Breckenridge Texan

By Carla McKeown/Breckenridge Texan

The filing window for candidates to run for office on the Breckenridge City Commission, school board and hospital board closed on Friday, Feb. 13, and several of the races are contested. The election will be on May 2 with Early Voting to take place April 20-28.

City of Breckenridge

In the Breckenridge City Commission election, two commissioner seats and the mayor’s position are up for election. The following candidates have filed for the offices:

Mayor – Currently held by Bob Sims

• Bob Sims-Application filed January 14, 2026
• Paul Huntington Jr.- Application filed January 14, 2026
• Brent Ensey-Application filed January 29, 2026
• Kord Trammel-Application Filed February 13, 2026

Commissioner Place 1 – Currently held by Blake Hamilton

• Blake Hamilton-Application Filed February 5, 2026
• John Green-Application Filed February 13, 2026

Commissioner Place 2 – Currently held by Greg Akers

• Justin Rose- Application filed January 15, 2026

BISD Board of Trustees

There are four positions up for election on the Breckenridge Independent School District’s Board of Trustees: Place 3, currently held by Ty Bartoskewitz; Place 4, currently held by Paul Lippe; Place 6, currently held by Nic McClymond; and Place 7, currently held by Chad Townson.

Places 6 and 7 are for the regular three-year terms. Places 3 and 4 are for two-year terms, since Bartoskewitz and Lippe were appointed last year when no one applied to run for Place 3 and then about a month after the 2025 election Jimmy McKay resigned from Place 4. Since Bartoskewitz and Lippe were appointed, they must be now run for election for the remaining 2 years of their terms.

When the filing period closed last week, three of the offices are unopposed, and one trustee place has four candidates.

According to BISD officials, the following candidates have filed to run:

Place 4:

• Paul Lippe
• Leslie Hamilton
• Tonya Taylor
• Kenneth Taylor

Place 3:

• Ty Bartoskewitz- unopposed

Place 6:

• Nic McClymond- unopposed

Place 7:

• Chad Townson- unopposed

STEPHENS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

There are four at-large positions up for election on the Stephens Memorial Hospital District’s Board of Directors. And, the four incumbents — Kevin Simmons, Wade Toombs, Todd Tidwell and Bruce Curry — are running unopposed.

As allowed by law, the hospital board will likely cancel the election and declare the four unopposed candidates as elected.

VOTER REGISTRATION, EARLY VOTING AND ELECTION DAY

In order to vote in the city, school district or hospital elections, citizens must be registered to vote by Thursday, April 2.

In order to vote in a specific election, citizens must be registered in the appropriate district. For example, to vote in the City Commission election, voters must live within the city limits of Breckenridge. To vote in the school board election, voters must live within the Breckenridge Independent School District. To vote in the hospital board election, voters must live within the Stephens Memorial Hospital District.

To register to vote, visit the Stephens County Elections office (County Clerk’s office) in the courthouse, or go to www.votetexas.org.

You are eligible to register to vote if:

• You are a United States citizen;
• You are a resident of the county where you submit the application;
• You are at least 17 years and 10 months old on the date your voter registration application is submitted, and you are 18 years of age on Election Day;
• You are not a convicted felon (you may be eligible to vote if you have completed your sentence, probation, and parole); and
• You have not been declared by a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be either totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.