The deadline for candidates seeking a place on the May 6 General Election ballot to file an application was 5 p.m. Friday. The application filing period began on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
Anyone who still has aspirations, or a change of heart, still has time to file as a write-in candidate until the Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 5 p.m. deadline.
Here is a look at the open seats this May in southern Denton County:
Argyle
This year, the position of Mayor and council Places 2 and 4 are all contested.
Mayoral incumbent Peggy Krueger will face candidate Donald G. Moser.
Council Place 2 incumbent Kay Teer will face Ronald Schmidt and Place 4 council incumbent Jay Haynes will face two opponents—Joan Delashaw and Todd Mankin.
The candidates will be elected at-large to represent the entire community.
Bartonville
The 2017 Bartonville Town Council general election is for council member Place 1, Place 3 and Place 5, each for a term of two years. Place 5 is the only contested race.
Filing for re-election are incumbents Jeff Traylor for Place 1 and Clay Sams for Place 3. The Place 5 incumbent, Jim Langford, will face Joshua Phillips.
Copper Canyon
All three Copper Canyon council members have filed applications to be re-elected for two-year terms. Mayor Sue Tejml, Mayor Pro-tem Jeff Mangum and council member Dave Svatik.
With no opponents, there will be no election this May.
Double Oak
Three positions in Double Oak—mayor and two council places—will be on the May 6 ballot for Double Oak.
Incumbents Mike Donnelly, current mayor, plus council members Steve Durbin and Dr. Ara Minassian have filed candidate applications, as well as Scott Whisenhunt to serve on council.
Flower Mound
The May 6 election will be the first transitional term-limit from two- to three-year terms for town council members. Places 1 and 3 will remain two-year terms, while Place 5 will be a three-year term.
Place 1 candidates are Prbakar Jaganatan, Cathy Strathmann and incumbent Jason Webb.
Place 3 candidates are incumbent Kevin Bryant and Sandeep Sharma.
Place 5 candidates are Claudio Forest and incumbent Itamar Gelbman.
Highland Village
The City of Highland Village will elect officials for three City Council members to Place 3, Place 5 and Place 7 to serve two year terms. Only one seat will be contested.
Current council members who have filed for re-election are Mike Lombardo for Place 3 and Place 5 incumbent Fred Busche, with Jim Archibald also a candidate for Place 5; and, Dan Jaworski is the only candidate for Place 7.
The May 2016 General Election raised some questions about term limits and years of service to the city. As a result, this year’s ballot will include Charter Amendments passed by the City Council at its Feb. 14 meeting.
The propositions include updates regarding state laws and the election code, as well as language clarification.
The proposed amendments which clarify language to provide consistency with state law include: Council member residency qualifications and eligibility to seek another office, or position, while currently serving on Council; filing for office; and, public records.
Amendments proposed which are clarifying language and/or procedural in nature include: the composition of a Council quorum; codification of city ordinances; and, term clarifications relating to petitions.
Two sections are proposed to be repealed, the appointment of municipal clerk and provisions of the Parks and Recreation Board, as both are addressed in the City Code of Ordinances.
Lewisville
Five candidates are vying for the Lewisville City Council Place 1 seat. In Place 3, two candidates filed. Read more here.
Argyle ISD
Three at-large seats are open on the district School Board, with only one seat being contested.
Place 1 incumbent Craig Hawkesworth has filed for re-election, as has Place 2 incumbent John Bitter. First-time candidates Aaron Estrada and Sam Slaton have filed applications for Place 3. Each board member serves a three-year term.
In addition, the current School Board approved adding a $166 million bond package on the May ballot for new schools and renovations to existing facilities to manage district growth. Current enrollment of 2,670 students is expected to grow at least 10 percent per year to over 5,000 students by 2023.
Included under the bond funding will be: two new elementary schools; the addition of 12-classrooms at the current high school; renovation of parts of the high school, including the restrooms, kitchen area, and HVAC; Phase 2 of Argyle Middle School that will transform it into a high school; and, a new transportation and administration center. The current Administration Building will be used for more academic/instructional space at Argyle Intermediate School.
Argyle ISD is seeing increasing growth from master-planned communities Harvest and Canyon Falls which lie outside of the Town of Argyle yet feed into the school district.
The new elementary schools slated for Harvest and Canyon Falls, that can accommodate 850 students each, will cost the district $67.9 million.
If approved, the school portion of the property tax rate would increase by three cents, from $1.57 to $1.60 per $100 of valuation. Click here for the Bond Committee’s presentation.
Denton ISD
This year marks the first election with multiple School Board candidates for the two open seats.
Place 6 incumbent Dorothy A. Martinez will face opponents Justin Bell and Sam Ortiz, while Place 7 incumbent Jim R. Alexander facing Alfredo Sanchez.
Lewisville ISD
The seven-member Board of Trustees has two seats on the May 2017 ballot, but eight candidates have filed.
Place 6 candidates are Joe Hanna, incumbent Kristi Hassett, Eric Parker and Peter Rabner.
Place 7 candidates include incumbent Tracy Miller and Shari Chambers, Colleen Shaw and Sandra N. Weinstein.
Also on the ballot May 6, will be a $737.5 million bond. Under the plan, Hedrick Elementary in Lewisville will be torn down and not rebuilt.
The proposition represents funding for more than 30 projects to improve the district– refurbishing schools, acquiring new technology or building completely new facilities.
The projects were selected from a list of more than 40 items by the Facility Advisory Committee, composed of 89 citizens from across the school district.
Voting
All elections in Denton County are under the Denton County Elections Administration, 701 Kimberly Dr., Suite A101 in Denton. Questions about early voting via mail (absentee) or in-person, specific voter identification information or restrictions are available at: elections@dentoncounty.com or by phone at 940-349-3200.
Residents who are not yet registered to vote, must register by Thursday, April 6; and, the last day to request an absentee ballot is Tuesday, April 25—received in the office, not postmarked. The first day of early voting in person is Monday, April 24 and the last day of early-voting in person is Tuesday, May 2.
All voters are required to present an approved form of photo identification; visit: www.votetexas.gov for specifics. Examples of acceptable forms of ID include: driver’s license; election ID certificate; DPS Texas personal ID card; concealed/open-carry handgun license; U.S. Military ID card; U.S. citizenship certificate; or U.S. Passport. All forms of ID may not have expired over 60-days.
Most answers to questions about upcoming elections can be found at: www.votedenton.com.