No contested council races means no election in Buda
City will swear in four council members in November.
With no contested races on the ballot in Buda, the city has canceled its election and plans to swear in four council members in November.
Buda residents voted in 2017 to move to a single-member district system for electing City Council members. The city previously elected council members to at-large seats, with residents eligible to vote in all council races.
The council voted in January — after a random drawing — that even-numbered council member seats, Places 2, 4 and 6, would be the first to make the switch. Places 1, 3, and 5 will not transition until the city reaches a population of 25,000. As of July 1, 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Buda’s population to be 16,163.
In the three new single-member districts, incumbents will hold onto
their seats: Paul Daugereau in District A, formerly of Place 4; Evan Ture in District B, formerly of Place 6; and Wiley Hopkins in District C, formerly of Place 2.
The council members’ terms will be staggered, with District A carrying a threeyear term, District B carrying a two-year term and District C carrying a one-year term.
Daugereau was elected in 2017 to fill the unexpired term of George Haehn, who became mayor. Ture was elected in 2017, and his term would have expired in 2020 before the switch to single-member districts.
Hopkins, who has been on the council since March 2013, was last elected in 2016. His term would have expired in 2019 before the switch to single-member districts.
Ray Bryant, 63, who works in sales, will replace Place 3 Council Member David Nuck- els. Nuckels announced in August that he would not seek re-election.
“I am extremely proud of the work I’ve been a part of over the last three years on council,” Nuckels said in a public state- ment on Facebook. “I have found this experience to be very rewarding, and I am truly honored by the trust placed in me by the citizens of Buda.”
Bryant, who served as a Kyle council member for various periods between 2007 and 2014 before his family moved to Buda three years ago, said of public service in an interview Wednesday: “The bug never leaves you.”
“I’m a strong believer in being involved in our communities,” Bryant said. “I’m just proud to live here and want to make a contribu- tion here.”
Stephanie Gharakhanian, 33, is a lawyer for the nonprofit Workers Defense Project. She lives in North Austin and is a former member of the city’s construction advisory commission and of an ACC task force on construction standards. Gharakhanian has a bachelor’s degree in premedicine studies and international peace studies from the University of Notre Dame and a law degree from Northeastern University.
Sarah Mills, 48, is director of government relations and regulatory affairs for the Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice. Mills, who lives in North Austin, is a former chairwoman of the nonprofit Austin Tenants Council. She has a bache- lor’s degree in liberal arts from Austin College and a master’s in rehabilitation counseling from the University of North Texas.
Place 9
Julie Ann Nitsch, 32, is the incumbent, having been elected to the Place 9 seat in 2016 to fill the unexpired term of Allan Kaplan, who had
who lives in Southwest Austin, is a self-em
activist. She has worked with the Survivor Justice Project to assist victims of sexual assault and with the Austin Young Dem- ocrats. She is studying for a bachelor’s degree in com- munication with a certificate in education through online courses at Angelo State University, as well as an associate degree in government from ACC.
Lora H. Weber, 66, lives in Round Rock and, with her husband, owns a local ice cream shop. She has been deputy executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, director of external relations for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and chairwoman of the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. She founded the Austin Threshold Choir and sings with fellow members for patients at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House. She also volunteers as a scuba diving instructor. Weber holds a bachelor’s degree in English and political science from Stephen F. Austin State University.