Newly elected, re-elected Leander City Council members sworn into office; new mayor pro tem

David McDonald and Chris Czernek were sworn into office at Place 3 and Place 5, respectively, on Leander City Council at the July 7 council meeting.

Czernek was elected to serve on the council at Place 5 in May 2019. With his term expiring this year, he ran as an incumbent against Bill Louden in the May 7 election. Czernek and Louden went to the runoff election June 11, where Czernek took the win with 62.07% of the vote, or 1,952 votes.

“Thank you for having me for another three years,” Czernek said at the July 7 meeting.

McDonald won the race for Place 3 in the June 11 runoff election against his opponent, Juan Alanis, bringing in 62.8% of the vote, or 1,962 votes. McDonald told Community Impact Newspaper that he served 25 years in city government working as a police officer before running for council.

“It is just a life of service, and this is just another way to give back—I'm really excited to serve you all,” McDonald said at the meeting. “Just want to say thank you, even if you didn’t vote for me, because it is an honor to serve you all.”

Leander City Council selected Council Member Na'Cole Thompson as the new mayor pro tem for 2022-23. Council Member Becki Ross previously served in the position.

“I just want to say good luck to Jason on his next endeavor,” Council Member Esme Mattke Longoria said at the meeting. “And congrats again to Chris and David and congrats to the mayor pro tem Thompson.”