Voters Decide

Voters Decide Subhead Voting continues for city, school board elections Nathan Diebenow Wed, 04/24/2024 - 05:43 Image

• The Bosque County Elections Administration Office is one of two place where eligible voters can cast their ballots for candidates running for Meridian ISD school board and the Meridian City Council, starting on Monday, April 22. Nathan Diebenow | Meridian Tribune
• Voters Decide
• Voters Decide
• Buster Felan
• Dana Williams
• Wendy Cummings
• Jacob Dagley
• Robert Garza

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Voting in city and school board elections in Meridian continues this week.

Eight candidates are running for two open seats in the Meridian ISD Board of Education Election.

The school board candidates are Barbara Lee Ann Ardeneaux, Tristan Lee Rusk, Larry Denman, Jacob Dagley, Marc Arnold, Wendy Cummings, Robert Garza, and Matthew Dickinson.

This year, four candidates are running for three seats on the Meridian City Council.

The city council candidates are Mary Jo Christensen, Dana Williams (incumbent), Buster Felan, and Sharon Wilson (incumbent).

In lieu of a public in-person forum, the Meridian Tribune reached out to the candidates to get their positions.

The following are the answers from those candidates who submitted answers in reply to the newspaper’s editorial department.

City council Mary Jo Christensen Age: 54 What’s your education? I graduated high school and attended some college.

What’s your occupation? I’m an insurance agent.

Why are you running for this seat? I would like to serve our community in addressing our citizens complaints and concerns.

What is the most critical issue in the City of Meridian, and how do you plan to address it? I do not have a set agenda if I am elected to the council. My plan is to keep my eyes and ears open and to be a voice for our community.

What are your thoughts about the future growth of Meridian? I believe Meridian is on the right path for attracting new businesses that will allow for future employment opportunities and economic growth.

Age: 76 What’s your background and education? I was born and raised in Meridian and graduated from Meridian High School. I’ve lived here most of my life. I got two boys and two girls. My youngest son works for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. My oldest son is in construction just like I was. One of my girls is a registered nurse. My other girl buys supplies for a hospital.

What’s your occupation? I’vebeeninlawenforcement and construction. I put in 19 years at Brown & Root in Dallas. I’m still employed with a company out of southern Illinois for 34 years. Because I was in construction, I was traveling. I traveled all over the United States. I built the Denver airport. I did a big road job in New Mexico – 118 miles of roadway.

Why are you running for this seat? The town needs to be beautified. Cars are parked everywhere. The yards have tall grass.

What is the most critical issue in the City of Meridian, and how do you plan to address it? We need to stay on top of everything, so we don’t get caught by surprise. I did the same thing at the golf course where I’m vice president. We had 70 members. Now we got 140. I’ve been a member of the golf course since 1975. I’ve been on the golf course’s board for two years.

What are your thoughts about the future growth of Meridian? Meridian will grow, and we need to grow with it.

Age: 62 What’s your background and education? I’m a graduate of Texas Christian University (TCU).

What’s your occupation? I’m retired from Wells Fargo Bank after 30-plus years, working in various positions including Teller, Branch Manager, Human Resources and Market Support including teller investigations, audit review, budgeting, and large project coordination for the southeastern part of the U.S.

Why are you running for this seat? I have been on the Meridian City Council for one year filling a vacated position and would like to serve a full two-year term to continue the rebuilding work we have already begun in the City with new department heads. I believe supporting our City team through accountability and growth is important while being a strong advocate for our citizens and building/nurturing strong relationships with MISD and other community organizations.

What is the most critical issue in the City of Meridian, and how to do plan to address it? Efficient expense controls.

What are your thoughts about the future growth of Meridian? Planning for future growth, including costly water and sewer equipment/system enhancements seeking grant opportunities. The future for Meridian is exciting and as I stated earlier system replacement/expansion needs are important as well as police officer coverage to match growth. Working smarter not harder and keeping things simple are some of my favorite sayings. I would appreciate your support on May 4 with early voting starting April 22.

