DeSoto council, district races up for grabs

by Daphne Brown of DeSoto TODAY

Filing for two DeSoto City Council seats opens next month.

Councilman Virgil Helm and Mayor Pro Tem Thelma Clardy, places 2 and 4 respectively, are up against term limits and may not seek re-election.

Filing for the May election begins Feb. 11, according to city hall, and continues through March 10.

Qualified candidates include registered Dallas County voters who have resided in DeSoto for at least one year prior to filing, according to the city secretary's office.

The city of DeSoto is governed by a mayor and six council members. Each are elected at large and must reside in the district they represent except the mayor, who represents the whole city.

Helm, a DeSoto resident for more than 20 years, was a first-time candidate and competed against another first-time candidate when he ran for a seat on the council in 2002. He beat his challenger by 14 votes.

Before his election to the council, Helm served on the city's Park Development Board and the Charter Review Commission.

Clardy, an attorney, has lived in DeSoto since 1989. She has served as president of her homeowner's association, on the DeSoto East Junior High PTA and with Concerned DeSoto Citizens and membership includes the DeSoto Library Board.

In the school board race, three incumbents, including the board president, are up for re-election.

Unlike the city council, school board members are not subject to term limits. Races include Janice Pettis Ingram, Place 3, Sharon Sternes, Place 4, and Dee Trimble, Place 5.

Ingram is board president and is the most senior member of the board. She is completing her 12th year on the board. Both of her children graduated from DeSoto High School and she has been involved with employing the district's last three superintendents: Jim Hawkins, Alton L. Frailey and Lloyd Treadwell (the sitting superintendent).

A licensed professional counselor, Ingram is clinic director for The Rehab Group, a physical and psychological clinic, she co-owns and operates with her husband. She has a doctorate, master's and bachelor's degrees from the University of Nebraska, North Texas State University and Bishop College, respectively.

According to the school district's website, she believes excellence in education applies to all students and that every student should be equipped to lifelong learners.

In May, Sternes will have served on the board for six years, two as board secretary. Her philosophy is “every child deserves to have a quality education,” according to the website.

She said she considers herself a cheerleader for students in the district and serves on the football and basketball booster clubs. She was named a Life Member of the PTA and is actively involved in CDC. She has a political science degree from Texas Tech University and a master's degree from Texas Women's University in family studies.

She and her husband have two sons; one is a DeSoto High School graduate and the other is in middle school.

Trimble is the father of two DHS graduates, who were heavily involved with soccer while they were students.

A network administrator with a managerial background, Trimble holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Dallas.

“I believe that as parents and members of the community, we have an inherent obligation to provide our youth with a first-rate educational system.”

He has been heavily involved with the district's PTA.

Pettis, Sternes and Trimble were not reached for comment on their plans for seeking additional terms.