Council meeting.
The candidates, which also included Russell Mobley, ran friendly campaigns evidenced by their rapport during the Candidate Forum. On Facebook, Mobley said “We showed everyone we could run a classy election. Me, Adam and Charles all got along and there wasn’t any mud slinging involved. Regardless of the results, Cuero will have two City Councilmen that have Cuero’s best interest at heart.”
Adama Arroyo said he’s really excited and happy to serve the community. He said that during the year he served as an appointee “a lot of things went on that really opened my eyes to all the work that goes on behind the scenes.” He mentioned hurricane season last year and attending four meetings in three days prior to a storm that was headed for landfall on the Texas Coast.
Charles Tounley said he wanted to thank everyone for their support, especially hisfamilywhowasreally there for him. “I’m ready to get to work,” he said.
Cuero School Board The Cuero ISD School Board election had Sean Douglass and Mary Jane Henson vying for the District 1 seat. Douglas was the victor with 57% of the vote.
“I’m blessed and very thankful for the support of District 1 voters,” Douglas said. “Although my view is that school board members don’t serve one district, they serve the entire community. This race was never about one person; it was always about the district.”
Douglas said, moving on, his priorities will be students, teachers and the community “in that order.” He said teacher retention needs to improve, and he thinks “the school board needs to take that on as a cause.”
Mary Jane Henson wrote to supporters on her Facebook page “We came together, lifted each other up, and showed what it means to care about our community. That spirit of unity and purpose will carry us forward, no matter what.”
Douglas will be sworn in at the Tuesday, May 13 Cuero ISD School Board meeting.
Yorktown School Board
Yorktown voters stuck with the three school board incumbents of Chris Romans, Jeff Sievers and Aaron Koopman, while two previous board members, Jody Hall and Todd Metting, failed in bids to return.
The next board meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on May 12.
