Posted 8:30 pm

Early voting results in the Nov. 5 elections show Lorenzo Gonzalez in the lead for Place 5 on San Marcos City Council. He is running against candidates Roland Saucedo, Atom Von Arndt and Griffin Spell.

Gonzalez has received 4,911 of the early votes, which is a 31.39% majority, as shown by unofficial election results from Hays County. Saucedo, Von Arndt and Spell have received 25.58%, 17.06% and 25.97%, respectively.

According to section 5.05 of the San Marcos City Charter, the candidate with the most votes for each position is elected. If no candidate gets a majority of votes, a runoff election will take place between the top two candidates. The runoff will be scheduled between 20 and 45 days after the votes from the first election are finalized.

About the candidates

Griffin Spell is a management consultant whose relevant experience includes serving as vice chair for the Planning & Zoning Commission and a former chair for the Historic Preservation Commission. He is also a former neighborhood commissioner. In a Q&A with Community Impact, he said affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges facing San Marcos.

Roland Saucedo is a communications clerk whose bid for Place 5 council member focuses around workforce, affordable housing, historic preservation and environmental concerns. In a Q&A with Community Impact, he said he would serve as a community advocate if elected.

Atom Von Arndt is a salesman who currently serves as a San Marcos Main Street Advisory Board appointee. In a Q&A with Community Impact, he said he believes that affordability is the greatest issue facing San Marcos residents and that residents needs should come first.

Lorenzo Gonzalez is a school based law enforcement officer for the Del Valle ISD Police Department. Gonzalez did not respond to requests to be included in the questionnaire before press time.

The incumbent, Mark Gleason, held the position since 2020 and did not run for re-election.

Some context

In early voting, there were 103,988 ballots cast in Hays County, roughly 56% of the county’s 186,492 registered voters, according to data from the Hays County Elections Office.

Totals from ballots cast Nov. 5 have yet to be released. Polls closed at 7 p.m., but voters who were in line at 7 p.m. are still able to cast ballots.

What’s next?

Community Impact will update this article as more election day vote totals are released. All results are unofficial until canvassed.

Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.