Early voting in Districts 5,6,7 and 9 takes place April 23-May 1.
By Zachary-Taylor Wright
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Four of the Alamo Colleges board of trustee positions are up for election May 5, with Districts 5, 6 and 7 up for their regularly scheduled elections and District 9 up for a special election.
Early voting is April 23-May 1, and constituents can vote at any of the 27 early voting locations. They will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. through Saturday and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. April 30-May 1.
Early voting will be closed Friday and Sunday.
Constituents who vote on May 5 must locate their specific polling place.
The District 9 seat was left vacant after longtime trustee Jim Rindfuss died Aug. 15.
Interim Distict 9 trustee Joe Sanchez was appointed to fill the vacant seat by a majority of trustees at a Nov. 7 special meeting.
Several board members said they opted to appoint an interim trustee because a lone special election would have been costly.
Whoever is elected to the District 9 position will serve until Rindfuss’ term is set to expire in 2020.
According to documents from a March 20 board meeting agenda, the district paid $332,502 to Bexar County to have both the regular election and the special election on the ballot for early voting and the May 5 election. Northwest Vista College is the only Alamo Colleges campus offering early voting.
An itemized list of costs for getting the two elections on the 2018 ballot can be found at http://theranger.org/2018/04/19/2018-election-costs/.
Elected board members serve six-year terms, with staggered elections every two years.
District 5 incumbent Roberto Zárate faces two opponents, while District 7 incumbent Yvonne Katz, board chair; District 6 incumbent Gene Sprague; and Sanchez each face one opponent.
District 9 houses two colleges, this college and Northeast Lakeview College.
District 5 encompasses Northwest Vista College.
Neither District 6 or 7 houses one of the five Alamo Colleges or a regional campus.
This election comes two months after the board of trustees announced Dr. Mike Flores, president of Palo Alto College, as the incoming chancellor, who will replace Chancellor Bruce Leslie in the fall.
Leslie announced his retirement Oct. 23, saying he will stay with the district through Sept. 30 to help Flores with his transition.
To verify voter registration status, locate early voting locations and locate your polling place, visit http://www.bexar.org/1568/Elections-Department.
The Ranger’s coverage of the May 5 board election, which includes interviews with board incumbents and candidates, can be found here.