The ballots are set and candidates are voicing their opinion in Merkel.
Three council members are up for re-election and they all have a challenger this year.
Three of the candidates claim, the fact that every incumbent has a challenger, is a sign of the wrong direction the city is going, and they're ready for a change.
"We need to make Merkel a better community to live in," said Candidate for Council Place 3, Rodney McClintock. "I'm not saying I can do it all by myself."
And he won't have to. If the challengers take over the three positions that are up for re-election, they'll consider themselves to have the majority.
They're all pretty much on the same page.
They said progress in the the city is stagnant, not moving forward.
Candidate for Council Place 1, Kay Deitz, raised two children there and has lived in Merkel for thirty years.
She said, "The years we've lived here it seems like Merkel has not gone forward enough."
"We need to change that," said Council Place 2 candidate, William Hoisington. "We need to set goals for the community and we need to have the city council make sure those goals are met."
Hoisington manages a Merkel, Texas Facebook page. He plans to implement use of technology within the council to increase interaction between the city and community.
"It allows complete clarity between what's going on in the city council and what's going on in the community."
They all said the city just needs a change.
But that's not how the guys currently sitting in those positions feel.
"People have their disagreements and that's great," said Council Place 1 Incumbent, Alan Campbell. "That makes it pretty healthy but the bottom line is I think everyone's on the course to improve the city of Merkel."
D.A. Bishop, who's up for reelection for Place 1 feels the same. They said roads, finances and city staffing is where it needs to be, and that's thanks to the current city council.
"I'm real happy with everything we got going," said Bishop. "I'm happy with everybody that's on the council and our mayor. I think Merkel's in a real positive position right now."
The current board hopes to have the same people in their positions going in the same direction, come the end of May.
Early voting in Merkel will take place May 2-10 at Merkel City Hall.
On the 2 through the 8 voting hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Hours on the 9th and 10th will extend from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Primary elections will be held at the Merkel Middle School Gym.
Three council members are up for re-election and they all have a challenger this year.
Three of the candidates claim, the fact that every incumbent has a challenger, is a sign of the wrong direction the city is going, and they're ready for a change.
"We need to make Merkel a better community to live in," said Candidate for Council Place 3, Rodney McClintock. "I'm not saying I can do it all by myself."
And he won't have to. If the challengers take over the three positions that are up for re-election, they'll consider themselves to have the majority.
They're all pretty much on the same page.
They said progress in the the city is stagnant, not moving forward.
Candidate for Council Place 1, Kay Deitz, raised two children there and has lived in Merkel for thirty years.
She said, "The years we've lived here it seems like Merkel has not gone forward enough."
"We need to change that," said Council Place 2 candidate, William Hoisington. "We need to set goals for the community and we need to have the city council make sure those goals are met."
Hoisington manages a Merkel, Texas Facebook page. He plans to implement use of technology within the council to increase interaction between the city and community.
"It allows complete clarity between what's going on in the city council and what's going on in the community."
They all said the city just needs a change.
But that's not how the guys currently sitting in those positions feel.
"People have their disagreements and that's great," said Council Place 1 Incumbent, Alan Campbell. "That makes it pretty healthy but the bottom line is I think everyone's on the course to improve the city of Merkel."
D.A. Bishop, who's up for reelection for Place 1 feels the same. They said roads, finances and city staffing is where it needs to be, and that's thanks to the current city council.
"I'm real happy with everything we got going," said Bishop. "I'm happy with everybody that's on the council and our mayor. I think Merkel's in a real positive position right now."
The current board hopes to have the same people in their positions going in the same direction, come the end of May.
Early voting in Merkel will take place May 2-10 at Merkel City Hall.
On the 2 through the 8 voting hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Hours on the 9th and 10th will extend from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Primary elections will be held at the Merkel Middle School Gym.
Comments
The Facebook page mentioned is http://www.facebook.com/MerkelTexas and I look forward to hearing any and all comments or suggestions. Let us know what you expect from a City Council.
William H.
March 20, 2012 at 6:17 am
