Zoch, A-Roc defeat BC incumbents

Randy Branch will be Mayor of West Orange after capturing 68.7% of the vote against Jim Whittington in the Spring 2021 election that ended Saturday evening.

Misty Songe and Ronnie Herrera face a runoff for the position of Mayor in Vidor, after finishing 1-2 in a three-way race in which no candidate received 50% plus one of the total votes cast.

Branch, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church, will take the place of longtime West Orange mayor Roy McDonald, who earlier this year announced his retirement after 26 years as his city's top elected official.

Incumbents Patrick Pullen of Orange City Council, Patty Collins of Bridge City ISD board, Carl Harbert of Bridge City City Council and Joey Vance of the Pinehurst City Council lost their re-election bids, according to Saturday night's unofficial results released by the Orange County Elections Administration.

Pullen lost by only seven votes, 145-138, to David C. Bailey for City Council District 1 in Orange. Paul Zoch defeated Collins 533-501 for the BCISD board.

Aaron Roccaforte, son of longtime BC councilman and mayor Kirk Roccaforte, defeated Harbert 484-259 in his first run for office and Vance finished fifth in a five-way race for three at-large seats.

Around the county:

* Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. easily won re-election to a second three-year term, collecting 90.6% of the 1,611 votes cast in a race against Charles Thomas.

* Bridge City ISD incumbent Judy Cole doubled up challenger Caleb Hayes with 702 votes to 326.

* For City Council in Bridge City, incumbent Terri Gauthier defeated Kenneth Prosperie 427-315 for Place 5 and incumbent Tammi Fisette outpolled challenger John P. Nickum 440-304 for Place 3.

* In West Orange, incumbent alderman Brent Dearing won re-election and former alderman Meritta Kennedy reclaimed a spot on city council in a three-person race for two at-large seats.

Dearing collected 190 votes, Kennedy 183 and the other candidate, Jay Odom, finished with 171.

* In Pinehurst, where the top three finishers were elected for three at-large alderman seats, incumbent Sarah McClendon earned 87 votes, followed by Johnny Asevedo (81), incumbent Michael Shahan (63), Troy Pierce (48) and Vance (43).

Incumbent Greg Willis defeated Kerri Donnaud Arrington 82-62 for a one-year term as Pinehurst alderman.

* Songe finished with 47.7% of the total votes for Vidor Mayor with 339. Herrera finished with 227 and Seth LaPray 145. In the only contested Vidor council race, former Mayor Kelly Carder turned around a seven-vote early voting deficit with a 115-106 edge in Saturday votes to win the race by two votes over Joseph Webb, 343-341.