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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 43 • No. 13
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By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
A “blue wave” crashed over Fort Bend County on Election Day with many Democrats ousting entrenched Republicans in local races. Leaving are County Judge Robert Hebert, District Clerk Annie Rebecca Elliott, County Commissioner James Patterson, District 85 Texas House Rep. Phil Stephenson, district judges Chad Bridges, John Hawkins, and Ken Cannata, and Republican control of open county court-at-law judge seats No. 3, 4, and 5, and the new No. 6 seat. Republican District Attorney John Healey is retiring and will be replaced by Democrat Brian Middleton. Local Republicans keeping their jobs include U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, state Sen. Joan Huffman, state Reps. Rick Miller and John Zerwas, and Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Mary Ward. Republican Kelly Crow won the open Precinct 3
Justice of the Peace seat. The success of Democrats in the mid-term election caught the chairwoman of the Fort Bend County Democratic Party by surprise. “Our success exceeded my expectations. I knew we would win a few, but not as many as we did,” said Cynthia Ginyard. Ironically, one person who was not surprised was County Judge Robert Hebert. “I saw it coming; probably I saw it coming better than a lot of folks that saw it out there,” he said. Ginyard, who has chaired the local Democratic Party since 2016, credited hard work for her party’s success. “We have implemented and executed best practices for winning,” she said. “We feel that continuity, communication and consistency serve us well in organization and management. Still, campaigns are won on the ground. Fluff is fine, but hard work gets the job done. As a leader, I try to engage the constituents
as much as possible in executing our outreach and field game. We started Ginyard early. ‘Labor Day kickoffs’ is a joke to me. You have to be well entrenched on your road to winning by then. Times have changed.” Ginyard credited the candidates and volunteers for working hard this election. “We were fortunate to have a great slate of candidates. That is a major part of it. They help create the energy in many different ways,” she said. “I believe in leading by example. I work hard because I want others to do so, as well. Therefore, I try to ‘walk the talk’ and I never ask anyone to do what I will not do. I wanted my chairs, activists and constituents on the ground with voters, so I was a part of the first batch to go,” she said. For his part, County
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Judge-elect KP George realizes the historic significance of his win. “I am the first South Asian county judge – period – in the state of Texas,” George told television station KHOU. “I thought it would be much closer.” He agreed with Ginyard that it took a lot of groundwork for the Democratic Party to find Election Day success. “I believe you need to go out and connect with people, and you need to tell your story. And when you talk to people, be genuine about it. When I tell you I care about you, better mean it,” he said. Hebert saw the election result as political, not personal. “The Democrats did a
SEE ELECTION, PAGE 9
Stafford approves all 13 changes By Theresa D. McClellan THERESA@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
With the overwhelming approval of all 13 amendments to the Stafford city charter on Nov. 6, Stafford voters decided to change the way things are done in their community. Though the official election results won’t be finalized until today (Nov. 14) according to the Fort Bend County election website, the unofficial results show that all 13 amendments passed. Stafford has more than 18,000 residents and less than 3,500 voters made their choices. Of those voting, the amendments passed with an overwhelming majority – between 61 and 85 percent. In a city that has had the same mayor for 49 years, the changes affect term limits for the mayor and the city council and fair market compensation for the elected city officials. For example, Amendment B said the mayor shall be elected at-large to a four-year term of office. Currently, the mayor is elected every two years. So, 72.8 percent of the voters said yes to the change. Both Mayor Leonard Scarcella and Councilmember Wen Guerra, who is also president of the Stafford Economic Development Corporation, have announced their intention to run for mayor in 2019. Garnering the most votes with 85 percent in favor was Amendment K, which changed the city charter to provide that the person “receiving the majority of votes cast for an office of the city subject to election shall be declared by the city council elected.” Which means 50 percent plus one. Additional amendments addressed expectations of when the mayor would submit a budget and when a council member could expect an item to be placed on the meeting agenda. Capturing the second highest voter approval with 84.75 percent saying yes was Amendment L, which stated the mayor has to submit the city budget no later than 45 days before Sept. 30. Stafford Mayor Leonard
