The Dripping Springs area has elected three new officials to public office, while two additional incumbents will hold onto their positions, according to final May 1 election results released by Hays County.
Dripping Springs City Council
In the Dripping Springs City Council race, challenger Sherrie Parks defeated incumbent Council Member Wm Travis Crow, receiving 64.08% of the 412 votes cast in the Place 5 election.
“I think the results spoke loudly that people want someone to really listen and hear what they want for the city, and that’s what I plan to do,” Parks told Community Impact Newspaper. “I don't have any agenda of my own. I want to take what the citizens of Dripping Springs want and make that happen.”
For Place 3, Geoffrey Tahuahua defeated Charlie Busbey with 57.22% of the 395 votes cast. Tahuahua—whose win comes two years after an unsuccessful council bid—said he has worked to gain the trust of the city’s residents since the last election. He said he is honored to have become an active member of the local emergency services district and other county boards, connecting with the community.
“I'm really excited about the opportunity that this presents,” he said. “I think there's a lot of challenges that we have in Dripping Springs, but they're ones that I think we can manage and plan. It's going to require leadership from our newest council members and the existing council members, and I'm really excited about all of the good things I think we're going to do together.”
With two new council members and a new member on the Dripping Springs ISD board of trustees, Parks said there is an opportunity to increase communication between the two entities and to work together.
“We’re one city. We’ve got to work together in conjunction with each other to make each entity better. I look forward to doing that,” she said.
Dripping Springs ISD
Stefani Reinold has been elected onto the Dripping Springs ISD board of trustees for the first time, while incumbent trustees Shannon O'Connor and Mary Jane Hetrick will maintain their posts. The trio received the most votes in a nine-person field.
According to Hays County and Travis County results, Reinold received 2,095 votes, representing 17.9% of all votes cast, the highest of any candidate in the race. Hetrick followed with 14.68% of votes, as did O'Connor with 13.82%.
The six other candidates did not receive enough votes to be elected onto the board of trustees. There results were:
- Thaddeus Fortenberry: 13.34%
- Tricia Quintero: 10.38%
- Stephanie Holtzendorf: 10.04%
- Lynn Henson: 9.02%
- Jeffrey Aylstock: 8.82%
- Kay Kizziar: 2%
Original post: 7:24 p.m.
Residents in the Dripping Springs area had an opportunity to vote May 1 in two City Council races and a Dripping Springs ISD race that will appoint three board of trustee positions.
For Dripping Springs City Council, early voting results announced at 7 p.m. show Geoffrey Tahuahua in the lead for Place 3, while Sherrie Parks leads in Place 5, according to Hays County.
With 224 votes cast early, Tahuahua earned 58.04% in Place 3, leading the 41.96% earned by Charlie Busbey. Both challengers are running to replace former Council Member and Mayor Todd Purcell, who resigned and retired Feb. 9 after more than 20 years serving the city.
Parks leads incumbent Council Member Wm Travis Crow with 63.4% of early votes, compared to Crow’s 36.6% of votes. There were 235 early votes cast in the race.
In the school district race—where the top three vote getters in the field of nine candidates will be elected to the board—Stefani Reinold and incumbents Mary Jane Hetrick and Shannon O'Connor led early voting.
Reinold received 1,172 early votes, or 16.57%, followed by Hetrick's 1,142 votes and O'Connor's 1,093 votes. Thaddeus Fortenberry trails behind slightly, with 1,040 votes. Other candidates, including Jeffrey Aylstock, Lynn Henson, Stephanie Holtzendorf, Kay Kizziar and Tricia Quintero, have received less than 700 early votes, according to Hays County.
Results are unofficial until they are canvassed and certified by the county clerk.
Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide/election-results to see results from all local elections in your community.
