Plumbing 
Republicans win top county spots
Nearly 60 percent of registered Uvalde County voters have spoken, and in a close race separated by 60 votes out of more than 10,000 cast, Republican Ruben Nolasco will be the new Uvalde County Sheriff, while Republican Rita Cordova Verstuyft handily won re-election to her tax assessor-collector post.
Incumbent Pct. 1 Constable Johnny J. Field held off his Republican challenger, and Democrat John Yeackle defeated Republican Bill Dozier for Pct. 1 county commissioner.
Voters also determined liquor sales will now be legal in areas of Concan and Utopia.
The measure to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages in Uvalde County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 passed by 52.02 percent, or 463 votes. The option was opposed by 427 voters, 47.98 percent of the 890 people who voted in the precinct, which includes Concan and Utopia.
This was the third time an attempt was made in the past decade to pass such a measure.
In November of 2017, a measure for the legal sale of beer and wine was narrowly defeated by Utopia and Concan voters: 167 voted against the measure and 157 voted for it. Further, in May of 2010, a measure to allow the sale of beer or wine was also defeated, with 190 voting against it and 177 in favor.
Overview
According to county elections administrator Melissa Jones Bradham, there were 17,430 registered voters in the Nov. 3 election, and 10,435 ballots were cast, with 7,099 voting early by personal appearance at the Willie De Leon Civic Center.
Bradham said her office distributed 1,428 ballots by mail by the Oct. 23 deadline, and one addition emergency mail ballot was given out after the deadline, to a registered voter with a serious medical condition who met rigorous qualification standards including an attestation by their physician.
Of those, 1,158 were given to the early voting ballot board, 114 were canceled when the holders instead chose to vote early by personal appearance, and six were returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable, Bradham said.
Ballots postmarked for election day and delivered by 5 p.m. yesterday would still be accepted, and Bradham said there were possibly 151 outstanding mail in ballots, as she needed to verify if any of those individuals instead chose to vote in person on election day.
She praised the local branch of the Post Office for their service, stating they had worked hard to assist in making mail in voting workable and verifying ballots were received.
Election day voter turnout was lower, with 2,144 voting in person on Nov. 3.
Bradham said precincts that had higher turnout during early voting periods correspondingly had lower turnout rates on election day.
“We were already at 47 percent turnout. And with us being spread out all over the county this election, we’ve been able to spread out the voting so that no one precinct has had a ton of voters at once. That’s what the extra week of early voting was supposed to do,” Bradham said. “It worked.”
Sheriff’s office
Pete Luna|Leader-News
Republican victor Ruben Nolasco (left) and Democratic candidate Miguel “Mike” Hernandez after the results were announced.
Nolasco, the Republican victor and current Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office employee, was facing Democratic candidate Miguel “Mike “ Hernandez, lieutenant of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police department.
“First and foremost, I’d like to give all praise and glory to God. Without Him, we couldn’t have done it. My immediate family, my friends that came out and supported me, I’m very appreciative of that,” Nolasco said.
The final voting tally was 5,101 or 50.30 percent for Nolasco, and 5,041 votes, 47.70 percent for Hernandez on ballots cast by the 10,142 county residents who voted in the race.
There were 284 undervotes and nine overvotes.
Overvotes occur when a voter attempts to to vote for multiple candidates or issues in one race. Undervotes involve those who cast ballots but choose not to vote in a particular race.
Current Sheriff Charles Mendeke, who has more than 35 years of law enforcement experience, chose not to run for reelection. First elected in 2008, he is retiring from the office at the end of the year.
Nolasco, along with any other newly-chosen candidates, will take office in January.
His plans include a focus on increasing patrols and maintaining the Uvalde County Jail.
“I want to create a proactive and transparent office. I want to make sure that our deputies get out there and they patrol the schools,” Nolasco said.
He said deputies familiarizing themselves with area schools is vital to public safety, and will help them be a community resource and create community involvement.
“There might be a student that needs to talk to somebody and, by them being there, hopefully that would help them.”
Nolasco said he will also strive to be a responsible steward with taxpayer dollars.
“Some of the main things I’ve got to keep in mind is the federal inmate contract that we have between the United States Marshals and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office. We need to maintain that because it does produce a significant amount of funds, which decreases burdens to us taxpayers.”
Tax assessor
Republican incumbent Rita Cordova Verstuyft will retain her position, having triumphed over Democratic challenger Sylvia Flores Uriegas, a Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District employee, for the position of county tax assessor-collector.
“This race was not just about me, it was about me and the five ladies who work in my office. We are a team,” Verstuyft said.
She said her customers are wonderful, and she is grateful to continue to serve them.
“I am blessed to be a part of this community, they have embraced me. I thank them and I thank my God above.”
Verstuyft received 6,347 votes, or 62.93 percent, to Uriegas’ 3,739 or 37.07 percent, of the 10,086 total votes.
Verstuyft received 4,388 votes during the early-voting period, 476 absentee ballots and 1,483 on election day.
For Uriegas, 2,517 early votes were made by personal appearance, 643 via absentee ballot and 579 on election day. There were 346 undervotes and three overvotes in the race.
Verstuyft took office on Jan. 1, 2017, after a 2016 win over Uriegas.
Commissioner
In the Precinct 1 County Commissioner race, Democrat businessman John Yeackle garnered 1,386 votes or 55.22 percent to prevail over his opponent, Republican real estate agent Bill Dozier, who received 1,124 or 44.78 percent of the 2,510 votes cast. There were 92 undervotes and one overvote.
County commissioner precinct 1 voting was open to residents of precincts 1 and 12.
After more than three decades in office, incumbent Precinct 1 County Commissioner Randy Scheide, a Democrat, chose not to seek reelection.
Constable
Incumbent Uvalde County Constable, Precinct 1, Johnny Joe Field, a Democrat, retained his office by receiving 1,822 votes, or 50.87 percent, over Republican challenger Martin Morales, who tallied 1,760 votes, or 49.13 percent of the 3,582 votes cast. There were 186 undervotes and one overvote.
The Pct. 1 constable race was open to residents of polling precincts 1, 5 and 12.
Unopposed races
Local unopposed races include incumbent 38th Judicial District Judge Camille DuBose, who received 8,024 votes, and former border prosecutor and now 38th Judicial District attorney Christina Mitchell Busbee, who received 7,684 votes.
Uvalde County attorney John Dodson received 7,258 votes.
Precinct 3 county Commissioner Jerry W. Bates received 2,644 votes.
County constable for Precinct 2 Weldon McCutchen tallied 1,002 votes; Pct. 3, Bob Cook, 793 votes; and Pct. 4, David Valdez. 1,700. McCutchen and Valdez are incumbents, while Cook is a newcomer.
Absentee ballots by mail postmarked Nov. 3 will be accepted through Wednesday, so some totals may be subject to change.
All votes are unofficial until canvassed.
jkeeble@ulnnow.com, 830-278-3335
