City and School Board Election Information
Mary Jane Farmer, Scene In Town, Van Alstyne News
Update, 12/30/20
Since the first publication of this article, Scene In Town/Van Alstyne News has learned that it is Beau Williams who, by appointment, replaced resigning Van Alstyne ISD Board of Trustee Jim Atchison, thus he has to sign up to run again, should he choose to, as do Council appointees Bruce Dawsey and Mayor Jim Atchison. (See more information below.)
The seats on the Van Alstyne City Council are all held by interested residents at no compensation, elected by the city’s registered voters, and there to serve for two years.
The same holds true for the Van Alstyne ISD Board of Trustees, with the exception that their terms run for three years.
Coming up for election or re-election this year, City Council Members, officially called Aldermen, are Place 5, Katrina Arsenault; Place 4, Lee Thomas; and Place 3 held originally by Robert Jaska who resigned to take a job with the City, and now held by Bruce Dawsey. The City Council appointed Dawsey to replace Jaska, as they appointed Jim Atchison as mayor to replace resigned mayor Steve Riley. As appointees, both of these candidates are required to run, if they so choose.
The Van Alstyne ISD’s Website, vanalstyneisd.org, shows that those up for re-election are Place 2, Beau Williams; Place 5, Dennis Smith; Place 6, Steve Roddy; and Place 7, David Kerr.
City Clerk Jennifer Gould explained that the requirements for council candidacy for a Type A, or Home Rule, city are established by Local Government Code Section 22.032. “To qualify to serve as Alderman Place 4 and 5 and Mayor, one must be a resident of the state for 1 year prior to the filing deadline, a resident of the city for 6 months prior to the filing deadline, age 18 or older, and must be a registered voter in the city by the filing deadline,” Gould said.
Those final filing dates are February 12 to be placed on the election ballot or February 16 if filing as a write-in candidate.
The ISD’s Website explains the qualifications to run for school board thusly:
“A school board candidate must be a registered voter, be a resident of the district he/she is running in, and have at least a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency.
“All school board positions are three-year terms and represent the entire school district. All Van Alstyne ISD residents who meet eligibility requirements specified in Board Policy BBA (Legal) may run for a position in the Board of Trustee election.”
The Website goes on to explain that the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) offers a free online training course … especially for people considering running for the school board. This course explains what to expect when serving as a school board member.
Early voting by personal appearance begins April 19, 2021, at the Election Day Polling Place, which is Grayson College, 1455 Van Alstyne Parkway, Gould added. This is also the location for May 1 (election day) voting.
Category: *- Features, Van Alstyne News
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