Council, school board candidates file; two propositions on the ballot

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

The slate is almost set for the May 6 ballot for Mansfield City Council and Mansfield ISD school board.

In addition to candidates, voters will also be considering a pair of bond propositions from the city.

Both propositions ask voters to consider widening the spectrum of uses for the half-cent sales tax collected by the Mansfield Economic Development Corp. Neither proposition would create any new taxes, explained MEDC director Jason Moore, just allow the MEDC to use the funds for a wider variety of projects.

Mansfield voters approved a half-cent sales tax in 1997. A half-cent also goes to the Mansfield Park Facilities Development Corp.

If approved, Proposition A would allow the MEDC to use the half-cent sales tax to attract professional and amateur sports and athletic facilities, tourism and entertainment facilities, convention facilities, public parks, and related stores, restaurants, parking and transportation facilities.

Currently, the half-cent sales tax can be used for manufacturing, industrial, research and development, warehouse, distribution and corporate headquarters.

Proposition B asks voters to approve using the half-cent sales tax for a multi-sport venue and related infrastructure, plus maintenance and operating costs.

The ballot for Mansfield City Council still has a wildcard. Filing for the regular election for Place 6 and Place 7 has closed, but candidates can still file for the special election of Place 3 until March 6. Council member Mike Leyman resigned in January, leaving the final year of his three-year term at Place 3.

So far for Place 3, Brent Newsom, who served on the council for nine years at Place 2 before resigning in 2020 to run for mayor, and Scot Bowman, an IT manager, have filed.

To qualify as a city council candidate, applicants must be a resident of Mansfield for 12 months and be a qualified voter of the State of Texas. Applications are available at the city secretary’s office at City Hall, 1200 E. Broad St., from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.

For Place 6 on the council, incumbent Todd Tonore, a local business owner, and Gary Cardinale, a retired Mansfield city employee, are on the ballot.

For Place 7, incumbent Larry Broseh, a retired business owner, is the lone candidate. Juan Fresquez Jr., president of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, had filed to run, but withdrew his candidacy before the filing deadline.

On the Mansfield ISD school board ballot, Place 6 and Place 7 are up for re-election.

At Place 6, Quintin V. Huckaby, a Realtor, Anne Weydeck, who is retired, and Benita Reed, an educator, are in contention. Dustin McDonald, a flight dispatcher, had filed to run, but withdrew his candidacy Feb. 24. Incumbent Warrant Davis, who was elected to Place 6 in 2020, did not file for re-election.

At Place 7, incumbent school board president Courtney Lackey Wilson, an executive assistant, is the lone candidate. Saba Ahmed, a patent attorney, had filed, but withdrew the candidacy Feb. 21.

The elections are set for May 6 with early voting April 24-May 2.

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