By Kim Hilsenbeck.
Spring is almost here and things are heating up, but not the weather. It’s election season.
While many Hays County incumbents are running unopposed, there are a few contested races. The Hays Free Press rounded up the contested slots around town and beyond.
Early voting begins Feb. 18. The primary election is March 4. The general election is Nov. 4.
City races
Locally, the Kyle City Council mayoral race is, for now, a three-way contest between former mayor James Adkins and former council members R. Todd Webster and Brad Pickett.
Adkins served three terms as Kyle mayor from 1997-2007. He was also a lead counselor at a local criminal detention center. Webster, an attorney and principal at a public affairs firm, served on the Kyle council from 2003 – 2007. Pickett served one term that ended in May 2013. Sinor faced now council member Chad Benninghoff and Joe Bacon in 2012 for the Place 3 seat. That election ended in a run-off between Bacon and Benninghoff.
Incumbents Becky Selbera, District 2, and David Wilson, District 4, have not filed for re-election as of press time. The filing deadline is Feb. 28. The Kyle City Election date is May 10.
Buda will hold elections for open city council seats in November. The filing date is not until later this year.
County contests
Hays County races include Dr. Bert Cobb (R) and Abel Velasquez (D) for County Judge. Cobb, the incumbent, will face Velasquez, a county human resources employee, in November.
Wesley Mau (R) and Lynn Peach (R) are running for District Attorney. Mau is an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Prosecutions Division of the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Peach is a San Marcos attorney. Both are former Hays County assistant DAs. The winner of the primary will win the post.
Linda Rodriguez (D) and David Glickler (R) are on the ballot for County Court at Law #2. Rodriguez, the incumbent, has been in office since 1990. Glicker, the Deputy Division Chief of the White Collar Crime and Public Integrity Section of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, ended up in a runoff election for Hays County District Judge in the 22nd Judicial District in 2012 against Bruce Boyer, the winner.
Margie H. Hernandez (D), Margaret C. Peggy Jones (R) and Judy A. Seim (R) are vying for Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, Place 2. Jones and Seim will run in the primary; the winner will go up against incumbent Hernandez in November.
County Clerk candidates are Liz Q. Gonzalez (R), incumbent, and Gina Islas-Mendoza (D). They will face off in November.
State show-downs
State-level contests include State Senate District 25 with incumbent Dr. Donna Campbell (R) who is pitted against business owner and former San Antonio city council member Eliza Chan (R) and businessman Mike Novak (R). The trio will compete in the Republican Primary; the winner will face off against Democratic challenger Daniel Boone in November.
Campbell, a physician and ophthalmologist elected in 2012, beat out then incumbent Jeff Wentworth.
Chan, who owns an engineering firm, served on the San Antonio City Council for five years. She also chaired the city’s economic development committee.
Novak is an entrepreneur who has operated a niche construction industry businesses for two decades.
Boone is a retired Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force. For 16 years, he owned Aardvark Annie’s on Canyon Lake; he operates lodging facilities there and in San Antonio.
