Former JP, principal seeks LCM board

Dave Rogers

For The Record

When Derry Dunn retired as a high school principal, he went to work as an Orange County justice of the peace the next day.

This time, Dunn, 72, was retired just over two weeks before he signed up to go back to Little Cypress-Mauriceville schools.

Dunn has filed to run for Position 7 on the Little Cypress-Mauriceville school district board.

Incumbent Ray Rogers chose not to run in the May 4 election for a return to that spot.

“I wasn’t bored. I was just ready to help out some with the leadership there,” said Dunn, who spent 26 years as a teacher and administrator in the LC-M district before being elected to four four-year terms as JP for Precinct 2.

“I didn’t want to knock anybody off but there’s an open slot there. I thought I’d go run.”

Dunn defeated four opponents in his first run for the JP bench, two the second time and faced no opposition for his third and fourth terms with the county.

He currently has no opposition for Place 7.

“If somebody really good wants to step in there, I’m not going to do much electioneering. I just want to make sure someone good gets on the board.”

The other seat up for this year’s board election at LC-M, Position 6, doesn’t have an incumbent running, either.

Rex Peveto, a member of the LCM board since 2010, has announced he plans to run in 2020 for the 163^rd District Court bench which will be empty after the retirement of Judge Dennis Powell.

Both Dr. Chris Riedel and Josh Fisher have filed for Position 6.

Deadline to register for a place on the May 4 city council and school district ballots is Feb. 15. Filings began a week ago and already most incumbents have announced their intent to seek re-election.

That includes Roy McDonald, mayor of West Orange since 1995. West Orange councilman Randy Branch has filed for re-election but councilwoman Frances Droddy-Lopez says she won’t.

In Bridge City, all incumbents for school district and city council say they want three more years, at least.

For the school board, Rebecca Rutledge, Thad Hill and Jerry McInnis have filed for re-elections to Places 3, 4 and 5, respectively.

Carl Harbert, Place 1; Tammi Fisette, Place 3; and Terri Gauthier, Place 5; have filed for re-election on Bridge City city council.

Brad Childs, in single-member District 2, is the only incumbent to file for Orange City council as of noon Tuesday. The other incumbents are Annette Pernell from District 4 and Bill Mello of at-large Place 5.

Two familiar faces did file for Pernell’s and Mello’s seats. They are Southeast Texas hospice director Mary McKenna for Place 3 and former Orange County sheriff’s deputy David Bailey for Place 5.

No filings had been entered for Pinehurst Council as of deadline Tuesday and none were reported from West Orange-Cove.

In WOC, incumbents whose terms expire this spring are Linda Pratt-Bryant, Tony Dallas and Demetrius Hunter. The seats of at-large aldermen T.W. Permenter and Dan Mohon and alderwoman Sarah McClendon are on the ballot.