There are five Austin School Board seats on the ballot tonight, but the board won’t see a huge shake up after votes are tallied. In fact, we already know the results of three of those races. That’s because incumbents Ann Teich(District 3), Amber Elenz (District 5) and Yasmin Wagner(District 7) are running unopposed for their seats. Teich and Elenz are running for a second term. Wagner is running for election after she was appointed in 2015 to replace former Trustee Robert Schneider, who passed away.
The real questions are:
Who will replace at-large Trustee Gina Hinojosa, who is running for state office?
And will incumbent Trustee Jayme Mathias beat challenger Andy Anderson in the District 2 school board race?
11:41 P.M. Cindy Anderson continues to hold a solid lead over David Quintanilla in the at-large District 8 race. Anderson says she's happy to see that voters thought her experience matters.
Anderson says she expects to talk a lot about facilities over the next four years, especially with the recent indefinite closure of Brown Elementary because of structural problems.
"We have a lot of schools that are old building that have issues," Anderson says. "And so I think we have to be strategic in what we ask our taxpayers for and considering we had solutions to overcrowding that were in form of additions and new builds that did not pass in the last bond, being honest with where we are with what the needs are is something we have to be very thoughtful about."
In the District 2 race, Trustee Jayme Mathias continues to hold a solid lead over Andy Anderson.
9:02 P.M. Votes from today are startling to trickle in. In the District 8 race, Anderson still leads Quintanilla in the District 8 race with 56% of the vote. In District 2, Trustee Mathias maintains his lead against Andy Anderson.
7:20 P.M. Early Voting results show Cindy Anderson ahead of David Quintanilla in Austin School Board Place 8.
- Cindy Anderson has 74,023 votes (56%)
- David Quintanilla has 57,923 votes (44%)
In District 2, Trustee Jayme Mathias leads the race with 69% of the vote over Andy Anderson.
- Adolphus "Andy" Anderson has 3,256 votes (31%)
- Jayme Mathias has 7,310 votes (69%)
ACC Board Early Voting Results:
Place 4:
- George Robinson: 37,794 votes
- Sean Hassan: 68,803 votes
- Michael Lewis: 42,499 votes
Place 5:
- Thomas Miranda: 40,743 votes
- Nicole Eversmann: 74,980 votes
- Anthony Schoggins: 31,593 votes
Place 6
- Douglas Gibbins: 52,075 votes
- Nora De Hoyos Comstock: 94,957 votes
Place 9:
- Guadalupe Sosa: 60,322
- Mitch Fuller: 24, 322 votes
- Julie Ann Nitsch: 53,916 votes
- Jeremy Story: 13, 083 votes
Cindy Anderson and David Ryan Quintanilla are battling it out for the at-large seat, the only district wide race. Anderson has touted her experience on various AISD boards and committees, as well as her involvement at her children’s schools and her knowledge of the district. Quintanilla, a local businessman and layer, is a relative newcomer to Austin ISD politics.
Get to know these candidates and who supports them.
In District 2, which includes East and Southeast Austin, Trustee Jayme Mathias is trying to fend off Andy Anderson for his seat. Mathias has a ton of support from various Austin Democratic organizations and community members.
His opponent, Andy Anderson, an IT consultant and Department of the Treasury manager, has the support of Dove Springs Proud, a neighborhood group in Southeast Austin. The neighborhood middle school, Mendez Middle School, has struggled academically for the past three years. The support for Anderson could be a symbolic gesture since that neighborhood constantly feels ignored by the district and the city. Anderson has not raised any money and only spent $334.49 dollars on the campaign.
ACC Board Races
The Austin Community College board will have a lot of new faces by the end of the night. Three incumbents have decided not to run again in Places 4, 5, and 6, plus the vice chair, Allen Kaplan, decided to step down from Place 9 after more than two decades of serving on the board.
ACC Board members represent five counties for six years and there are nine seats on the board. It’s a huge area to represent, which had some candidates wondering why these seats are at-large races rather than representing individual districts.
Here are the candidates in each place:
PLACE 4:
· George Robinson
· Sean Hassan
· Michael J. Lewis
PLACE 5:
· Thomas Miranda
· Nicole Eversmann
· Anthony Schoggins
PLACE 6:
· Douglas Gibbins
· Nora De Hoyos Comstock
PLACE 9:(UNEXPIRED TERM)
· Guadalupe "Lupe" Sosa
· Mitch Fuller
· Julie Ann Nitsch
· Jeremy Story
Polls close at 7. Stay tuned for updates as results roll in.
