Gordy Bunch, Brian Boniface, John Anthony Brown and Bruce Rieser won four positions on The Woodlands Township board of directors on Nov. 8.
The new directors, who ran together on a Residents’ Advocate slate, took their oaths of office Nov. 30, after which the group of officers for 2016-17 were unanimously elected by the board. Bunch, who has served on the board since 2012, will serve as chairman, and township Director John McMullan will be the vice chairman. McMullan was first elected to the board in 2013.
Township directors Laura Filllault and Ann Snyder will serve as secretary and treasurer, respectively. Both Fillault and Snyder were elected to the board in 2015.
In the Nov. 8 election Bunch, the Position 1 incumbent, earned 22,209 votes compared to challenger Amy Lampman’s 12,046 votes and Bob Leilich’s 3,458 votes.
“So many great people came out to the polls,” Bunch said. “We’ve been outspent, and the community rallied against that … and defended us in a way we could have never imagined.”
In the Position 2 race—the closest race of the four—incumbent Mike Bass earned 17,016 votes to Boniface’s 17,940 votes.
Both Position 3 and Position 4 will be filled by newcomers after Jeff Long and Ed Robb both chose not to run for re-election. In the Position 3 race, Brown won with 21,212 votes compared to Stuart Schroeder’s 12,186 votes.
“It wasn’t really about whether I would win or lose, but rather I was willing to stand up and fight for what I believed in,” Brown said. “I believe in this community and want to project the quality of life that we are accustomed to. I wanted this to be an example for all our residents, my friends, family, and especially my daughter, that if you do the right thing for the right reasons, usually the right thing happens.”
In the Position 4 race, Rieser won with 22,732 votes while his challenger Chris Grice earned 11,422 votes.
“This has been the most incredible ride,” Rieser said. “We are about to send the message … that we can’t be bought.”
Bunch is the CEO, founder and president of The Woodlands Financial Group. Boniface is a registered nurse. Brown is a facilities supervisor at Huntsman International. Rieser is a retired airline executive who is the CEO of a consulting firm.
The election results were canvassed Nov. 21.