An election clerk from the Coahoma polls brings in voting booths — and final election results — during Saturday night's municipal and school trustee elections. (Herald photo/Thomas Jenkins)

Coahoma city council to see change of command 

By THOMAS JENKINS     

Staff Writer

The Big Spring City Council will see very little change to its role call in the coming year, as two incumbents running for re-election managed to hold on to their seats.

Big Spring District 2 incumbent Manuel Ramirez Jr. was able to hold off challengers Raul Marquez and Terena Rustman, taking 44 ballots in the race, or 52.38 percent of the vote. Rustman garnered 27.38 percent of the vote with 23 ballots, while Marquez finished third in the race with 20.24 percent, or 17 ballots.

While Ramirez only managed to draw 39.22 percent of the early voting totals — which would have forced a runoff election — the strong finish was enough to elicit a long sigh from the first-term councilman.

“It was a nailbiter,” said Ramirez with a relieved grin. “This was different than when I was first re-elected because I felt like I had something to prove this time around. During the first election I didn't have anything to prove, and I felt like I was just running on my own. In this election I felt like I had my name out there, and I hopefully had the trust of the voters.

Ramirez said he was happy to avoid the runoff, and can now set his sights to the challenges facing the city in the years to come.

“After I saw the early voting numbers, I was already preparing to start making phone calls for the runoff,” said Ramirez. “I was ready to hit the streets again. But, by the grace of God, the voters came in and took me over the top. I really couldn't be happier. I owe it to the voters, and to my mom. She was a real force in this.

“We have a lot facing us as a city. We have to continue the work that's going on to revitalize downtown, and I also feel like we have to do a diligent job of marketing the new sports complex.”

Only 5.3 percent of the registered voters in District 2 — accounting for only 84 votes — cast a ballot in this year's contest.

Also avoiding a runoff election Saturday night was Councilwoman Gloria McDonald, who won her bid for re-election by taking 60.11 percent of the vote with 217 ballots in the race for District 4. Her challengers didn't manage to come close, as John Huck Huckabee took 21.05 percent of the race with 76 ballots, and Joyce Crooker garnered 18.84 percent of the vote with 68 ballots.

McDonald said she was happy with the turnout in her district — which accounted for 18.4 percent of registered voters in the district — but was sad to see lower turnouts in the rest of the Big Spring contests.

“I'm a little disappointed with the overall turnout,” said McDonald. “I felt like the people of District 4 stepped up to the plate, but you would really hope the people in the rest of the city would take a more active role in their city government. They have to understand they have a voice in this.”

McDonald said she felt like taxes would be one of the bigger challenges facing the city in the coming years, and while she would like to see residents' tax bills shrink, there are no easy answers.

“Taxes are always an issue, but to lower taxes you have to decide what to give up,” said McDonald. “We've done so much in Big Spring over the last several years, with the streets and roads, and the northern entryway to the city. I'd just like to see the city stay on that roll in the coming years.”

A total of 361 ballots were cast in the contest.

And while it was incumbents that narrowly avoided runoff elections, the only blowout of this year's city council races was the contest for the District 6 seat, with longtime council member Greg Biddison deciding not to run for re-election.

Howard College Vice President Terry Hansen won a commanding victory in the race, pulling in 79.8 percent of the vote with 135 ballots. Hansen's competitors never came close, as Steve Campbell only managed to receive 11.24 percent of the vote with 19 ballots, and Bahola B. Deleon garnered 8.8 percent with just 15 ballots.

“Frankly, I'm very humbled,” said Hansen moments after being announced the winner. “Now the work begins. It's going to take a while to learn the ropes, and I'm going to jump in and try to do that as quickly as possible so I can begin contributing.

“I've told people all along that I wasn't running on any particular issue. My contention throughout the process was that I saw so many similarities between the work I've done with the board and the college concerning the budget, construction, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and other issues, that I felt the crossover between it and what the city does is very, very close. And I felt like I would offer my services. I'll tell you right now, I don't have all the answers to all the problems. However, I'd like to be a part of the solution, so we can fix as many of them as we can.”

There were 169 ballots cast in the District 6 race.

Also in area elections, the Coahoma City Council will be getting a slew of new members, as incumbents in all of the city's races failed to run for re-election. Jay D. Holt took the first of two at-large seats on the council with 33.52 percent of the vote — 117 ballots — while fellow challenger Ronnie Dodson took the other with 26.6 percent of the vote, or 93 ballots.

In all, 349 ballots were cast in the contest. Challenger Ray Lee failed to garner the necessary support with 14 percent of the vote, or 49 ballots, while fellow contestant Elmer F. Lindsey garnered 25.7 percent with 90 ballots.

The city of Coahoma will also see a change in its mayor, with resident Warren Wallace winning the race with 115 ballots, 57.2 percent of the vote. Challenger Linda Luce brought in 86 ballots, accounting for 42.7 percent of the vote. In all, 201 ballots were cast in the contest.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it