Voters decide three Austin ISD board runoff elections

AISD has geographic districts, and each voter in a district with a seat up for election could vote for a candidate to represent his or her area as well as for a candidate to represent the district at-large. Board members serve four-year terms.

A runoff election takes place if a candidate in any race does not receive at least 50 percent of the vote. The top two vote-getters in the initial election advance to runoffs. All results are unofficial until canvassed.

At-Large Position 9

For At-Large Position 9, Kendall Pace, a small-business co-owner and consultant, took the lead against University of Texas professor Hillary Procknow.

Pace said she hopes to work to help the board become a more cohesive group.

"We have lots of need across the district," Pace said. "I think to make tough decisions in the out years we're going to need community participation and understanding."

Pace added she has worked in the past with interim Superintendent Paul Cruz, who was recently named the sole finalist for district superintendent.

Voting results show Pace was in the lead with 65.05 percent of the vote, or 28,842 votes. Procknow has 34.95 percent of the votes, or 15,495 votes.

"I'm really happy to have had this opportunity and to have worked with so many people who supported me and been able to talk about issues that maybe wouldn't have come up in this race otherwise," Procknow said. "I'm happy that Kendall has already spoken out against [standardized] testing and understands the inequities in the district. My goal for the runoff was the same as it was from the beginning, which is to continue to talk about these issues."

The At-Large Place 9 seat is currently held by Tamala Barksdale, who did not seek re-election.

District 1

For District 1, which consists of parts of Central and East Austin, Edmund T. Gordon, associate professor and chairman of The University of Texas African and African Diaspora Studies Department, finished with 55.91 percent of the vote according to tallies, with 3,164 votes. Gordon could not be reached for comment.

Fellow candidate David "D" Thompson, a former teacher, school administrator and community minister, has 44.09 percent of the vote, or 2,495 votes.

The District 1 seat is currently held by Cheryl Bradley, who is not seeking re-election.

District 6

Voting tallies indicate Paul Saldaa, former Tri-Chair of the AISD Community Committee on Neighborhoods and Schools, had 53.17 percent of the vote, or 3,054 votes, for the District 6 seat.

"I'm looking forward to being part of the new legacy that is going to be created ... in AISD," Saldaa said. "There is a lot of work ahead as we try to figure out how to close the [academic] performance gap."

Former teacher Kate Mason-Murphy has 46.83 percent of the vote, or 2,690 votes.

Current trustee Lori Moya did not seek re-election to District 6, which includes parts of Southwest and Central Austin.

More information about elections is available at www.austinisd.org.

Posted 7:10 p.m. CST

Voters are choosing their representatives for three contested seats on the Austin ISD board of trustees in the Dec. 16 runoff elections.

The AISD board comprises nine seats, and elections were held in November for single-member trustee districts 1, 4, 6 and 7, and Trustee At-Large Position 9. District 7 incumbent Robert Schneider narrowly edged out challenger Yasmin Wagner, and District 4 candidate Julie Cowan beat Karen Flanagan.

AISD has geographic districts, and each voter in a district with a seat up for election could vote for a candidate to represent his or her area as well as for a candidate to represent the district at-large. Board members serve four-year terms.

A runoff election takes place if a candidate in any race does not receive at least 50 percent of the vote. The top two vote-getters in the initial election advance to runoffs. All results are unofficial until canvassed.

At-Large Position 9

For At-Large Position 9, Kendall Pace, a small-business co-owner and consultant, took the lead according to early voting results facing University of Texas professor Hillary Procknow.

Pace said she would make improvements in the district such as increasing the equity and flexibility in funding at the campus level.

Early voting results showed Pace has 64.84 percent of the vote, or 18,529 votes. Procknow has 35.16 percent of the votes, or 10,046 votes.

The At-Large Place 9 seat is currently held by Tamala Barksdale, who did not seek re-election.

District 1

For District 1, which consists of parts of Central and East Austin, Edmund T. Gordon, associate professor and chairman of The University of Texas African and African Diaspora Studies Department, has 51.40 percent of the vote according to early tallies, with 1,730 votes.

Fellow candidate David "D" Thompson, a former teacher, school administrator and community minister, has 48.60 percent of the vote, or 1,636 votes.

The District 1 seat is currently held by Cheryl Bradley, who is not seeking re-election.

District 6

Early voting tallies indicate Paul Saldaa, former Tri-Chair of the AISD Community Committee on Neighborhoods and Schools, has 50.83 percent of the vote, or 1,902 votes, for the District 6 seat.

Former teacher Kate Mason-Murphy has 49.17 percent of the vote, or 1,840 votes.

Saldaa said he was out at the polls for most of the day and noted voter turnout was low. He added he expects the race to be tight.

"I knew it was going to be close because there is such a low voter turnout, but I'm happy. We'll see what the final numbers are. I'm feeling very good and optimistic."

Current trustee Lori Moya did not seek re-election to District 6, which includes parts of Southwest and Central Austin.

More information about elections is available at www.austinisd.org.