By Brittany Anderson
HAYS COUNTY — Nearly 16,000, or 9.83%, of registered Hays County voters headed to the polls during the May 7 uniform election. Candidates from across the county were vying for seats on the Hays CISD and Dripping Springs ISD boards of trustees, as well as for several council seats in the small community of Hays. Two state of Texas propositions were also on the ballot
These are the election results as of May 9 at 11:40 a.m.
Hays CISD
Replacing outgoing HCISD trustee Merideth Keller is Byron Severance, who will take the District 4 seat with 1,148 votes against Amy Grant’s 851 votes. Incumbent Esperanza Orosco will remain on the board in the District 5 seat, receiving 835 votes over opponent Bear Heiser’s 465.
Also in HCISD, Proposition A passed with 2,556 votes, with 2,420 votes against. The proposition, geared towards addressing the growth the district has seen and anticipates, will issue $115 million for elementary #16 construction, elementary #17 design fees, the creation of an Academic Support Center, the expansion of Live Oak Academy and the purchase of 55 new school buses.
Dripping Springs ISD
Tricia Quintero (2,978 votes) and Olivia Barnard (2,981 votes) were elected to the DSISD Board of Trustees. Out of the four candidates — the other two being Thaddeus Fortenberry and incumbent Joanna Day — the two with the most votes were to both be elected to serve. Fortenberry received 2,746 votes and Day received 2,912 votes.
City of Hays
The three races in the City of Hays were tight. In the race for Mayor, Billy Maphies won with 53 votes over current Mayor Pro Tem Lydia Bryan-Valdez’s 52 votes. Glennell Strawn won Council Place 2 with 53 votes over Thomas Lemmon’s 52 votes, and Tony S. Valdez won Council Place 3 with 54 votes over incumbent Richard Gibbens’ 51 votes.
State propositions
The State of Texas Proposition 1 passed with 13,518 votes. This proposition will reduce the amount of taxes that elderly and disabled residents pay to support public education starting next year. The State of Texas Proposition 2 also passed, with 13,979 votes. This proposition will increase the amount that homeowners can subtract from the value of their home from $25,000 to $40,000.
