Tyler ISD, District 6

When two such qualified, committed and approachable candidates run for office, it’s a shame to have to choose between them. In the Tyler ISD school board race for the District 6 seat, both Fritz Hager and Marc Loredo both bring much to the table.

But Hager’s edge in experience in life and business earns him the endorsement of the Tyler Paper. Yet we profoundly hope that Loredo continues his invaluable service to the district, the Tyler ISD Foundation and the schools, and will present himself as a candidate for the school board in the future.

Hager, 48, is a local pastor who was appointed to the school board last spring to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of board member Marty Dunbar.

Hager is a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Dallas Theological Seminary. He has six children attending Tyler ISD schools.

Hager supports the district’s efforts to ask the Justice Department to lift the 1970 desegregation order that is currently costing about $500,000 in transportation costs alone, and forces the district to have even the most minor of changes to school boundaries approved by the Justice Department.

 

Tyler City Council, District 6

Incumbent John Nix has put in the long hours and hard work that’s necessary to be a truly engaged and effective member of the Tyler City Council. For this reason, he has earned the endorsement of the Tyler Paper for re-election.

He’s being challenged by Clark Hampe Jr., 36, an attorney and partner in Hampe & Iglesias, PLLC, a Tyler-based law firm.

Nix, 37, has served in the seat since 2013. Previously, he served on Tyler’s Planning and Zoning Commission, Leadership Tyler’s Board of directors, the city’s Construction Board of Adjustments, Tyler Area Builder’s Association as the government relations committee, the Developer’s Roundtable and the Council Audit Committee.

 

Tyler Mayor

The choice in the Tyler mayor’s race is clear. Incumbent Mayor Martin Heines has done an outstanding job in providing leadership and accessibility during his tenure. His focus is on maintaining and improving what’s special about Tyler, including its business-friendly climate, its quality of life and its diverse economy.

His opponents in the race are Joel Rando, a local businessman who ran against him in 2014, and political newcomer Michael Williams.

We find that as in 2014, Rando is simply unprepared for the position. He remains uninformed about not only the issues facing Tyler, but how municipal government works.

In 2014, we wrote that Heines has a long and distinguished career of community and public service. His record on the City Council was one of stability, problem-solving and attention to detail. Tyler voters can be confident that Heines’ abilities and temperament will ensure he remains a good steward of all that is best in Tyler, a city we like to think of as the “last great place.”

We reiterate those sentiments now.