By Andy Sevilla
Three Kyle residents have thrown their hats in the ring for a shot at the recently vacant District 3 council seat.
Chad Benninghoff, who won a three-way race for the seat last summer, resigned in May due to relocation to New Mexico. Benninghoff said in his resignation letter to the council that his relocation came out of a concern for his son’s health.
That abdication from office cleared the way for Benninghoff’s former opponent in the 2013 race, Bill Sinor, to file for candidacy for the seat he lost last year.
Sinor garnered 12 percent of the May 2013 District 3 vote. He was left out of the runoff race in which Benninghoff edged out Joe Bacon for victory.
Sinor is joined by Laurie Luttrell, who recently lost a bid to replace David Wilson on the council, and Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Chairman Shane Arabie in the run for the vacant seat.
Luttrell lost her bid to unseat incumbent David Wilson in the District 4 race May 10. Luttrell, then a political newcomer, lost to Wilson, a six-year incumbent, by 62 votes.
Arabie, who has not run for elected Kyle office, is serving a third term on P&Z and said he has participated in city businesses beginning sometime between 2004 and 2005, when he was part of the master transportation planning committee.
Arabie said infrastructure is the city’s biggest issue at the moment — an issue that has been put on the back burner for quite some time.
“Police and economic development are the things people see and get excited about,” he said. “Infrastructure kind of gets behind, and we need to address it to attract business.”
Arabie said he’s excited about the possibility of affecting positive change in the city.
Sinor said that although he’s previously lost the council position he’s seeking, “I believe now is the time for me to be on council to help guide Kyle to where we’re going to be going, or where we’re going to be growing over the next several years.”
When he ran last year for the District 3 seat, Sinor said he felt he had business management skills and a vision for Kyle. He said he still has that and is willing to lend it to Kyle to help address the incoming growth.
Sinor said the city needs to address its high property tax rate, which right now is the highest of any other municipality in Hays County. He said he would also push for improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure to support new businesses.
Luttrell said she is determined to make Kyle the best it can be. She said the council has to be bold, innovative and optimistic about the future.
“I am so thrilled that we elected such a wonderful mayor (on May 31), and I want the opportunity to work with him and a new council that will pull together to move the city forward.”
Luttrell said infrastructure, roads and taxes are Kyle’s most pressing issues. She said expansion of the wastewater treatment plant and water infrastructure, as well as improving roads, will allow growth to thrive in the city. The improvements will attract economic development, which in turn will help ease the tax burden on homeowners in Kyle, she said.
When to vote
Election Day is August 9. Early voting will run from July 23 to August 5.
