Early voting for Municipal Elections surpass expectations

According to the Terry County Joint Elections Office, 509 early ballots were cast from Monday, April 22, to Tuesday, April 30, including mail-in ballots. This number also includes voting for the BISD school board, Brownfield Regional Medical Center Board of Directors, the City of Brownfield mayor’s position, and District 2 and 3 council seats. In last year’s municipal elections, there were 260 early votes, including mail-in ballots.

This year’s early voting surpassed it by almost half, with 249 more early votes. The total votes cast, which include early voting, ballot by mail, and day of voting in the 2023 municipal elections, were 446. Of the 446 total votes, 291 were voters who cast ballots in the Municipal Election for the two At-Large Council seats for the Brownfield City Council last year. This election cycle has brought in 438 early votes and ballot-by-mail votes from within the City of Brownfield and is more than last year’s total votes by 148. That is a potential 438 votes towards the mayor’s race for the City of Brownfield.

Here is the list of elections and candidates in “ballot draw” order. Beginning with Brownfield ISD, there are two At Large Trustee positions. The current position holders are Cat Gonzalez and Matt Valdonado. Both Gonzalez and Valdonado filed for reelection with three other candidates who also filed which are Rocio Gamez, Eric Gonzales, and Sara Hernandez. These are At Large positions, so this will be a BISD district-wide election. For BISD, a voter can vote for one candidate or two, however, a voter cannot vote for the same person twice.

For BISD At-Large this will be the order that was drawn for the ballot

• Cat Gonzalez (Incumbent)
• Sara Hernandez
• Matthew “Big Matt” Valdonado (Incumbent)
• Rocio Gamez
• Eric Gonzales

Next is the election for two Board of Directors At Large for Brownfield Regional Medical Center (BRMC). The current directors who hold these spots are June Cooper and Chairman Brian Paiva. Both Cooper and Paiva filed for reelection. Two others threw their hat in the ring which are Kelli Mendez and Heather Sherrill. Voters can vote for the same candidate twice, or vote for two different candidates. The ballot will have each candidate’s name twice.

For BRMC Board of Directors At-Large, Two (2) Positions, this will be the order that was drawn for the ballot

• 1 – June Cooper (Incumbent)
• 2 – June Cooper (Incumbent)
• 3 – Heather Sherrill
• 4 – Heather Sherrill
• 5 – Brian Paiva (Incumbent)
• 6 – Brian Paiva. (Incumbent)
• 7 – Kelli Mendez
• 8 – Kelli Mendez

The City of Brownfield City Council will have three positions to be voted on. Beginning with the Mayor’s position, three candidates filed. They are Johnny Acevedo, Eric Horton, and Leon Pope. City Council District 2 seat has two candidates, Susano J Esparza and Mary Valdonado. City Council District 3 seat also has two candidates, JC Tijerina who filed for reelection and is the incumbent and the other candidate is Lee Gamez.

For the City of Brownfield Mayor this will be the order that was drawn for the ballot

• Leon Pope
• Johnny Acevedo
• Eric Horton

For the City of Brownfield District 2 this will be the order that was drawn for the ballot

• Susano J Esparza
• Mary Valdonado

For the City of Brownfield District 3 this will be the order that was drawn for the ballot

• JC Tijerina (Incumbent)
• Lee Gamez

Election Day is Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the Terry County Elections Office in the Terry County Annex at 507-A Main Street, Brownfield.

Here is the list of non-contested candidates who automatically be seated.

There are five (5) seats up for election that nobody filed for. City of Brownfield Council member District 1, Brownfield ISD District 1, and all three City of Wellman seats which are seats 1, 3, & 5.