Filing begins with a bang: Six Abilenians to vie for three seats on City Council

Greg Jaklewicz, Abilene Reporter-News
·4 min read

Filing for the May city election began in earnest Wednesday, with six candidates filing.

Two residents filed for each of the three contested races.

Two-term Place 4 Councilman Weldon Hurt entered the mayor's race and drew opposition from Ryan Goodwin. Both followed through with previously announced intentions to run for council.

With Hurt vacating Place 4, two more residents who in late 2022 spoke to their intentions to run, Scott Beard and Brian Yates, filed for that seat.

Place 3, currently held by two-term Councilwoman Donna Albus, drew first-time candidate Shawnte Fleming and James Sargent, who ran unsuccessfully for Place 5 on the council last spring.

Albus confirmed to the Reporter-News on Wednesday that she is not seeking re-election.

Beard, who pastors Fountaingate Fellowship, was a leader of the effort to make Abilene a "sanctuary city for the unborn." After a successful petition drive, a proposed ordinance went before voters in November. It passed with 53% of the vote. As a candidate, Sargent cast his support for passage of the ordinance.

Fleming heads the local group Let Us Breathe. She earlier had expressed her desire to run for council.

If elected, Fleming would be the first Black woman to serve on the council, which currently has two Black members - Mayor Anthony Williams and Councilman Travis Craver.

Wednesday's filings assure contested races for all city offices and at least two new members.

Filing continues through Feb. 17 with three of the seven seats on the council going before voters. All applications are available on the city's website at https://www.abilenetx.gov/309/Elections

There are no seats up for election on the Abilene ISD board of trustees but three terms on the Wylie ISD board are ending - the remainder of the Place 1 term; Place 4, board secretary Brad Hill; and Place 5, board president Steve Keenum.

Hill
Hill

Hill, who is finishing his first term on the board, filed for re-election by noon Wednesday.

Former WISD board member Dr. Stephen Lowry has filled the Place 1 seat since Chris McCurley resigned in July. Lowry is not entering the race to fill the last two years of the term that ends in 2025.

Hurt outlines vision and goals at post-filing event

Hurt and Goodwin are seeking the job held for the past six years by Williams, who was a longtime council member before being elected as Abilene's first Black mayor.

Earlier this month, Goodwin, a real estate agent and assistant church pastor, announced he also would seek the mayor's job.

More:Announcing for Abilene mayor, Ryan Goodwin says church has rightful, impactful place in government

Hurt on Tuesday celebrated the 31st anniversary of Pest Patrol, a family operated business.

At an announcement event at the SoDA District Courtyard after filing closed Wednesday, Hurt said he "wanted to see Abilene continue to grow and thrive and develop, the way it is right now. We don't want to do a U-turn or turn left or go somewhere else.

'Y'all want to see a continuation of what is happening in Abilene, Texas, right now."

Joy Ellinger introduces Weldon Hurt at the SoDA District Courtyard, where he announced his candidacy after filing earlier Wednesday for Abilene mayor. Hurt has served as Place 4 councilmember for two terms. Ellinger, who is Hurt's campaign manager, said he "is the best person for Abilene, Texas" and "there is no doubt it, he will clean the clock of his opponent and do very well."

Hurt said "there are things we can do better and we may tweak some things, but we're going to continue what we're doing."

He acknowledged that progress will take tax money, and the big ticket item for the city is public safety. He noted voter approval to build a ninth fire station in south Abilene and how the police department has to stay on top of things.

"They've got to be smarter than the criminals," he said. As for community support of police, unlike other areas of the country, Hurt said, "We love our police department. We embrace them. They are our friends, our brothers, our sisters and our neighbors."

He touted the Development Corporation of Abilene, which, he said, "has been knocking home runs.

"The best thing we can do as council is to stay out of DCOA's way. Let them do what they're doing."

Brian Yates, a candidate for Abilene City Council Place 4, talks to an attendee at Weldon Hurt's mayor's announcement event Wednesday. Yates will face Fountaingate Church pastor Scott Beard for Hurt's current seat this spring. Yates and Hurt were two of six people who filed for the May 6 election on the first day of filing at City Hall.
Brian Yates, a candidate for Abilene City Council Place 4, talks to an attendee at Weldon Hurt's mayor's announcement event Wednesday. Yates will face Fountaingate Church pastor Scott Beard for Hurt's current seat this spring. Yates and Hurt were two of six people who filed for the May 6 election on the first day of filing at City Hall.

Hurt, who moved to Abilene in 1986 from Comanche County, noted both downtown and perimeter growth in Abilene.

"We are growing and we are set to keep growing," he said.

Asked about his priorities, Hurt listed three:

  • Infill development and affordable housing for those who want to live in "those traditional areas of Abilene."

  • Staffing city government. "We may have a recession and we're going to have to find the money and take care of our people."

  • Working with committees and boards on "what we can do to streamline the processes to make it easier to do business in Abilene."

Hurt said money again is being put into city streets. In fact, he said, the City Council gets more complaints now about ongoing street improvement projects than it does about potholes.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Filing begins with a bang: 6 Abilenians to vie for 3 seats on council