Grand Prairie 2009 election results

by Kirk Dickey of Grand Prairie TODAY

Voters overwhelmingly approved the street repairs sales tax in Grand Prairie, and five incumbents were re-elected in school board and city council races and tax, May 9.

The lone newcomer to the city's governmental bodies was Greg Geissner, who ran unopposed for the at-large seat on the Grand Prairie City Council formerly held by Rick Sala. Sala bowed out of the race in April, citing scheduling difficulties with his job.

Councilmembers Tony Shotwell and Ron Jensen were re-elected to districts 5 and 6 respectively. Shotwell won his seat with 63.5 percent of the vote over his challenger Cole Humphreys. There were 483 votes cast in that contest.

Jensen was unopposed for his seat, as was school boardmember Bebe Bingham, who regained her Place Place 5 seat with 1,435 votes.

Place 6 School Board Trustee Mike Skinner was re-elected by a 904-vote margin. Skinner collected 74.2 percent of the vote against his opponent Mary Dominguez, who had 479 ballots cast in her favor.

Paul Martinez, school boardmember for Place 7, received 75.25 percent of the ballots cast in his run against challenger Ovidio Montemayor. There were 1,721 votes cast in that election.

Asked what he thought the margin of victory in the contested elections said about the voters' views, Martinez said it was an affirmation of the work the school district is doing.

“Based on the overwhelming response, I get the idea that they see things that are happening with Crosswinds (High School) and Dubiski (Career High School), and see those as positive things they want to see us moving forward with,” he said.

Martinez said he wants to continue to improve these opportunities for children and noted that the current rezoning process will provide as many services as possible for all student populations while also maintaining the budget.

Voters also reaffirmed the quarter-cent sales tax used for street repairs. Votes in favor of renewing the tax totalled 1,784, or 84.5 percent of those cast.

The sales tax has generated $28 million since its inception in 2002. That money has gone to improve more than 100 streets, repair almost 50 alleys and fix 56 miles of roadway. In January, the city council approved $8.2 million road and alley repairs, including $200,000 to level streets and remove standing water, which is a driving hazard and can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.