All four Gonzales County municipalities have contested races on ballots

Voters in Gonzales, Waelder, Nixon and Smiley are going to have some decisions to make during the Saturday, May 4, municipal and school board elections.

There are contested races for Gonzales City Council, Gonzales ISD, Waelder City Council, Waelder ISD, Nixon City Council and Smiley City Council that will be attracting a lot of attention from residents in those areas.

Gonzales City Council

District 1 incumbent Councilmember Joseph “Poochy” Kridler will not have an opponent on the May 4 ballot, but District 2 incumbent Councilmember Sherri Koepp has a pair of challengers for her seat: Mariah Jordan and Johnnie Ross Hunt.

Waelder City Council

As previously reported by the Inquirer, the race for Waelder Mayor will be between incumbent Roy R. Tovar and Waelder City Councilmember Curtis Hadnot Jr. Tovar is currently under indictment in Gonzales County for third-degree felony deadly conduct for discharging a firearm last July, but is allowed to run for office as his case has not been settled by the court system.

Meanwhile, there are six candidates for two at-large positions on the Waelder City Council. In addition to incumbent Councilmember Peggy Blackmon, others who filed for a seat are Mike Harris, Margie Olmos Benitez, Eric Mahler, Connie S. Blackwell and Sandra K. Dickerson. One seat has remained vacant since the death of Councilmember Sam Ramirez.

Nixon City Council

Incumbent City Councilmember Ellie Dominguez is running unopposed for mayor as incumbent Dorothy Riojas did not seek another term. Two at-large seats are available on the Nixon City Council, including the one belonging to Dominguez. Filing to run were Jack Rogers, Shannon Smith and Jessica Smith. Incumbent Maggie Gaytan also did not seek re-election.

Smiley City Council

There will be a rematch of the 2022 Smiley mayoral race, just with the same people in different roles. Incumbent Mayor Elizabeth “Lisa” Benavidez will be challenged by Michael Mills. In 2022, Mills was the mayor and was challenged by Benavidez in a very close election.

There are two at-large seats available on the Smiley City Council. Incumbents Ellis Villasana and Melva Childress have filed for re-election and will also see challenges from Michaela Mills and Elisa Douglass.

Gonzales ISD

Incumbent District 4 Gonzales ISD Trustee Josie Smith-Wright has filed for re-election and will be challenged by David Schautteet. Her counterpart in District 7, Trustee Sandra Gorden, will face Naomi Brown on the ballot.

Waelder ISD

Three spots are available at-large on the Waelder ISD Board of Trustees. Filing to run are incumbent Trustee Adolph Gonzales, incumbent Trustee Jo Ann Ibarra, Donna Brown, Danna Kincaid and Don Kincaid.

Nixon-Smiley CISD

Nixon-Smiley Consolidated ISD will not need to have an election this year after the only ones to file for a place on the ballot were incumbents Place 2 Trustee Bud Box and Place 3 Trustee Richard Lott.

The last day to register to vote in the May 4 election is Thursday, April 4. Early voting begins Monday, April 22 and continues through Tuesday, April 30.