From left: Yasmin Wagner talks with Austin ISD board of trustees President Gina Hinojosa on Sept. 28. The board voted 7-0 with one abstention to appoint Wagner as the new District 7 trustee.[/caption]

On Sept. 28, The Austin ISD board of trustees named corporate communications and marketing manager Yasmin Wagner the District 7 trustee.

Trustees appointed Wagner by a 7-0-1 vote after discussion in executive session earlier in the meeting. Trustee Jayme Mathias abstained from voting.

The appointment of Wagner ended a two-month vacancy caused by the death of former District 7 trustee Robert Schneider on July 28.

Wagner is to be sworn in at a later date and will serve until November 2016.

Other than Wagner, accountant Jonathan Dale Sump was the only other person to apply for the trustee position. Board President Gina Hinojosa said both candidates were highly qualified and offered many assets beneficial to the district.

“A vote for one does not mean it is a vote against the other,” Hinojosa said.

The board's process included an open application period in early September and three public forums held in Southwest Austin schools in mid-September. Previously, the board discussed holding an election in November to fill the seat, but that option was voted down 4-4 on Aug. 10.

Under state law, the board did not have the option to appoint a trustee for the rest of Schneider’s term, which was scheduled to end November 2018.

In 2014, Wagner ran against Schneider for the District 7 seat. Wagner lost by a narrow margin, obtaining 48 percent of the vote.

Comparing the 2014 election with the appointment process, Wagner said the two-month appointment period was a cordial one, adding that the election experience familiarized her with going out in the District 7 community to meet people.