No new names: 2 cities cancel elections

Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills residents can expect to see some familiar faces at the dais even after May election season rolls by.

Both cities are canceling their May 7 general elections because nobody aside from the incumbents filed to run for city council.

Alamo Heights canceled its general election last week, and Terrell Hills Assistant City Manager Michelle Pack said the Terrell Hills City Council will do the same at its March 14 meeting.

Both city councils have twoyear terms and no term limits.

Alamo Heights Assistant City Manager Phil Laney listed 16 different years when the city canceled an election because candidates were unopposed. This will be the fourth such year in a row. When elections are held, Laney said they typically cost the city between $3,660 and $5,000.

Pack said it is typical for Terrell Hills to cancel general elections because candidates are running unopposed. She said the city has set aside $4,000 in its annual budget for election costs.

Although it won’t have a general election, Terrell Hills will have a special election May 7 to reauthorize the local sales tax and use at the rate of one-fourth of 1 percent, Pack said. She said the cost for the city to put on the special election isn’t clear yet.

The unopposed candidates who will continue to serve on the council for Alamo Heights are Blake Bonner for Place 3, Lynda Billa Burke for Place 4 and John Savage for Place 5. Bonner was first elected in 2020, making this his second term. Burke has been on the council since 2014, making this her fifth term, while Savage was first elected in 2010, making this his seventh term.

In Terrell Hills, Mayor John