Council, school board races look completely different

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

Elections for the Mansfield City Council and the Mansfield ISD school board are looking to be complete opposites this spring. Plus, there’s the prospect of a city bond election on the May 7 ballot.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, members will decide whether to call a bond election that would include a Veterans Memorial, recreation center/library, park improvements and an inclusive park. If all propositions are approved, the bonds would total $150.5 million.  

In the City Council races, only the incumbents have filed. Mayor Michael Evans, who was elected to complete an unfinished term in November 2020, has filed for his first full three-year term in Place 1. Evans, a local pastor, was elected in a run-off after former mayor David Cook was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.

In Place 2, Tamera Bounds was elected in 2020 to complete the unfinished term of Brent Newsom, who resigned to run for mayor. Bounds, who is a regional rehabilitation director, is seeking her first full term.

Applications to run for Mansfield City Council must be emailed to City Secretary Susanna Marin or delivered to City Hall by 5 p.m. Feb. 18. To run for Mansfield City Council, candidates must be at least 18 years old, a registered Texas voter and must have lived in the city for the past 12 months. Candidate packets are available online and at Mansfield City Hall, 1200 E. Broad St.

The landscape is a lot different in the Mansfield ISD races, where four trustee seats will be on the ballot.

For Place 3, only Craig Tipping, a physical therapist administrator, has filed. The seat is currently held by Randall Canedy, the board’s secretary.

Keziah Valdes Farrar, a Realtor, has filed for a full term after being elected in 2020 to complete Raul Gonzalez’s three-year term at Place 4. Gonzalez resigned after being elected to the Arlington City Council. Amanda “Mandy” Jackson Sneed, a pharmacist, has also filed for Place 4.

In Place 5, currently held by trustee Karen Marcucci, there are two challengers: Bianca Benavides Anderson, who is in sales marketing, and Jo Anna Cardoza, a restaurant manager.

Courtney Lackey Wilson, who resigned from the MISD school board in July 2021 after serving for 10 years, is seeking to finish the final year of her term at Place 7. Wilson, who works as a school administrator in Cedar Hill, cited health reasons for leaving the board, where she was serving as president at the time of her resignation.

Clynita Jefferson Grafenreed, who works in mental health education, is also seeking the Place 7 seat.

Candidates for the Mansfield ISD school board must be at least18 years old, be a U.S. citizen, not be a convicted felon or mentally incapacitated, must have lived in Texas for the previous 12 months and in thedistrict for the previous six months and be a registered voter in the district.

Applications can be picked up at the Mansfield ISD Administration Building, 605 E. Broad St. Forms must be returned by 5 p.m. Feb.18.

General elections are set for May 7 with early voting to run from April 25 to May 3.

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