Incumbents unseated in Harris County ESD No. 9 election

Naressa MacKinnon, Kevin W. Stertzel and Robert O. Paiva will serve four-year terms as commissioners for Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9, officials confirmed election night May 7.

All three incumbents—Scott DeBoer, William McDugle and Tommy Balez—were unseated.

MacKinnon, the chief operating officer of a large neurological physician group, earned 2,235 votes, or 20.7% of the total. Stertzel, a certified public accountant, followed with 2,043 votes, or 18.9%. Paiva—who has a background in military, corporate and consulting—earned 1,913 votes, or 17.7%.

These three individuals ran on a campaign of integrity, transparency and accountability. Top priorities include advocating for taxpayers, supporting first responders, financial transparency and tax cuts, according to their campaign website. Learn more about their priorities in our candidate Q&A.

DeBoer, McDugle and Balez were endorsed by the Cy-Fair Professional Fire Fighters Association but came up short with 14.3%, 14% and 13% of the votes, respectively. Additionally, John Peart earned 151 votes, or 1.3% of the total.

A total of 10,787 total votes were counted as of May 7. All results are unofficial until canvassed.