Waxahachie Council seats in runoff election

WAXAHACHIE – Residents in Waxahachie were able to go to the polls beginning this past Monday for the upcoming June 5 runoff election. 

The runoff election is for two seats on the Waxahachie City Council; Place 4 and Place 5. 

The city council election was held earlier this month, and no candidate running for the Waxahachie Place 4 and Place 5 seats received over 50 percent of the vote, thus creating the need for the runoff election.

Both Place 4 challengers who ran against incumbent Mary Lou Shipley are hoping to walk away with a win for that seat. Billie Wallace – who had the majority of votes in the May election – and Paul Christenson are on the runoff election ballot for the seat. 

In Place 5, incumbent Charles “Chuck” Beatty is hoping to keep his seat against challenger Travis Smith, who had the second most votes in the regular election. Neither received over 50 percent of the vote due to a third opponent in the regular election.

Early voting began this past Monday through Thursday, May 27 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, May 28 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday May 29 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m,; closed for the Memorial Day holiday on May 31 and open on Tuesday, June 1 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The special runoff election for U.S. Congressional District 6 will be held on Tuesday, July 27.

This runoff election is due to there being no candidate who received over 50 percent of the vote in the May 1 Special Election to fill the 6th Congressional District seat left open when Congressman Ron Wright died.

There were 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, one Independent and one Libertarian who had been vying for the seat in the early May election.

Susan Wright, Congressman Wright’s wife, and first-term elected Texas State Representative Jake Ellzey were the two candidates who received the most votes in the May 1 special election. 

Wright received 15,077 votes – or 19.21 percent of the vote, to Ellzey’s 10,865 votes – or 13.85 percent of the vote. Both Wright and Ellzey are Republicans.

However, not far behind was Democrat candidate Jana Sanchez, who received 10,518 – or 13.5 percent of the vote in the May 1 election.

Now Wright and Ellzey will be on the July 27 special election runoff ballot for a final determining who will take Wright’s late husband’s seat in the 6th Congressional District, which includes the counties of Ellis, Navarro, and Tarrant.