School board

Age: 55 What’s your background and education? I’m a graduate of Tarleton State University.

What’s your occupation? I’m a retired educator.

Why are you running for this seat? As a former educator with 28 years’ experience, 18 of those at Meridian ISD, and the mother of four very active Meridian High School students, I believe that I have a lot to offer the Meridian ISD School Board with my experience as a teacher, a parent, an active community member, and someone who is passionate about putting kids first.

What is the most critical issue at Meridian ISD, and how do you plan to address it? There have been many students leaving MISD in the past couple of years. I am interested in finding out what is motivating this. Is it academics, extra-curricular activities, discipline, teachers/staff, etc.? Once we find the cause/causes for these withdrawals, as a board, we can work with the administration to come up with a plan to help curb the transferring out of students to other districts, and make Meridian ISD a district that others will want to attend.

What are your thoughts on the state of public school finance in Texas? I find it very frustrating that every year teachers are given more and more responsibilities with little to no increase in their salaries. During the last legislative session, no new funding was given to districts or teachers. Districts are not able to fully compensate teachers for what they are worth, and need help from the state to meet the needs of our students, teachers and staff.

Age: 37 What’s your education? I graduated from TexasA&M University Class of 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management and from Meridian High School, Class of 2005.

What’s your occupation? I’m in the oil and gas industry.

Why are you running for this seat? I want to do everything I can to ensure my kids have the same opportunities that I had while attending Meridian ISD.

What is the most critical issue at Meridian ISD, and how do you plan to address it? Meridian ISD does not appear to be a sought-after school in Bosque County. We are losing kids to neighboring schools at an alarming rate. We need to make Meridian desirable to kids, parents, teachers, & administrators.

What are your thoughts on the current state of public school finance in Texas? Funding is currently under the microscope because parents are concerned about what kids are being taught or not taught in schools. The education system needs to win back the trust and confidence from taxpayers.

Age: 58 What’s your education? I graduated from Duncanville High School and received my B.A. in Political Science from UTArlington.

What’s your occupation? I work for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as a social worker.

Why are you running for this seat? I believe we have a great staff of educators and a great body of students at Meridian ISD. My granddaughter attends middle school and my grandson will be in school this coming year. My wife is a teacher at the elementary school. They are my reason for running for school board in Meridian. I want to help take the school district to the next level and help it grow to an A+ school. I want to help the district think outside the box to give our educators and students the best we can give them as a community.

What is the most critical issue at Meridian ISD, and how do you plan to address it? I think our biggest hurdle facing the school district right now is the relationship of the school district with our parents and community. We need to have open communication with our community and our parents so that the district can be successful in educating our students for their journey into adulthood. This needs to be a team effort from all parties involved starting with the Meridian School board trustees down to every staff member on our campus that is in contact with our children to help them succeed.

What are your thoughts on the current state of public school finance in Texas? Property taxes alone will not get our schools where they need to be financially. Our state representatives and state leaders need to do a better job of helping to fund our schools through state funding for both our students and our educators. The money that has been allocated in the past few years is barely enough to keep up with inflation so we are probably working with budget deficits which means our students are not able to get the best resources they need and our faculty are not getting the compensation for the great work they do. We need to do better.

Voting locations

During the two weeks of voting, eligible voters can cast their votes at the Bosque County Elections Administration Building located at 104 West Morgan Street in Meridian and the Clifton Civic Center at 403 West Third Street in Clifton.

Voters can vote during this period at the following dates and times:

• April 24 - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• April 25 - 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

• April 26 - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• April 27 - No voting

• April 28 - No voting

• April 29 - 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.

• April 30 - 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. On the last day of the election, Saturday, May 4, voters can cast ballots for Meridian City Council and Meridian ISD School Board from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. at the Meridian Civic Center located at 309 West River Street in Meridian.

Sample ballots can be found on the Elections webpage at www. bosquecounty.us/elections/