Local voters head to polls Saturday to weigh in on school and hospital board races
Canadian ISD seeks voter support for $20m bond issue
Voters will head to the polls this Saturday, May 4, to determine the results of two contested races—one, for the Canadian ISD Board of Trustees, and the other, for the Hemphill County Hospital District Board of Directors—and to decide the fate of the $20 million bond issue proposed by Canadian ISD [see related story].
Polling places for all Hemphill County voters in both the hospital and school board elections will be consolidated at the Canadian High School Gym Foyer, located at 621 S. 5th Street. All Lipscomb County voters (Precincts 106, 404) may cast their ballots in the school board and bond elections at the Higgins Multipurpose Building, located at 15 E. 5th Street.
All Election Day polling places will be open from 7 am to 7 pm.
Four candidates are vying for only two seats on the CISD school board. In the race are incumbent and current board president Cody Culwell, and newcomers Jessica Cowden, Meredith Yarnold and Heath Hayden.
The successful candidates will join current school board members Rudy Godino, Bryan Bartlett, Ashton Macias, Andy Orrell, and Heath Mitchell. Long-time trustee Courtney Trolinger will retire from the board this year following the election.
Three candidates are running for only two seats on the Hemphill County Hospital board of directors. Incumbents Karen Gullett and Sharon Carr are seeking re-election to the board. Former board member Jesse Hanes is seeking another term on the hospital board, after losing his bid for re-election to Whitney Jones in the May 2023 election.
The successful candidates will join current hospital board members Cory Pittman, Colby Leach and Jones.
Sample ballots in both elections can be found above.
Other local elections for the Canadian City Council and the Hemphill County Underground Water Conservation District board of directors were uncontested, and were subsequently cancelled. Three seats on the city council were open this year. All three incumbents—Ashlee Talley, Gary Prater and Wendie Cook—filed for re-election, and were unopposed. Two open seats on the HCUWCD board were filled by incumbents Spencer Hanes and Craig Cowden, without opposition.