SEE STAFFORD, PAGE 9
Jingle Tree preview party Guests at the Jingle Tree preview party last Friday at the Houston Museum of Natural Science at Sugar Land view decorated trees lined up around an exhibit of dinosaur skeletons. Bidding for the 26 trees in the annual fundraiser concludes with a live auction Thursday, Nov. 15. For tickets or more information, visit www.hmns. org/jingletree or call 281-313-2277. (Right) Sue and Jim Lockwood dressed in Star Trek uniforms with the Star Trek themed tree they decorated for the Jingle Tree fundraiser. (Photos by Joe Southern)
Missouri City has two runoff elections By Joe Southern JSOUTHERN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
It’s been a long election season, but for voters in Missouri City, it’s not over yet. On Saturday, Dec. 8, voters will decide two runoff elections – one for mayor and one for city council atlarge position 2. The mayor’s race has incumbent Mayor Allen Owen against former councilmember Yolanda Ford. The council race has incumbent Chris Preston against Susan Soto. The election is nonpartisan. In the Nov. 6 general election, newcomer Vashaundra Edwards beat incumbent Jerry Wyatt in
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a two-way race for the atlarge position 1 seat 54.28 percent to 45.72 percent. In the three-way race for mayor, Owen led with 36.06 percent, followed by Ford with 34.93 percent and Fred Taylor with 29.01 percent. The at-large position 2 race featured four candidates. Preston led with 45.49 percent, followed by Soto with 24.86 percent, Angie Wierzbicki with 15.44 percent, and Buddy Snyder with 12.20 percent. When a can-
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didate fails to get more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two vote getters head to a runoff. Registered voters in Missouri City subdivisions located in Fort Bend and Harris counties are eligible to vote in the runoff election. Early voting begins Monday, Nov. 26, and ends Tuesday, Dec. 4. The early voting and Election Day polling locations have not yet been finalized by the city.
For information on absentee voting, contact Fort Bend County Elections Administrator John Oldham at 281-341-8670. Some residents have expressed concern about the impact of the city’s Snowfest Parade on Dec. 8. According to city officials, The Missouri City Community Center will be open for voting on election day. Due to the parade, Cartwright Road, and all intersecting roads, from 1092 (Murphy Road) to Texas Parkway will be closed from 7:15 to 11 a.m. Results of the runoff election will be canvassed Monday, Dec. 17, in a special city council meeting. The elected officials will be sworn into office at the regular meeting the same day.
ELECTION RESULTS The following are unofficial results from key races in Fort Bend County as reported by the Fort Bend County Election Office. They reflect votes in the county. They do not include complete statewide and regional results. Senator Beto O’Rourke (D) 141,846 / 55.70% Ted Cruz (R) 111,190 / 43.66% Neal Dikeman (L) 1,614 / .63% Congressional District 22 Pete Olson (R) 103,486 / 51.29% Sri Preston Kulkarni (D) 94,033 / 46.60% John McElligott (L) 2,144 / 1.06% Kellen Sweny (I) 2,108 / 1.04% Governor Greg Abbott (R) 125,599 / 49.43% Lupe Valdez (D) 124,879 / 49.15% Mark Tippetts (L) 3,610 / 1.42% Senate District 17 Joan Huffman (R) 42,898 / 50.38% Rita Lucido (D) 40,788 / 47.90% Lauren LaCount (L) 1,466 / 1.72% House District 26 Rick Miller (R) 34,432 / 52.48% Sarah DeMerchant (D) 31,177 / 47.52% House District 28 John Zerwas (R) 44,306 / 54.21% Meghan Scoggins (D) 37,427 / 45.79% House District 85 Jennifer Cantu (D) 20,257 / 51.84% Phil Stephenson (R) 18,819 / 48.16% County Judge KP George (D) 132,298 / 52.91% Bob Hebert (R) 117,747 / 47.09% District Attorney Brian Middleton (D) 134,417 / 53.86% Cliff Vacek (R) 115,132 / 46.14% District Clerk Beverly McGrew Walker (D) 132,148 / 52.98% Annie Rebecca Elliott (R) 117,276 / 47.02% Precinct 4 Commissioner Ken DeMerchant (D) 34,965 / 51.63% James Patterson (R) 32,757 / 48.37% 240th District Judge Frank Fraley (D) 131,721 / 52.89% Chad Bridges (R) 117,329 / 47.11% 268th District Judge R. O’Neil Williams (D) 132,940 / 53.36% John Hawkins (R) 116,218 / 46.64% 458th District Judge Robert Rolnick (D) 131,728 / 52.94% Ken Cannata (R) 117,114 / 47.06% Court at Law No. 3 Juli Mathew (D) 134,737 / 54.08% Tricia Krenek (R) 114,424 / 45.92% Court at Law No. 4 Toni Wallace (D) 132,715 / 53.29% Amy Mitchell (R) 116,330 / 46.71% Court at Law No. 5 Teana Watson (D) 133,033 / 53.43% Harold Kennedy (R) 115,934 / 46.57%
SEE RESULTS, PAGE 9