Hays County Commissioners Appoint Ten To Election Advisory Commission

By Terra Rivers | Managing Editor

On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners made their appointments to the Hays County Citizens Election Advisory Commission.

Commissioners appointed the following individuals to serve as representatives for their precincts.

• Precinct 1
  • Roland Saucedo and Diane Hervol
• Precinct 2
  • Debbie Russ and Pat Chisholm
• Precinct 3
  • Carol Gaultney and Jon Leonard
• Precinct 4
  • David Edwards and Kent Willis

According to Chief of Staff, Alex Villalobos, the cities were expected to appoint their representatives via resolution on Tuesday

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra addressed the confusion on whether the court wanted municipalities to appoint a citizen or a member of staff and said the appointments were not necessarily meant to be a citizen of the general public.

Becerra said the county’s hope and goal was for a member of staff to be appointed to avoid any political division and ensure the appropriate communication with their elected officials.

Commissioner Walt Smith expressed concern about not having the names from each of the municipalities yet.

The Citizens Election Advisory Commission was due to hold their first meeting this week.

Villalobos said the meeting has been rescheduled for Nov. 21 to ensure all of the municipalities have an opportunity to select a representative.

The Hays County Citizen’s Election Commission is expected to meet at least twice a year in late May and in late November.

The Hays County Elections Office has been identified as a technical advisory to the commission and will provide members with knowledge related to elections laws.

The commission will be comprised of a representative from all four local school districts, local municipalities including Mountain City, Uhland, City of Hays, Niederwald and Woodcreek and the local political party chairs, including Texas State University’s student parties, rural community, the disabled community and the league of women voters.

In October, commissioners appointed Sandra Tenorio as the Rural Communities representative and Sam Tobar as the disabled community representative on the commission.

The goal of the commission is to evaluate the distribution and effectiveness of the early voting polls and vote centers and recommend changes that are needed.