Grapevine-Colleyville ISD declared winners Nov. 4 for two of its three board of trustee races and scheduled a Dec. 8 runoff election for Place 5, according to a Nov. 4 news release, even though Tarrant County elections officials said they were still processing at least 11,000 defective mail-in ballots.
None of the three candidates running for the Place 5 seat has received at least 50% of the vote based on unofficial results counted so far. The district's release stated that candidates Coley Canter and Tommy Snyder will face off in December based on those unofficial results. The latest results show Canter in the lead with 13,293 votes, which is nearly 39% of the total. Snyder had 10,774 votes, or 31%, while a third candidate, Lori Crenshaw, had 10,689 votes, or 30.75%—a difference of 85 votes.
"We were given a date with no other information because we are waiting on final votes," GCISD Communications Director Addison Elliott said Nov. 4. "There is a possibility with absentee votes, and [the county is] still going through, that they could flip-flop. There is a possibility, but I don't know what the chances are."
The GCISD board of trustees passed a resolution in 1999 that requires candidates to receive the majority of the votes to be declared the winner.
The announcement for a runoff came after Tarrant County released a statement late Nov. 3 that 11,000 of the 69,941 mail-in ballots received are expected to be rejected by their voting machines and will have to be replicated so they could be counted. The statement did not say when the counting of these mail-in ballots might be completed.
Under Texas election law, the county clerk must accept and count mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 4, if they were sent from inside the U.S., or Nov. 9, if they were sent from outside the U.S. It was not clear how many total ballots might still be received in Tarrant County.
Election results are unofficial until they are canvassed and certified by the county clerk.
Canter, the candidate in the lead in the Place 5 seat, is a part-time human resources generalist and community volunteer. She has 25 years of human resources experience. Her platform focuses on the growth and academic achievement of students as well as on developing innovative learning strategies and campus safety.
Crenshaw is an independent education consultant focusing on science, technology, engineering and math. She is focused on positive school-community relations and growth in STEM programs.
Snyder has experience working for a real estate investment trust. His campaign priorities include improving academic performance, school safety and a focus on transparency on the school board.
In the Place 6 race, candidate Casey Ford is in the lead over incumbent Doug Noell. Ford has roughly 60% of votes, as compared to Noell's roughly 40%, based on unofficial results.
Noell is a retired IT consultant. His focus is on improving teacher salaries and school safety as well as partnering with regional companies to bring opportunities for students.
Ford is a principal at a certified public accounting firm, and his platform focuses on campus security as well as financial transparency and efficiency.
In the race for Place 7, incumbent Jorge Rodriguez has about 53% of the vote to challenger Cacy Tisher's 47%, according to the latest results.
Rodriguez is an engineer and product manager. His platform focuses on completing the implementation of GCISD’s strategic plan, LEAD 2021, as well as improving the district’s dyslexia program and expanding the district’s online school, iUniversity Prep.
For complete 2020 election results, visit the Community Impact Newspaper results page.
Editor's note: The original post has been edited to correct an error. Casey Ford is a principal at a certified public accounting firm.
