Whitney voters made selections for mayor and three school board members in the Saturday, May 1, election.
Reverend Brad Slaten came out ahead in the close race for Whitney mayor. Slaten received 40 votes, followed by Jerry Barker with 38 and Ken Scales with 32.
Ronie Lerma, who was not eligible to hold the office due to the requirement that candidates be registered voters by the filing deadline, received nine votes. Although the issue was discovered prior to the election, it was reportedly too late to remove Lerma's name from the ballot.
On the Whitney school board, incumbent Jason Sneed secured his seat for another three years with 342 votes. He will be joined on the board by newcomers Charles Buzan (260 votes) and Ray Watson (255 votes).
The new board members will replace Jill Hall and Annette Ayers, who did not seek re-election.
Other school board candidates on the Whitney Independent School District ballot and votes received included: Anne Green - 159 votes; Stephen Hunt - 113 votes; Matthew Copeland - 60 votes; Ramey Branscum - 49 votes; and Donna Brunson - 43 votes.
Three school board positions were available in Covington with four candidates seeking a three-year position.
Incumbent Kevin Ray won a seat with 63 votes and will be joined on the board by Cody Nickell, who received 56 votes.
The remaining two candidates—Joe Reitz and David Shane Johnson—each received 36 votes.
The Texas Election Code allows ties to be handled in one of several ways, including a second election, casting lots or one candidate voluntarily withdrawing from the race.
Information about how Covington Independent School District will proceed to fill the third school board spot was unavailable over the weekend.
All election results are unofficial until canvassed by local city councils and school boards at upcoming meetings.
