Editor's note: The story has been updated to include comments from Mark Ramsey.

Updated 3:25 p.m. Nov. 9

The North Harris County Regional Water Authority board of directors will have a new look following results from the Nov. 8 election.

With 100% of Election Day voting centers reporting Nov. 9, candidates David Barker, Melissa Rowell and Mark Ramsey defeated incumbents in races for Districts 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Kelly Fessler, a 20-year board member, was the lone incumbent to be re-elected.

Barker, who has 25 years of experience in oil and gas, defeated incumbent Len Sigler with 73.51% of the vote, earning 26,097 votes to Sigler's 9,406. In an emailed response Nov. 9, Barker said he was "relieved that the race is over" and excited to get started in the role.

"My goals moving forward are to get an in-depth understanding of the budget and the financing of the existing projects in an effort to cut costs and make a moratorium on increased rates possible," he said.

Barker acknowledged the new-look board would be headed in a different direction.

"It will no longer just approve what is brought to it from the GM; it will overlook the projects and insist on savings," he said. "It will keep contractors at arm’s length, and it will also push legislation changing how the NHCRWA, [West Harris County Regional Water Authority] and [Harris-Galveston Subsidence District] are constituted and run."

Fessler maintained his seat on the board with 54.54% of the votes in the District 5 race, defeating opponent Roy Burroughs with 15,047 votes to Burroughs' 12,543. A longtime board member, Fessler said in an emailed response he hopes to "stay the course" with the water authority's groundwater reduction plan, but he acknowledged challenges presenting the new board.

"The new board majority is a wild card in the future of the NHCRWA. None of the new members ever attended a board meeting until after they declared as candidates, so the future direction for the authority is unknown," he said. "I expect that the new majority will take some time in learning what we can and can't do. There will be an adjustment period; then I hope we can all move forward together to meet our mandated and desired goals."

Rowell said, however, that she hopes to quickly learn the challenges facing the water authority.

"Moving forward, I plan to learn what I can as quick as I can about all the current projects and the financing involved," she said in an emailed response. "I also want to review the budget and turn over every rock to see where and how money is being spent."

Rowell, a RE/MAX Realtor defeated incumbent Jim Pulliam in the District 3 race with 67.8% of the vote, earning 17,507 votes to Pulliam's 8,316. She said she has the same goals as the other newly elected board members.

"One of which is to represent our constituents and be sure their money is being spent wisely. No more rubber stamping of the spending," she said. "I am looking forward to working with the two current board members and learning from all the knowledge they have acquired over the years."

In the District 4 race, Ramsey defeated President Al Rendl. Ramsey received 26,934 votes, while Rendl got 9,600 votes.

“I am grateful and relieved that the sometimes contentious election is over," Ramsey said in an emailed response. "The voters have spoken with bipartisan unity. Loudly. Clearly. The vote margins were such that the entire board, not just the three new challenger member-elects, have an overwhelming mandate to stop the increasing water fee increases.”

All results are unofficial until canvassed. Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all local elections in your community.

Updated 11:37 p.m. Nov. 8

With 11 out of 782 Election Day voting centers reporting as of election night, Barker, Rowell, Ramsey and Fessler's leads remain in the four contested races for the North Harris County Regional Water Authority's board of directors.

Posted 8:10 p.m. Nov. 8

Early voting results from Harris County show David Barker, Melissa Rowell, Mark Ramsey and Kelly Fessler have taken the lead in the four contested races on the North Harris County Regional Water Authority's board of directors.

Barker has the lead in the District 2 race with 17,935 early votes, or 73.49% of the total. His opponent, incumbent Lee Sigler, has garnered 26.51% of the early votes, or 6,469 in total. According to the NHCRWA's website, Sigler is semi-retired and has 20 years of experience in sales and manufacturing with a machinery manufacturer. In a Q&A with Community Impact, Barker said he has 25 years of experience as a mechanical engineer in the oil and gas industry.

In District 3, Rowell has the early lead with 66.61% of the early votes, or 11,139 votes in total. Meanwhile, incumbent Jim Pulliam received 5,584 early votes, or 33.39% of the total. Rowell, a Realtor with RE/MAX, has 16 years of experience in accounting and the energy industry, according to a Q&A with Community Impact. Pulliam said he was a petrochemical designer of concrete and steel structures as well as drainage systems for more than 46 years.

Ramsey has earned 73.53% of the early vote in the District 4 race, with 18,190 votes in total. His opponent, incumbent Al Rendl, has received the remaining 6,548 early votes, or 26.47%. Retired from 35 years working for ExxonMobil, Rendl said in a Q&A with Community Impact he has served with the NHCRWA for 22 years, including time as the president. A small-business owner, Ramsey said he has experience as an engineer, author and teacher.

Meanwhile, the long-leading incumbent, Fessler, has the early lead for District 5 with 9,467 votes, or 53.69% of the total, while opponent Roy Burroughs has garnered 46.31% of the votes cast, or 8,166 votes overall. Fessler has served on the board for 20 years, while Burroughs is a retired former CPA with more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry, they said in Q&As with Community Impact.

The four contested races in the election account for four of the five races on the board of directors, each serving a different voting district area in northern Harris County.

District 2 includes portions of Tomball, Cy-Fair and Spring from Hwy. 290 to areas east of Hwy. 249. Further south, District 3's boundaries include portions of Cy-Fair and Spring from Hwy. 290 to TJ Jester Boulevard, including areas as far south as Beltway 8. District 4 is directly east of District 2, including areas of Tomball and Spring between Stuebner Airline Road to I-45. Just east of District 4, District 5 consists of portions of Spring and some of the Lake Houston area, from west of I-45 all the way to some communities east of Hwy. 59.

To learn more about the candidates, check out Community Impact's Q&As here.

All results are unofficial until canvassed. Visit communityimpact.com/voter-guide to see results from all local elections in your community.