Local election results tyler paper tmt

In Smith County election results, a familiar face returns to Arp government while a Tyler council race will head to a runoff. In Lindale, voters opted for a new councilmember.

The final unofficial results of the Smith County joint city elections have been reported by the county elections office, but all results are considered unofficial until they are canvassed.

Voters in three Smith County cities headed to the polls to decided who should represent them in city government. In the three-candidate Tyler City Council race, no one candidate received 50% of the vote which means the top two vote-getters — Stephen Dinger and Petra Hawkins — will head to a runoff. The District 2 seat is currently held by longtime councilmember Broderick McGee, whose term is expiring.

In Arp, Mayor Dennis Ford will not serve another term after familiar face Terry Lowry garnered the most votes. Lowry, an Arp native, has previously served the city as mayor and as a councilmember.

In Lindale, results of a contested council race show a new face will represent Place 2 as Jerretta Nance Pate secured the win over incumbent Yvette Martin.

Less than 7% — 998 of 14,618 registered voters — turned out for the joint city elections.

The unofficial results are:

City of Tyler

Council District 2

Note: In a three-candidate race, one candidate must receive at least 50% of the vote.

Stephen Dinger, 320 votes, 45.65%

Petra Hawkins, 256 votes, 36.52%

Dexter Floyd, 125 votes, 17.83%

In a close race, Dinger and Hawkins will head to a runoff.

Dinger relocated to Tyler in 2014 and cites his genuine love for his adopted home city as motivation for seeking to serve District 2 on the Tyler City Council. Dinger is a Risk Advisor for Cadence Insurance, where he consults with companies nationwide on their insurance programs. He is also a partner at Tarry Title and owns real estate investments across the city.

“We are fortunate to live in a city where multiple dedicated people step up to volunteer their time to serve on City Council. I am honored that so many people put their faith in me by casting a ballot for Dinger for Tyler,” Dinger said Saturday night in a post on his campaign page.

He looks forward to “the opportunity to continue to visit with residents of District 2, hear from them, and share my vision for the future of the city.”

He thanked Floyd for his efforts in the race. “He is committed to our community and ran a great campaign,” Dinger said.

“As for our plans — tonight we’re going to rest up because tomorrow we’ll be getting back to work!” he concluded.

Hawkins, a Tyler native, has over 32 years of experience in healthcare. She believes she possesses a unique understanding and empathy for the community’s needs. She pledges to amplify the voices of her community’s underrepresented individuals. She is a member of the Tyler Chamber of Commerce, Tyler Metro Chamber of Commerce, the NAACP, and the League of Women Voters.

Hawkins took to her campaign Facebook page on Sunday morning to express gratitude to her supporters, stating she is confident about the future of the race.

“I want to express my sincerest gratitude for everyone that has been assisting me with my campaign and especially my voters!!! I came out with the “W” in the early election BUT, there will have to be a run off next month between Mr. Dinger and I,” she stated. “So this is the reason I was trying to impress the importance of getting behind ONE candidate to catapult them past the finish line. It would’ve been a clear win if ALL the casted votes had gone to ONE candidate.

“At any rate, our work is not done! We must come together this time in order to maintain this hard-fought-for-seat! I will be educating and informing more and more so that hopefully the message is more clear and we get out and take care of our business. We should have no problem keeping this seat! It just takes VOTES! Again, thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m still enthusiastic and confident about this race! I still believe!”

City of Arp

Mayor

WINNER: Terry Lowry, 40 votes, 65.57%

Dennis L. Ford (incumbent), 21 votes, 34.43%

Lowry is an Arp native and currently works as a teacher and coach at Carlisle ISD. He served on the city council in 2014 and ran for mayor for the first time in 2016. He was elected and held the role until last term. He took some time off to rest, but said in a previous interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph that now he’s ready to return to the role.

Ford has lived in Arp for 25 years and previously served on the council prior to being mayor.

Council candidates (uncontested)

Craig Robinson, 52 votes, 53.06%

Chris Johnson, 46 votes, 46.94%

Both Robinson and Johnson will be elected to the two council seats because they were the only two to file for a place on the ballot. This certainty stems from the city’s at-large election system.

City of Lindale

Mayor (uncontested)

Gavin Rasco, 213 votes, 100%

Rasco did not face a challenger. Current Mayor Jeff Daugherty’s term expires this year.

Place 2 council seat

WINNER: Jerretta Nance Pate, 170 votes, 72.03%

Yvette Martin (incumbent), 66 votes, 27.97%

“Thank you all so much for your support,” Pate wrote on her campaign Facebook page Saturday night. “I look forward to serving my community and the citizens of Lindale.”

Pate is a Lindale High School graduate and city resident for 39 years. Pate has been a business owner in the community her entire adult life. Pate served on local boards and in organizations. She has been a member of the Lindale Chamber of Commerce since 2008. She also served on the Friends of the Lindale Library board and Lindale Pilot Club, is a Lindale Rotary Club member and is a past member of the Hideaway Lake Kiwanis Club.

Current councilmember Martin has been a Lindale resident for 14 years. She filled the unexpired term of Place 2 councilman Clyde Harper in October 2020.

All results are considered unofficial until canvassing, which takes about two weeks after an election.

Voting systems explained

The City of Tyler is a single-member district, meaning one person is elected to represent the residents of a specific area (council districts) rather than the entire political subdivision. Because of this, candidates and voters must reside within that specific area. 

If any of the single member districts are unopposed, the election for those races can be canceled. No one filed to run against Mayor Don Warren, therefore the mayor’s race was not on the May 4 ballot.

A different type of voting system is in place at the City of Lindale, which is an at-large election by place. Anyone residing in the city can run or vote for any of the city council places, but when filing for candidacy they must designate a specific council position.

An example would be if there are three council places up for election, and two already have candidates filed. In this scenario, a third person could file for the final place or choose to run against another candidate for a specific place instead of accepting the open position.

If there is an at-large by place election, and all are uncontested except for one, all of the races still have to be listed on the ballot. This is why the mayor’s race was on the May 4 ballot, even though the candidate is uncontested.

Arp has an at-large voting system. Anyone who wants to file for a council position can do so. If there are more candidates than there are seats, whoever gets the most votes will take those positions, while if there are three seats and three candidates the race is uncontested.

If the council is uncontested but the mayor’s race isn’t, those races still have to be on the ballot — which is the scenario for the May 4 election.

Source: Smith County Elections Office

Author: Katecey Harrell