In Magnolia, the mayoral election being pushed to align with the general election likely helped to increase turnout—the election, previously scheduled for May 2, was postponed to Nov. 3 at Gov. Greg Abbott’s recommendation amid the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s mayoral race was last contested over a decade ago, in May 2010, when Mayor Todd Kana won his first term against Connie Barrett with 158 votes to Barrett's 106, according to the Montgomery County Elections Office.
Once again contested in 2020, the mayoral race garnered a total of 906 votes for the Nov. 3 election, a 243% increase in voter turnout in the decade. Kana again won the election.
Voter turnout also soared to more than 30,000 votes total cast in Tomball ISD board of trustee elections, nearly double the number of votes cast for similar trustee positions in November 2016. Whereas the 2020 ballot included three contested trustee races, only one of three positions on the ballot in November 2016 was contested, according to election results from Harris and Montgomery counties. Before 2016, Positions 5, 6 and 7 were last contested in 2004, according to an analysis of Harris County election records.
In an emailed statement Nov. 4, Position 6 candidate Joseph Ferguson—who trailed in the three-way race with 24.94% of votes against opponent Ursula Gassaway and incumbent Justin Unser, who appears the likely winner—said he was encouraged by the great voter interest in the TISD races this time around.
“I'm very happy about the unprecedented level of voter interest and turnout in the 2020 Tomball ISD school board election. I remember a time in Tomball’s history when school board elections were canceled because the incumbents were running unopposed,” Ferguson wrote. “As a former social studies teacher, this year’s high level of civic engagement made this campaign worthwhile for me.”
