EAST TEXAS (KLTV) – Tyler residents will have to wait another election to learn who the new mayor will be.
The mayor’s race is headed to a runoff between John Nix and Stuart Hene, after neither candidate could cross the majority threshold. That runoff will be June 13.
See more results here.
Also in Smith County, voters denied a bond election at TJC. Tyler ISD voters elected Kendra Bircher as a new board member, unseating the incumbent Cody Levrets.
“I want to make sure that we focus on when we’re making decisions, that we think about the well-being of our students as well when we’re thinking about academics,” Bircher said. “They shouldn’t be separate. We want to keep those two things in mind when we’re making decisions about academics and student success, and then also making sure that our educators have the respect, the resources, and the support that they need. And one of my greatest, greatest goals is to make sure that our families feel like partners with the school system, as well as our community as well.”
Voters approved bonds for school districts in Spring Hill, Lufkin, Elkhart, Lone Star, Chireno, Waskom and Gladewater. A bond in Alba-Golden was denied.
And in Mount Vernon, the city has elected its first 7-footer as mayor as former NBA player Greg Ostertag unseated the incumbent.
“It’s kind of cool, actually,” Ostertag said. “We started this back in early February when I had to turn in my mayor packet, and it’s been a bit of a ride over the last three months. Today we got the official word that it’s I’m now the mayor for the next two years of Mount Vernon.”
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