Trustee Candidates Head to Runoff Elections in Three Races

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Voters re-elected incumbent Robert Schneider to his District 7 seat and selected Julie Cowan as the new District 4 trustee, but candidates in the other three races for the Austin ISD Board of Trustees now will face each other in a runoff election Dec. 16. 

Because none of the candidates in district 1, 6 or 9 received 50 percent or more of the vote, the top two vote-getters in each race now vie for the seats.

According to unofficial results from the Travis County Clerk’s office:

  • District 1—Edmund Gordon (34.6 percent), David Thompson (28.5 percent), P. Kevin Bryant (18.7 percent) and Stanton Strickland (18.3 percent)
  • District 4—Julie Cowan (77.4 percent) and Karen Flanagan (22.6 percent)
  • District 6—Paul Saldaña (35.2 percent), Kate Mason-Murphy (34.3 percent) and Monica Sanchez (30.6 percent)
  • District 7—Robert Schneider (52 percent) and Yasmin Wagner (48 percent)
  • District 9, at-large position—Kendall Pace (39.7 percent), Hillary Procknow (24.2 percent), Nael Chavez (16 percent), Kazique J. Prince (11.9 percent) and Andy Trimino (8.2 percent)

In the District 1 race, Gordon (3,622 votes) will face Thompson (2,982 votes); in District 6, Saldaña (5,541 votes) will face Mason-Murphy (5,391 votes); and Pace (37,842 votes) will face Procknow (23,109 votes) for the District 9 seat.

More than 173,000 people—42.4 percent of registered voters—cast their ballots in Tuesday's election.

All results are unofficial until the scheduled Nov. 18 special-called board meeting, where AISD Trustess are scheduled to approve the canvassing of the Nov. 4 General Election.

Austin ISD trustees serve four-year terms. The full board consists of nine members. Seats were open in geographical districts 1, 4, 6 and 7, and in the at-large position in District 9. 

Board members are unpaid representatives who guide the district and represent community expectations as they plan the direction of educational programs and services.

Trustees establish policies for operating the district and ensuring its financial viability. The board also employs the superintendent, approves the budget and monitors expenditures, sets the tax rate, and may call for a bond or tax rate election.