by ANDY SEVILLA
Hays CISD school board candidate Debra Munoz has outraised and outspent incumbent Martha Kanetzky in their bid for a seat on the dais.
Munoz has raised $2,584 in the past month, according to campaign finance reports, in her attempt to replace Kanetzky for the single-member District 5 spot on the school board.
Kanetzky, who beat Munoz’s husband, Joe, with almost 70 percent of the vote for the same seat in 2010, has raised no money, according to her campaign finance report.
Munoz’s two biggest donors were Belia and Cesar Ornelas of Kyle and Lucinda and Manuel Gonzales of Cypress, each couple donating $1000 toward her campaign. Munoz also received contributions from J. Sylvester Perez, David Wiley and from former Hays CISD superintendent Jeremy Lyon and his wife, Ellen – Munoz took in $200, $150 and $100, respectively. She also received $134 in contributions of $50 or less.
Muñoz, too, has expended more funds this campaign season, thus far, as her reports show total expenditures of $1,105.10; meanwhile Kanetzky has spent $542.19 in her bid to keep her seat.
Munoz expended campaign funds on advertising, and Kanetzky has spent her money on advertising, printing and office overhead.
After serving more than a decade as a school board trustee, Joe Munoz resigned his post in Sept. 2009 when he relocated to a different residence in Kyle, as he no longer lived in District 2.
A later attempt for a school board comeback in District 5 failed in May 2010 when he took in only 31.4 percent of the vote against Kanetzky who garnered 68.6 percent that vote.
Now, a different Munoz is challenging Kanetzky, and this one has $1,478.90 in her campaign war chest; Kanetzky has nothing, according to reports.
Campaign finance reports for incumbent Merideth Keller, who is running unopposed for the District 4 single-member seat, were not available on the school district’s website. A declaration of modified reporting also was not available on the website.
State rules require candidates for elected office to submit a campaign finance report 30 days before an election. The rules also require a report eight days before the election.
But, candidates who do not accept contributions or expend funds in an amount over $500 can partake in modified reporting. To file under this exception, a candidate must file this declaration no later than the 30th day before the election, per the election code.
Untimely or incomplete campaign finance reports constitute a Class C misdemeanor and the Texas Ethics Commission can assess a $500 civil penalty, per the election code.
