Candidates challenge mayor, Ward 1 positions
Two candidates have filed to challenge the incumbent mayor and Ward 1 member on the Elgin City Council, while the city is looking for a solution to fill a Ward 3 seat that drew no applications.
Current mayor Chris Cannon is seeking another term as mayor-at-large. Ron Ramirez is running against Cannon for the mayor-at-large position.
Incumbent Jessica A. Bega is running for another term in her Ward 1 council position. Arthur Gibson III is running against Bega for the Ward 1 seat.
Susana Arreaga is running unopposed for her current Ward 2 position on the council.
Ward 3 council member Daniel Lopez’s term expires this spring; however, the city has received no applications by candidates seeking this position.
During the city council meeting on February 18, city manager Thomas Mattis remarked on the oddness of this situation; between himself, finance director Charles Cunningham, city secretary Amelia Sanchez and city attorney Charlie Crossfield, with over 100 years of collective experience in local government, none of them have ever had a council position up for election with no candidates.
Currently, Mattis is unsure of what this means, he said, but the city is consulting with Crossfield for an opinion about what to do.
Sue Prinz Brashar is running unopposed for her current Ward 4 position on the council. Grant Hennig filed an application to be a candidate for the Ward 4 seat but withdrew his application last Tuesday.
Two positions on the Elgin Independent School District board of trustees—districts 1 and 2—are up for reelection this year but are uncontested.
School board president Byron Mitchell is running unopposed for his current District 1 position.
Current board member Geno Chavarria did not apply to be a candidate again for the District 2 position. Pete Bega is the sole candidate for the District 2 position. Bega previously served on the school board for 16 years in District 6, but stepped down in January 2019 so that the district could hire Bega’s granddaughter as a teacher at Booker T. Washington Elementary School.
The Elgin ISD board agenda for their regular meeting on February 24 included certifying these candidates are unopposed and approving an order of cancellation for their election this year.
Election Day for these local races is Saturday, May 2. Early voting begins on Monday, April 20 and concludes on Tuesday, April 28.