Lyle Nelson elected Bastrop mayor in runoff
Lyle Nelson was elected mayor of Bastrop on Saturday, defeating Dock Jackson with 52.1% of the vote in a runoff.
Nelson won by 46 votes, earning 567 votes to Jackson's 521. He will succeed Connie Schroeder, who is stepping down after serving two terms. She was first elected in 2017 as Bastrop's first female mayor.
Voter turnout in the runoff election was 17.2%, with 1,088 of 6,314 registered voters casting ballots.
"I am honored and humbled to be elected as Bastrop's next mayor," Nelson said on Sunday. "I believe the key to winning was voter involvement as well as a consistent message about continuing to address our infrastructure and encouraging positive development."
Nelson will be sworn in at 6 p.m. on June 20 at City Hall.
Jackson said that while he was disappointed with the results, he congratulated Nelson for running a "clean race," thanked his campaign volunteers and those who voted for him, and said he wished more people had cast ballots.
"As I am pondering my next step in community involvement," Jackson said, "I have a lot to think about before making any future decisions."
Nelson, 69, said during the campaign that he is guided by a personal mantra of creating a more “citizen-oriented” government in Bastrop by asking two questions about any potential decision he will make: “Is it good for Bastrop? And does it harm any of our citizens?”
He was elected to the City Council in 2017 and served until 2022. He said that between his time in public service and military service, he has more than 40 years of managerial experience. Nelson is the chief of staff for the Capital Area Rural Transportation System.
Both candidates said that said managing growth and development will be an important part of the job.
“Bastrop does not need to be Austin East, nor does it need to be a bedroom community of Austin,” Nelson said during the campaign, adding that his main goal was to help the community grow and develop.
Although he believes development cannot be “slowed, stopped or stymied,” Nelson said he is cautious about building too much housing density that could change Bastrop or pursuing projects that cost the city too much money. He has said his top priority is fixing public infrastructure — in particular, roads.
Beyond managing growth and improving city infrastructure, both candidates said they wanted to build a new recreation center, expand workforce development programs and go after any state and federal grant funding they can secure for Bastrop. Both candidates also expressed support for recent changes to the city's Planning Department to speed up the permitting process.
Nelson said he wants it to be easy for the public to get more involved in the process.
“Anytime you have a bureaucracy in any way, shape or form," he said, "you’re in danger of separating yourself from the people you’re serving.”
Jackson and Nelson were the top vote-getters in a four-way race in the May 6 election. Neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote, forcing the runoff. Jackson received 429 votes, or 32.5%, and Nelson had 412 votes, for 31.2%.
The third-place finisher, Deborah Jones, received 377 votes, or 28.6%, while Elizabeth Northcutt finished fourth with 102 votes, or 7.7%. Jones threw her support to Jackson in the runoff.
Jackson, who is 70 and grew up in Bastrop during segregation, was vying to become the city’s first African American mayor.
He was elected to the City Council in 1988 and has served off and on in local government ever since, for a total of more than 29 years of experience with the city. Jackson has attended Texas State University and the University of Texas, and works part time at the Hampton Inn and Suites.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lyle Nelson elected Bastrop mayor in runoff win over Dock Jackson
