Filings to run for councils, boards starts soon

Filings will open for local city council and school board positions on Wednesday, January 15. Some of the spots open this year will be for West Orange mayor, currently held by Randy Branch.

Interested and qualified people running for offices in the May 3 elections may file during regular weekday business hours until Friday, February 14. City council filings are taken in the city secretary's office at the appropriate city hall. School board trustees will file in the offices of the secretary to the school district's superintendent.

Hours and holidays will vary for the different offices, so people wanting to file for a position should check the times and days before going to file in person. The Orangefield ISD will have its board election during the November general election because of state regulations.

The Orange County Drainage District and Orange County Port District have elections for their boards of directors during even years.

Open seats for May's election will be:

Bridge City City Council has three openings this year. Place 1 is currently held by Aaron Roccaforte, Place 3 held by Bryant Champagne, and Place 5 held by Terri Gauthier. The city has at-large voting, meaning citizens can vote for all the positions and candidates do not have to live in a specific area. However, candidates must file for a specific seat.

Orange City Council has the At-Large Place 5 spot held by Caroline Hennigan open, along with Single-Member District 2 councilor held by Brad Childs and Single-Member District 4 held by Mary McKenna. Orange is the only city council with single-member districts. Only people living within the specific district may run or vote for the office. Hennigan's seat is at-large, and any qualified person in the city may run for the spot and vote for the seat.

Pinehurst City Council has three at-large positions open and they are currently held by Dr. Mike Shahan, Troy Pierce, and Joey Vance. Any qualified resident in the city may run for any of the offices and may vote for all three.

West Orange City Council has the term of Mayor Randy Branch expiring. Also up for election this year will be Meritta Kennedy, who serves as mayor pro tem, and Brent Dearing. The seats are all at-large with any qualified resident eligible to run or vote for any position.

Bridge City ISD board of trustees has three at-large positions of Place 3, currently held by Rebecca Rutledge, who serves as president of the board. The other positions are Place 4 held by Thad Hill, and Place 5 held y Jerry McInnis.

Little Cypress-Mauriceville CISD has two at-large positions open that are currently held by Chris Riedel and Derry Dunn.

West Orange-Cove CISD has three at-large positions open. The seats are currently held by Linda Platt-Bryant, the board president, along with seats held by Gina Yeaman and Demetrius Hunter.