Incumbents mostly reign in elections across county

Posted Thursday, May 9, 2019 8:00 am

By Garrett McGinley

Staff Reporter

Three other elections in Gonzales County took place May 4 and featured a few new faces winning seats.

In the Nixon city council race, Estevan “Steve” Aguirre, Justin La Fleur and Mary Ann Fatheree are the projected winners. Aguirre, a nonincumbent, secured the highest unofficial total, bringing in 105 votes. Incumbents La Fleur and Fatheree retained their seats with 53 and 46 votes respectively.

Incumbent Joseph “Joey” Bjorgaard received the lowest vote total in the race with 22, and is the only incumbent projected to lose their seat in Nixon. The other challenger, Michael Scherrer, is projected to fall short of securing a seat with 29 votes gathered.

Unofficial tabulations for Nixon city council election:

Estevan "Steve" Aguirre 105 votes
Justin La Fleur 53 votes
Mary Ann Fatheree 46 votes
Michael Scherrer 29 votes
Joseph "Joey" Bjorgaard 22 votes

The top three secure the at-large council seats.

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Both incumbents are projected to retain their seats on the Waelder Independent School District School Board of Trustees. Incumbents Troy Sullivan, 51 votes, and Avery Williams, 49 votes, staved off a challenge from Anita Torres Mar, 33 votes.

Unofficial tabulations for the Waelder Independent School District School Board of Trustees election:

Troy Sullivan 51
Avery Williams 49
Anita Torres Mar 33

The top two secure the at-large board seats.

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There is one new member of the Smiley city council, with Alderperson H. Wayne South declining reelection. Incumbents Elisa Douglas and Linda Warzecha are the projected highest vote receivers, with 46 and 29 votes respectively.

Diana Pena Moreno is projected to edge out Teresa South and Michael Garrott Jr. for the open seat. Moreno received 21 votes to South’s and Garrott Jr.’s 17. Jason A. Montoya, 14 votes, and Deborah Peña, 11 votes round out the rest of field in Smiley. Smiley’s election featured the highest number of candidates of any race in Gonzales County this cycle.

Unofficial tabulations for Smiley city council election: