Early voting begins Monday, April 22 in municipal, school elections

Early voting in the Saturday, May 4, municipal and school board elections begins on Monday, April 22 and will continue through Tuesday, April 30.

Polls will be open in the early voting election room at the Randle-Rather Building, 427 Saint George St., Gonzales, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 22-26 and April 29-30 for the City of Gonzales and Gonzales ISD elections.

They will be open the same days and hours at Nixon City Hall, 302 E. Central Ave., Nixon for City of Smiley and City of Nixon elections and at Waelder City Hall, 300 Hwy 90 W., Waelder for City of Waelder and Waelder ISD elections.

Gonzales City Council

District 2 incumbent Councilmember Sherri Koepp has a pair of challengers for her seat: Mariah Jordan and Johnnie Ross Hunt.

District 1 incumbent Councilmember Joseph “Poochy” Kridler was unopposed, so balloting for his precinct has been canceled.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Randle-Rather Building.

Gonzales ISD

Incumbent District 4 Gonzales ISD Trustee Josie Smith-Wright will be challenged by David Schautteet. District 7 Trustee Sandra Gorden, will face Naomi Brown on the ballot.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Randle-Rather Building.

Nixon City Council

Two at-large seats are available on the Nixon City Council and on the ballot are Jack Rogers, Shannon Smith and Jessica Smith. Incumbent Maggie Gaytan did not seek re-election.

Incumbent City Councilmember Ellie Dominguez ran unopposed for mayor as incumbent Dorothy Riojas did not seek another term. That race has been removed from the ballot.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4, at the Nixon City Hall.

Smiley City Council

Incumbent Mayor Elizabeth “Lisa” Benavidez will be challenged by former Mayor Michael Mills, who lost to Benavidez in a hotly contested race in 2022.

There are two at-large seats available on the Smiley City Council and incumbents Ellis Villasana and Melva Childress have filed for re-election and they will be challenged by Michaela Mills and Elisa Douglass.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Smiley Volunteer Fire Department, 208 N. FM 108, Smiley.

Waelder City Council

The race for Waelder Mayor will be between incumbent Roy R. Tovar and Waelder City Councilmember Curtis Hadnot Jr.

Meanwhile, there are six candidates for two at-large positions on the Waelder City Council. They include incumbent Councilmember Peggy Blackmon, Mike Harris, Margie Olmos Benitez, Eric Mahler, Connie S. Blackwell and Sandra K. Dickerson. The other seat has remained vacant since the death of Councilmember Sam Ramirez.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Waelder Community Center, 311 Hwy. 90, Waelder.

Waelder ISD

Three spots are available at-large on the Waelder ISD Board of Trustees. Candidates are incumbent Trustee Adolph Gonzales, incumbent Trustee Jo Ann Ibarra, Donna Brown, Danna Kincaid and Don Kincaid.

Election Day voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Waelder Community Center, 311 Hwy. 90, Waelder.

Elections for Nixon-Smiley Consolidated ISD and Gonzales Healthcare Systems were canceled due to having only unopposed candidates.