Dave Abdel, a former San Marcos School District social studies teacher who currently works for the district as curriculum specialist, and Peter Parcher, who led the failed effort to recall the current Kyle mayor and another city council member, became the third and fourth candidates to seek the city’s top elected position beating Monday’s filing deadline by just hours.
Thus, the City of Kyle November General Election lineup is set with four candidates, including the incumbent, Travis Mitchell, running for mayor and two candidates each in the District 4 and District 2 races.
It’s worth noting that in two different sections of Abdel’s filing papers in sections labeled “Office Sought,” the term “District 4" was struck and replaced by the word “mayor.”
"Initially I was going back and forth with the decision to run for mayor or city council," Mr. Abdel said. "I wanted to serve, and after a long talk with my family, surveying the options, I came to the conclusion that narrowing my focus to my district may be best. However, when I went to apply, my voter registration never changed when I moved from Amberwood to Plum Creek, thus my ineligibility for running in District 4. I considered this to be a sort of divine intervention, pointing me toward running for mayor."
It’s also worth repeating that Mitchell also faced three other opponents when he first sought the office of mayor three years ago and, not only did he win without a runoff, but he captured more than 60 percent of the total vote. In a year when a presidential race tops the General Election ballot, thus attracting what will most likely be the largest number of voters ever to cast ballots in a Kyle municipal election, this could also turn out to be the most expensive campaign ever waged in the city. This is especially true because a larger than normal amount of votes will be cast early in the election cycle meaning the three mayoral challengers have a compressed amount of time to garner name recognition and get their messages out to the larger voting public.
Linda Tenorio, the fourth candidate in the mayor’s race, who three years ago unsuccessfully sued the city she now desires to lead, does have the recognition that comes with having a family name that’s already familiar in local political circles. She also served one term on the city council, but Kyle is a completely different city today than it was in 2005 when Tenorio was elected and the city’s population was only 18,683, compared to 52,300 today. Parcher attracted some notoriety for his recall effort, but that alone won’t be enough for an election that will attract this many voters. In terms of name ID alone, Abdel faces the most formidable challenge of the four, although he appears to have established a significant Twitter presence. According to his Twitter profile, Abdel has 1,001 followers, compared to 403 listed in Mitchell’s profile. Of course, what isn’t readily apparent, is how many of Abdel’s 1,001 followers are registered Kyle voters and how many of them are followers of Abdel because of his tenure as a social studies educator in San Marcos. It should also be noted, however, that Abdel taught at Kyle's Lehman High School.
Earlier Monday, Abdel tweeted: “As many who know me understand already, servant leadership is more than simply something I believe in, it is at the core of who I am. I believe I've been put on this Earth to serve, to help, to educate. It is my purpose, and a passion that I give all of myself to. So, as of early this afternoon I am officially a candidate for the office of Mayor of Kyle! I believe I have the skills, vision and leadership required to transform our town into a destination for ALL people that is safe, affordable and community focused.”
Speaking of tweets, in a reference to the lawsuit Tenorio filed against the city, Mitchell tweeted this weekend: "The path to public service should not start with a lawsuit against the people you wish to lead."
In one of the other two races, District 4, which includes the subdivisions of Plum Creek (the most politically active neighborhood in Kyle), Hometown Kyle, Silverado, Cypress Forest and Brooks Crossing, will have Planning and Zoning Commissioner Tim McHutchion, who was defeated by incumbent Alex Villalobos for this same seat three years ago, facing Ashlee Bradshaw, who has been active in the Plum Creek Homeowners Association and the Negley Elementary School PTA. Villalobos was barred from seeking re-election when he became the Democratic candidate for Hays County sheriff.
The final race is in District 2 which covers a large swath of South Kyle including most of Old Town Kyle as well as such subdivisions as Waterleaf, Bunton Creek, Post Oak, Quail Ridge, Woodlands, Sunset Ridge, Four Seasons and others. That race features a contest between incumbent Tracy Scheel, who ran unopposed when she was first elected three years ago, and Yvonne Flores-Cale, also part of the recall effort targeting Mayor Mitchell and Mayor Pro Tem Rick Koch. In that race three years ago, Scheel learned the day names were being drawn for ballot positions that she would run unopposed when her listed opponent Robert Rizo was declared ineligible because his listed residence was outside the district. Rizo has since won the at-large Place 3 seat on the council.
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