Erath County voters opted for state propositions, picked Lonn Reisman for Stephenville mayor and split decisions on two school bonds in the Nov. 4 general elections. A total of 4,896 Erath voters cast ballots in the election.
In the Stephenville mayoral race, Reisman garnered 1,265 votes or 66.3% of the 1,908 votes cast in the race. Fellow councilmember David Baskett picked up 643 votes (33.7%).
A portion of Erath residents voted in a $22.1 million bond election for Hico ISD for a number of improvements and renovations to school buildings. Across all counties, 269 voted for while 330 voted against. Erath followed this trend with 56 votes for and 84 against, so the measure failed.
Erath voters joined Palo Pinto in deciding a $6.1 million bond to rebuild the Gordon ISD athletic complex. There were 21 Erath and 266 Palo Pinto voters for (285 total) and 17 Erath and 244 Palo into against (261), so the measure passed.
All 17 state constitutional amendments passed both locally and across the state. Here are the Propositions and how Erath voted on each: Proposition 1: “The constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the permanent technical institution infrastructure fund and the available workforce education fund to support the capital needs of educational programs offered by the Texas State Technical College System.” (69.81% For, 30.19% Against) Proposition 2: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of a tax on the realized or unrealized capital gains of an individual, family, estate, or trust.” (85.58% For, 14.42% Against) Proposition 3 : “The constitutional amendment requiring the denial of bail under certain circumstances to persons accused of certain offenses punishable as a felony.” (79% For, 21% Against) Proposition 4: “The constitutional amendment to dedicate a portion of the revenue derived from state sales and use taxes to the Texas water fund and to provide for the allocation and use of that revenue.” (70.62% For, 29.38% Against) Proposition 5: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation tangible personal property consisting of animal feed held by the owner of the property for sale at retail.” (84.59% For, 15.41% Against) Proposition 6: “The constitutional amendment prohibiting the legislature from enacting a law imposing an occupation tax on certain entities that enter into transactions conveying securities or imposing a tax on certain securities transactions.” (74.09% For, 25.91% Against) Proposition 7: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of all or part of the market value of the residence homestead of the surviving spouse of a veteran who died as a result of a condition or disease that is presumed under federal law to have been serviceconnected.” (92.21% For, 7.79% Against) Proposition 8: “The constitutional amendment to prohibit the legislature from imposing death taxes applicable to a decedent’s property or the transfer of an estate, inheritance, legacy, succession, or gift.” (89.48% For, 10.52% Against) Proposition 9: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to exempt from ad valorem taxation a portion of the market value of tangible personal property a person owns that is held or used for the production of income.” (83.73% For, 16.27% Against) Proposition 10: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for a temporary exemption from ad valorem taxation of the appraised value of an improvement to a residence homestead that is completely destroyed by a fire.” (94.66% For, 5.34% Against) Proposition 11: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to increase the amount of the exemption from ad valorem taxation by a school district of the market value of the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled.” (86.79% For, 13.21% Against) Proposition 12: “The constitutional amendment regarding the membership of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, the membership of the tribunal to review the commission’s recommendations, and the authority of the commission, the tribunal, and the Texas Supreme Court to more effectively sanction judges and justices for judicial misconduct.” (80.58% For, 19.42% Against) Proposition 13: “The constitutional amendment to increase the amount of the exemption of residence homesteads from ad valorem taxation by a school district from $100,000 to $140,000.” (89.76% For, 10.24% Against) Proposition 14: “The constitutional amendment providing for the establishment of the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, establishing the Dementia Prevention and Research Fund to provide money for research on and prevention and treatment of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related disorders in this state, and transferring to that fund $3 billion from state general revenue.” (64.53% For, 35.47% Against) Proposition 15: “The constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.” (85.89% For, 14.11% Against) Proposition 16: “The constitutional amendment clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen.” (85.89% For, 14.11% Against) Proposition 17: “The constitutional amendment to authorize the legislature to provide for an exemption from ad valorem taxation of the amount of the market value of real property located in a county that borders the United Mexican States that arises from the installation or construction on the property of border security infrastructure and related improvements.” (80.67% For, 19.33% Against)