Slate set for May 7 council, school board elections

By Amanda Rogers

Mansfield Record

The races for four Mansfield ISD school are going to be competitive, while the battle to be Mansfield’s mayor features a new challenger in the May 7 election.

For Place 1 (the mayor’s seat), incumbent Michael Evans will face Todd McLain. Evans, a local pastor, was elected in a December 2020 runoff to complete an unfinished term after former Mayor David Cook was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.  McLain lists his occupation as self-employed.

In Place 2, incumbent 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. Noel Rendon, a Realtor, filed to run for Place 2, but he has since withdrawn his name.

For school board, the field is a lot more crowded.

Five candidates filed for Place 3, but one has since withdrawn. Craig Tipping, a physical therapist, Chetema Lucas Frances, a lawyer and stay-at-home mom, Shawn Thompson, an adjuster, and Benita C. Reed, a college professor, are still in the race, while Joshua Spare, who is in IT security, has withdrawn his name from contention. Incumbent Randall Canedy is not seeking re-election.

At Place 4, incumbent Keziah Valdes Farrar, a Realtor, is facing challengers Amanda “Mandy” Jackson Sneed, a pharmacist. Kenneth Dixon, who is retired, filed to run, but has since withdrawn his name. Farrar was elected in 2020 to finish trustee Raul Gonzalez’s three-year term after Gonzalez resigned after being elected to the Arlington City Council.

Four candidates are seeking the Place 5 post: Bianca Benavides Anderson, who is in sales, Jo Anna Cruz Cardoza, a restaurant operator, Anne Weydeck, a retired educator, and Le Kieshia E. Dawkins, a social worker. The seat is currently held by Karen Marcucci, who did not seek re-election.

Place 7 looks like a rematch with Courtney Lackey Wilson, a business owner and executive assistant, and Yolanda McPherson, a retired educator, plus Clynita Grafenreed, who works in mental health education.

McPherson and Wilson battled to a run-off in December 2020 for the Place 7 position, with Wilson winning with 53 percent of the vote to McPherson’s 47 percent. Wilson resigned last summer, citing medical reasons, and former trustee Darrell Sneed has filled the Place 7 seat since her resignation in July.

Voters will also choose which projects they want in a bond election that includes a Veterans Memorial, recreation center/library, park improvements and an inclusive park. If all propositions are approved, the bonds would total $150.5 million. The tax increase for Mansfield property owners will depend on the interest rate that the bonds are sold.

The general election will be May 7 with early voting running from April 25 to May 3.

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