Races open for school boards, city councils
The race is on for school board and city council elections May 2. The filing period opened Jan. 14.
Candidates have until 5 p.m. Feb. 13 to turn in an application indicating their intent to seek office.
The last day to register to vote is April 2; early voting runs April 20-28; and polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day.
Here is a recap of election activity as of Friday:
TAYLOR ISD
The Taylor Independent School District has two positions up for grabs.
The Place 1 slot held by board Vice President Shorty Mitchell and the at-large seat occupied by Jim Buzan are open for election.
Buzan, meanwhile, officially kicked off a campaign Jan. 14 to run for Taylor mayor.
School board information can be found at taylorisd. org/trustee- elections. For more, contact the Administration Office at 512-365-1391.
TAYLOR
For the first time in living memory, the mayor’s seat will be decided by the electorate and not by the sitting City Council.
The former at-large seat is transitioning to the mayoral position after voters in May 2024 approved an amendment to the city charter.
Local businessman and Taylor native Jim Buzan has announced his candidacy for the city’s top spot after Dwayne Ariola decided not to seek reelection.
Council terms are three years.
Candidates interested in running for mayor can contact City Clerk Lucy Aldrich at 512-352-3675 or email lucy.aldrich@taylortx. gov.
HUTTO ISD
The Hutto Independent School District has two atlarge school board seats on the ballot May 2. The spots currently are held by Vice President Felix Chavez and trustee Shara Turner.
Trustees serve staggered three-year terms.
Interested candidates can pick up printed packets of forms and instructional documents from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Central Administration building, 200 College St. in Hutto.
HUTTO
Two places are on the ballot for the Hutto City Council. Place 1 is held by interim Councilman Charles Warner and Peter Gordon is the Place 4 council member.
Warner was appointed Jan. 8 to fill the few months remaining on the term of Councilman Brian Thompson, who stepped down in December. Warner said he is not planning to run May 2.
Gordon has hit term limits and cannot seek reelection.
Interested candidates can call 512-7594015 or visit www. huttotx.gov/800/May-2-2026-City-Council-Election for more information.
Terms are for three years.
THRALL ISD
Thrall Independent School District board President Bryan Holubec has officially announced he is running again.
Wesley West’s seat is also on the ballot this spring.
Applications for a school-board slot may be filed at or mailed to the Administration Office, 107 S. Bounds St., Thrall, or emailed to [email protected].
More information is at thrallisd.org/page/ board-of-trustees-election- information.
Trustees serve staggered three-year terms.
GRANGER ISD
The Granger Independent School District seats held by board President Daryl Stefek and trustees Jason Huf and Josh Richter are on the ballot.
For more information about applying for the spots, visit grangerisd. net/documents/ board- of-trustees/ election-information/ 21474425.
Applications can be turned in at the Administration Office, 300 N. Colorado St., Granger, during office hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
GRANGER
There are three atlarge positions on the Granger City Council. The incumbents are Lori Gick, Ron Marx and Mark Matoska.
Those interested in becoming an alderman or alderwoman can call 512-859-2871 or grab an application at City Hall, 214 E. Davilla St., Granger.
Council members are elected for two years.
COUPLAND ISD
While the Coupland Independent School District holds its school board elections in November, the dais is still short one trustee.
Royce Hatch recently resigned from the school board.
Marcia Buffington replaced former trustee Andrew Gonzalez who had to step down due to a conflict of interest after a change in Texas Association of School Boards regulations this past September.
For more, call 512856-2422 or email [email protected].
Keep reading the Taylor Press and visit www.taylorpress.net/ as the election countdown continues.
Chlapek can be reached at Jason.chlapek@ granitemediapartners. com and Treadway at [email protected].
