Wine election delayed; city, hospital, BISD filing deadline Feb. 16
The City of Breckenridge, Stephens Memorial Hospital District and Breckenridge Independent School District have elections scheduled for May 5, but the expected alcohol election will be delayed until November, if the City Commission accepts the petition and agrees to call for the issue to be put on the ballot.
Alcohol Election
Earlier this month, local business owner Monty Cleveland turned in a completed petition requesting an election to allow the sale of wine and craft beer within the Breckenridge city limits. At that time, Breckenridge City Secretary Heather Robertson-Caraway expected to present the petition to the Breckenridge City Commission at the February meeting. However, after attending a recent election law seminar, she realized that petition cannot be presented until the March meeting, which will make it too late to be included on the May ballot.
According to the law, Robertson-Caraway said, the petition must be held for 30 days before it can be presented to the City Commission for consideration. It was turned in on Jan. 11, and the Feb. 6 meeting will be only 26 days later. The petition will be presented to the commission at the March meeting.
If it’s accepted by the commission and an ordinance is passed to authorize the calling of the election, that election cannot be called less than 78 days before the election day. The May 5 election will be only 59 days after the March meeting.
That means the election will have to be held in Breckenridge in the next Uniform Election, and that will be in November, Robertson-Caraway said.
She confirmed that there is no problem with the petition and that all of the signatures have been verified.
City of Breckenridge
The City of Breckenridge offices that are up for election this year are:
Mayor – currently held by Jimmy McKay
Commissioner Place 1 – currently held by Russell Blue, Jr.
Commissioner Place 2 – currently held by Rob Durham
The deadline to file to run for any of the positions that are open this year is Friday, Feb. 16. As of Tuesday, Jan. 30, only Durham has filed for reelection.
The May 5 election will be held only if there are any contested races. If there is only one candidate per office, the election can be canceled, said Robertson Caraway. Usually the City has a joint election with the hospital and school district, but, if the City cancels its election, the other two elections will be held at the hospital and the BISD administration office, respectively,
Applicants for the Mayor or City Commissioner places may file the application in person or by mail at the City of Breckenridge office at 105 N. Rose Ave. The office is open from 8 a.m. To 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, call the City offices at 254-559-8287.
School Board
The Breckenridge Independent School District Board of Trustees has two positions open this year:
Place 1 – currently held by Graham Reaugh
Place 2 – currently held by Thomas Tennison
They are three-year terms, and the deadline for candidates to file to run is Feb. 16.
Applicants may file the application in person at the BISD Administration Office at 208 N. Miller. To file by mail, the application may be sent to P.O. Box 1738, Breckenridge, TX 76424. The BISD office is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information, call the BISD Administration Office at 254-522-9600.
Stephens Memorial Hospital District Board
The Stephens Memorial Hospital District Board of Directors has four positions up for election this year, and the deadline to file for one is Feb. 16.
Positions on the board are elected “at large,” meaning they are not voted on by precincts but by all of the (registered voter) residents in the entire district that the hospital represents. This election will be for the two-year positions currently held by Wade Toombs, Bruce Curry, Todd Tidwell and Kevin Simmons.
The application may be obtained and filed at SMH, 200 S. Geneva from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call the hospital at 254-559-2241 extension 200.
County and State Election
