Cities pick mayors, Lynn County voters reject hospital bond proposal in weekend election
Numerous South Plains communities held municipal elections Saturday, with Levelland electing a new mayor, Plainview voters keeping their current mayor and Lynn County voters rejecting a bond proposal for their hospital district being among notable results.
Here's a quick look at results from the weekend's elections.
Buxkemper will be next Levelland mayor
Breann Buxkemper, Levelland's current mayor pro tem and District C councilmember, will be the Hockley County town's next mayor.
Buxkemper defeated Mary Engledow 60% to 40% in the May 4 election. In total, Buxkemper earned 659 votes to Engledow's 435, though Engledow received 40 more votes on Election Day.
Buxkemper was first elected to the Levelland City Council in 2018 and opted to run for mayor after current Mayor Barbra Pinner opted not to seek a fourth three-year term.
Jaime McCabe will replace Buxkemper in District C and was the only candidate to file for that race. Bill Powell, who was also unopposed, will succeed outgoing District A Councilmember Jim Myatt. Myatt did not run for re-election after four two-year terms.
Joe Tubb was re-elected to a second term for Position 6 on the South Plains College Board of Regents for Position 6. He defeated challenger Rob Martin with about two-thirds of the vote, 759-391.
Plainview mayor Starnes re-elected to second term; city council race heads to runoff
Incumbent Mayor Charles Starnes, Plainview City Councilwoman Lorie Rodriguez and Councilman Evan Weiss will all serve second four-year terms, while two of the five candidates for District 5 council seat will head to a runoff.
Starnes gathered 414 votes, or about 65%, defeating challenger Lionel Garcia with 224 votes, or 35%.
Starnes was first elected in 2020.
In District 5, five candidates sought to replace Councilwoman Susan Blackerby, who hit her two-term limit. Daniel Rascon, Matt Blackerby, Jeremy Sepeda, Rusty Powers and William H. "Bill" Nelson all filed to run for the seat.
Rascon and Blackerby were the top two vote-getters in the race and will head to a runoff June 15. Rascon earned 75 of the 187 votes cast, or about 40%. Blackerby received 44 votes, or about 24%. Powers and Sepeda both received 16% of the votes, and Nelson 4%.
Rodriguez beat her challenger 25-20, or 55% to 44%. Weiss was unopposed for re-election.
Lynn County Hospital District bond fails
A $23 million bond proposal aimed at renovating and expanding the Lynn County Hospital resoundingly failed Saturday.
About 73% of voters said no to the bond, which would have raised the tax rate from 26 cents per $100 valuation to 41 cents and would have been used to build a new ER and clinic and modernize existing facilities.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Cities pick mayors, Lynn County voters reject hospital bond proposal
