Thursday, August 19, 2021

Canceled

 CANCELED but important ballot measures remain!




The ballot draw was cancelled because there are no challengers in the regular election. 

Copperas Cove City Council

Mayor seat is open. Dan Yancey is unopposed and will be automatically elected.

Place 1 Joann Courtland is unopposed and will be automatically reelected.

Place 2 Fred Chavez is unopposed and will be automatically reelected.

Copperas Cove Independent School District

Trustee Place 1 (Vice-President) Inez Faizon is unopposed and will be automatically reelected after 14 years in office.

Trustee Place 2 Shameria Ann Davis is unopposed and will be automatically reelected.


The filing period for the regular election ended on Monday at 5pm with no challengers to any elected official including for Mayor. With over 36,000 citizens in Copperas Cove these are the only people that want to represent the city and the school district. How does it happen? Why does this happen? One possibility could be that the election filing period was not advertised properly. Of course, if you follow my Facebook, blog, podcast then you would know about the upcoming elections. A small newspaper ad is not suffice. 

Whenever you have a primary election then there is more attention! Maybe that is a solution but that is not for me to ask. That would be for the council that the citizens of Copperas Cove elects. I vote all the time but who does? To figure that out, research the turn out in the area and you will find out about how many of the roughly 20,000 citizens actually vote in the city. Also, you can see by name who votes during the primaries (you can't see who they vote for). 

What is happening in the city has many people concerned. There are ongoing concerns with the property tax rates, Water Department, the condition of the roads six months after the ice storms, business development in the city, the new animal shelter that took over three years to finally make a decision but then sent it to the voters on November 2 . What is the true story with Lone Star Suds not opening because the rumor is that the city wants a $30,000 bond for them to operate! UPDATE ON 23 AUGUST THAT THERE IS NO $30000 BOND REQUIRED AND THERE IS FURTHER REQUIREMENT DUE TO THE CITY FOR THEM TO OPEN. It is on there end.

If you go to the local social networking pages your eyes will pop! Here are some of them:

Nextdoor

Copperas Cove Hot Topics

Facebook

If you know more let me know.

And then there is this. Last July through December there was a charter review, that happens every two years. They brought 13 measures to the council on July 20 for consideration for the November ballot. Measure B includes a compensation increase for council members. It is always very important to vote because of the types of changes being made to the city charter. At least you get to vote on these but there are no term limit changes or reorganizing into precincts which we need. Here is the link to the proposed measures that will be on the ballot:

 https://destinyhosted.com/agenda_publish.cfm?dsp=agm&seq=10420&rev=0&id=26773&form_type=AG_MEMO&beg_meetmth=4&beg_meetyr=2021&end_meetmth=8&end_meetyr=2021&mt=ALL&sstr=charter%20amendments&dept=ALL&hartkeywords=&sortby=f.form_num,%20f.rev_num&fp=ADVSRCH&StartRow=1# 

  • Measure A - Qualifications for Office
  • Measure B - Compensation of Council Members
  • Measure C - Hearings on Forfeiture of Office
  • Measure D - Unnecessary Language
  • Measure E - Consistency with State Law
  • Measure F - Petition Signature Requirements
  • Measure G - Non-Substantive Revisions
  • Measure H - City Manager Authorized Absenses from City Council Meetings
  • Measure I - Capital Improvement Plan Reviewed Annually
  • Measure J - Capital Outlay Plan Reviewed Annually
  • Measure K - Personnel Plan Prepared and Submitted Annually
  • Measure L - Cosigner Director of Budget
  • Measure M - Public Officials and Employee Comply with State Law

4 comments:

  1. I am not surprised by the unopposed positions but I am disappointed. This is a typical scenario for a city full of citizens who complain bitterly about the state of our city but who choose to do nothing about it. I will say this again... COMPLACENTLY KILLS PROGRESS. Until people stop complaining and finger pointing and start WORKING for change it will never ever have the outcome so desperately needed for all. Stop whining about what "should be and needs to be" and roll up your sleeves and get to work. Be the change you want to see.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am concerned with Measures D, G, and L. Measure D eliminates the requirement for City Council Meetings to be open to the public. Measure G enables the Director of Finance to transfer unobligated balances between funding classifications without coordinating the transfer with City Manager, City Council, or Mayor. Measure L wording that will appear on the ballot doesn't accurately identify the changes and responsibilities. I don't know if there is any recourse at this point other than to vote against the measures.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for the message and concern for our city. We will be in touch with you.

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Friends, Neighbors, Fellow Citizens- There are a lot of things going on in Copperas Cove that most of us aren't always aware of. Aft...