Six candidates will vie for a trio of Wimberley City Council seats up for grabs May 6 in what is expected to be one of the most hotly contested races in city history.
Among the six candidates is Mayor Susan Jaggers who has filed to run for the Place 3 seat occupied by Council Member Allison Davis, who chose not to run for re-election.
Wimberley Mayor Susan Jaggers would have the opportunity to appoint a new mayor if elected to the city council seat. The Mayor will keep her seat on the council regardless of the outcome of the May election.
Jaggers’ filing for the city council was a surprise for many Wimberley residents. If elected, Jaggers would have the ability to vote, a power not granted to the Mayor in a General Law Type A city such as Wimberley.
Jaggers would also have the opportunity to appoint a new mayor if elected. The Mayor will keep her seat on the council regardless of the outcome of the May election. Jaggers did not respond to comment on her filing for the city council.
Resident Christine Byrne also filed to run in the Place 3 election. Byrne served on the Parks and Recreation Board for a decade and is a critic of the city’s efforts to contract with Aqua Texas.
Byrne created the “Wimberley Citizens for No Aqua Texas” petition, which received almost 2,000 signatures, which is 600 shy of the entire population of the city, according to the 2010 census.
In the race for the Place 1 seat, Rebecca Minnick and Tim Dodson tossed their hats into the race. The winner will replace incumbent council member Mike McCullough, who is not seeking re-election. Both Minnick and Dodson are members of Wimberley’s Planning and Zoning Commission.
Meanwhile, Erik Wollam, a local area attorney appointed to the Place 5 council seat in early February, faces off against Will Bowman, a former manager for Shell Oil.
Wollam was appointed to the Place 5 seat after Patricia Kelly resigned in late 2018. Bowman has been critical of the city’s change of scope for its wastewater treatment plant, calling the move costly for the city.
Wimberley’s city council elections will come a few months after the Texas Water Development Board is set to approve or deny the city’s change of scope for the project, which includes a crucial $5.5 million loan for the project.
