May 10 candidate pool widens

By Tommy Mann Jr.

The Orange Leader

The filing deadline for the May 10 election came and went on Monday afternoon with little last minute activity.

Of the seven incorporated cities and five school districts in Orange County, only five of those respective entities will have elections this May.

The city of Orange leads the way with the biggest scheduled election in Orange County, with eight candidates vying for three positions, including mayor.

Incumbent William Brown Claybar has filed to retain the office of mayor, and will be challenged by opponent Charles E. Atkinson.

Place 1 council member Theresa Beauchamp will also seek re-election and will face off against Glen David Prince, while Place 3 council member Cynthia Jackson will have three opponents in Jeff Mayea Holland, Norman L. Sonnier and Mary Ann Kirksey.

Pinehurst will also schedule an election for May 10 with two at-large council positions open.

Incumbents Bob Williams and John Zerko, both of whom have filed to seek re-election, will face opposition from Drusilla Anderson and Enand Young Jr. The two candidates receiving the most votes will win the council positions.

Billy Permenter, the interim mayor since Jerry Hussey resigned last September, has opted not to retain the office this election. However, current council member T.W. Permenter has filed for the office of mayor and will have no opposition.

The city of West Orange will not have an election this May as no new candidates filed to contest seats held by incumbent council members Shirley Bonnin, Dale Dardeau and Michael Shugart Sr.

Four incumbents, which include Mayor Kirk Roccaforte and council members Mike Reed, David Rutledge and Louis Davis, are up for re-election this spring in Bridge City and will not face any opposition as no new candidates have come forth.

The city of Vidor will have an election this May for the Place 3 council seat as incumbent Mike Harris will be challenged by opponent John Robert Morris IV.

Incumbents Weldon LeBlanc and Dale Madeley, Place 2 and Place 5 respectively, have both filed for re-election and will be unopposed.

North of Vidor in Pine Forest, three seats are up for re-election and it appears at least two will be occupied by new council members.

Place 2 council person Dana Dryden and Place 4 council member James Brown both chose not to file for re-election this year, while Place 3 council person Charlatte Whitehead will try to keep her seat during the May 10 election.

Whitehead will face opposition from newcomer Clinton Lee Gordon in the May election.

Don Lemp, who has filed for the Place 2 seat, is unopposed, as is Mike Millican, who has filed the required paperwork for the Place 4 seat.

Rose City has two at-large council seats open this year, but it appears incumbents Dorothy Barras and Josh Longs, both of whom have filed for re-election, will be unopposed as no new candidates have come forward.

Of the four Orange County school districts which could have possibly held elections this spring, only one district had any opposition file to challenge incumbents.

The West Orange-Cove Consolidated Independent School District has two board members with terms expiring in 2008. Both Nancy Byers and Dr. Mary Fontenot Hardin have filed the appropriate paperwork to seek re-election this May.

Three terms are expiring for school board members in the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Consolidated Independent School District, which includes Brenda Mott, Ernest Egulf and Keith Kyle, and all three have completed the paperwork needed to seek re-election.

The Bridge City Independent School District had two seats open for election this spring which are currently held by Tom Orozco, Place 6, and Mark Anderson, Place 7. Both filed to seek re-election this May.

Vidor ISD has two seats open on the Board of Trustees this spring, and one will be occupied by a new board member.

Rollie Burr announced he would not seek re-election this year after serving more than 15 years on the Board of Trustees, thus leaving the Position 6 open.

Joe Williamson, former Vidor ISD superintendent, has completed the required paperwork to participate in the May election, and he will seek the Position 6 seat which has become vacant.

Joe David Camp filed late Monday before the 5 p.m. to oppose Williams for the Position 6 seat.

Tim Harland, the current Position 7 school board member, has completed the required forms in order to seek re-election.

The Orangefield Independent School District will hold its next school board election this fall in conjunction with the county election.

Reach this reporter at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com