BOERNE – Election Day is nearly here, and city dwellers have the first chance to cast a ballot in a contested race in several years.
Two candidates are bidding for the mayoral spot and two others have filed for the District 2 City Council seat.
While the chance to cast a vote early, city residents can still tick a box 7 a.m.= to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Saturday, at Boerne City Hall.
Nina Woolard and Frank Ritchie are vying for the mayor’s seat. It’s the first time in six years the spot has more than one contender.
Woolard, who has served as District 2 representative since 2011, withdrew from the race for her council seat after Mayor Tim Handren announced he wouldn’t be seeking reelection.
“We’ve got so many important things going on in the city that someone needed to step up that had not only the experience with city government, but also had some of the historical knowledge of decisions that have been made in the past,” Woolard told The Star.
Woolard first moved to Boerne 26 years ago and soon began volunteering with parent-teacher organizations and the local branch of the YMCA.
Ritchie, who opted not to run a financial campaign for the seat, is the owner of Ritchie Automotive Repair.
He also volunteers his time as a pastor at Spring Creek United Methodist Church.
Though Ritchie was not available for an interview, his profile on the church website reads: “We (Ritchie and his family) love that Spring Creek is a place where we can receive and feel God’s amazing grace and love unconditionally.”
The profile also said, “The fact that we get to serve here in many capacities is just a blessing…. I have recently answered God’s call on my life and entered into the min-istry ordination process and am a licensed local pastor with the joy of service to this church.”
With Woolard not seeking reelection to District 2, a pair of candidates have filed to run for the spot — Joe Bateman and Sharon Wright.
Both are newer transplants to Boerne who indicated they appreciate the Hill Country hamlet’s small-town charm and way of life.
Bateman is a seventh-generation Texan who said he’s seen the impact of rapid growth in both population and infrastructure around Austin.
In his announcement, Bateman promised: “I will work to ensure current residents are respected and prioritized in future growth and infrastructure planning, will bring conservative governance and fiscal responsibility to City Council, and I will fervently support a safe, secure and lawful Boerne.”
He added, “We have so much to be proud of in Boerne and we must work together in all capacities to preserve the small-town heritage and unique Hill Country character of Boerne that we all want to protect.”
Wright in 2005 was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, but quickly set her sites on Boerne. She is now working in the private-health sector.
“As a graduate of University of Texas Health Science Center (at San Antonio), I had some wonderful mentors, and they set a seed in my group,” Wright said. “They said, ‘We need more nurses to serve. We need more nurses on boards. We need more nurses in local politics. Because there are people out there making decisions that effect the health of our community members, and they don’t know anything about health care.’”
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